Terms & Conditions

2021 ACS Digital Disruptors Awards - Terms and Conditions

1. Information on how to enter forms part of the terms and conditions of entry. By entering into the 2021 ACS Digital Disruptors Awards (the Awards) in the manner set out in clause 6, you are accepting these Terms and Conditions.

2. The promoter is Australian Computer Society Inc. (ACT), (ACS or the Promoter) Level 27, Tower 1, 100 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW 2000. ABN 53 156 305 487, ARBN 160 325 931.

3. Important dates:

Award nominations opened: Monday 9 August 2021
Award nominations close: Friday 29 October 2021
Award finalists are confirmed: 13 December 2021
ACS Digital Disruptors Awards winners announced: 23 Februaray 2022

4.The promotion commences at 12.01pm (Sydney Time) on 8 August 2021 and closes at 11.00pm (Sydney Time) on 24 November 2021.

5. Entry is open to all Australian residents or Australian based organisations who meet the entry criteria as outlined in clause 7. Employees of the Promoter are ineligible to enter.

6. To nominate for the Awards, an entry must be submitted via the online portal at acsdigitaldisruptors.awardsplatform.com. A person or organisation which submits an entry is known as a "nominee". The awards to be presented are:

(a) ICT Professional of the Year

(b) CXO Disruptor of the Year

(d) ICT Research Project of the Year

(e) ICT Educator of the Year

(f) ICT Student of the Year

(g) Skills Transformation of Work Teams (Under 100)

(h) Skills Transformation of Work Teams (Over 100)

(i) Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Corporate)

(j) Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Government)

(k) Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Not for Profit)

(l) Best New Start-Up Platform

7. To be eligible to apply in the award categories, nominees must meet the criteria as specified in the clauses below.

7.1 ICT Professional of the Year

An ICT Professional is defined as a person who:

(a) is or would meet the criteria to become an ACS Certified Professional;

(b) is currently employed in an ICT role, or managing an ICT team or project.

7.2 CXO Disruptor of the Year

A CXO Disruptor is defined as a person who:

(a) holds a position at the C-Suite within an organisation; the organisation is categorised as a Medium business (20-199 employees) or larger as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics; and

(b) has lead the organisation’s disruption projects for at least 2 years, with delivery of the project prior to 1 August 2021.

7.3 Emerging ICT Professional of the Year

An Emerging ICT Professional is defined as a person who:

(a) is currently employed in an ICT role, or managing an ICT team or project; and

(b) was born on or after 1 January 1921

7.4 ICT Research Project of the Year

An ICT Research Project:

(a) has undergone significant research in their specific field of ICT area of study; and

(b) has completed a peer review in the last 12 months.

7.5 ICT Educator of the Year

An ICT Educator of the Year is a person who has been employed over the last 12 months either teaching ICT in an innovative way or using ICT to teach in an innovative way, to students who are pursuing a Bachelor Degree or higher.

7.6 ICT Student of the Year

(a) An ICT Student of the Year is a person who is pursuing or has recently completed an undergraduate degree level qualification.

(b) For the purposes of clause (a), a recently completed degree must have been completed after 31 December 2020

(c) A nominee who has recently completed an undergraduate qualification, and is pursuing postgraduate studies is eligible for consideration based on the undergraduate degree only.

7.7 Skills Transformation of Work Teams (Under 100)

(a) A nominated Skills Transformation project is a project to enhance or improve the knowledge of teams using an innovative solution to upskill people in using an ICT system or in ICT skills in general.

(b) The project may be ongoing, however may not have been completed prior to 30 June 2020.

(c) A nomination must specify the number of individuals inside the work teams who are to benefit from the project. It is this number that determines the category the project is entered in.

(d) A team is defined as a team of having less than 100 (20) participates targeted for participation in the project.

7.8 Skills Transformation of Work Teams (Over 100)

(b) The project may be ongoing, however may not have been completed prior to 30 June 2020.

(c) A nomination must specify the number of individuals inside the work teams who are to benefit from the project. It is this number that determines the category the project is entered in.

(d) A team is defined as a team of one hundred (201) or more participates targeted for participation in the project.

7.9 Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Corporate)

(a) A nominee for a Service Transformation project, is a project that has been completed after 30 June 2020.

(b) Eligibility in the Corporate category is a project completed by a firm registered with an Australian Business Number (ABN), and is defined by the Australian Tax Office as a business and has 50 or more employees.

7.10 Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Government)

(a) A nominee for a Service Transformation project, is a project that has been completed after 30 June 2020.

(b) Eligibility in the Government category is a project completed by or for a Government Department, Statutory Authority or Local Government Area.

7.11 Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer (Not for Profit)

(a) A nominee for a Service Transformation project, is a project that has been completed after 30 June 2020.

(b) Eligibility in the Not for Profit/NGO category is open to any project completed by or in collaboration with, and for the direct benefit of an entity that is defined by the Australian Tax Office as a Not-for-Profit Organisation.

7.12 Best New Start-Up Platform

(a) A nominee for this category, is a project that has been deployed after 30 June 2020.

(b) Eligibility in the category is open to any platform development project created by an organisation that meets the criteria for an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) as defined by the Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives for Innovation) Act 2016 (Cth).

8. In accepting these Terms and Conditions, the nominee agrees to allow the ACS to promote their nomination in any way deemed appropriate by ACS.

9. The winners will be published on the ACS website no later than three (3) business days after the announcement (refer to clause 3).

10. The Promoter will not be responsible or liable for incorrect information included in a nomination or any lost, late or misdirected nominations.

11. There is no prize, monetary or otherwise, attached to the award/s.

12. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered. The Promoter may settle in any manner it sees fit, any difficulties, anomalies or disputes which may arise in connection with the Awards whether generally or in relation to any nominee. The decision of the Promoter is conclusive and binding on all nominees.

13. The finalists will be contacted by phone and/or email no later than 4 November 2021. Their name will be published on the ACS website, and in any other ACS or partner publication. The winners will be presented their award at the ACS Digital Disruptors Awards dinner, 24 November 2021 at Melbourne International Convention Centre. ACS will use reasonable endeavours to present any awards to winners not present at an alternative mutually acceptable time. Nominees who are invited to the Awards dinner are responsible for their own travel costs and any costs of accommodation. For the avoidance of doubt, the ACS reserves the right to uninvite and prohibit any finalists from attending the ACS Digital Disruptors Awards dinner if that finalist is disqualified from the Awards prior to the dinner.

14. The Promoter is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions or problems with internet or network congestion including any injury or damage to or loss of any entry or any damage to a participant’s or any other person’s computer related to participation in this competition.

15. To the full extent permitted by law, the nominee agrees not to hold the Promoter liable for any damage or loss suffered or incurred by the nominee in connection with the Awards, or the amendment or cancellation of the Awards, or any error or omission or negligence on the part of the Promoter.

16. If for any reason the promotion is not capable of running as planned (including but not limited to) infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of the Promoter which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this promotion, the Promoter reserves the right (subject to any written directions given under applicable law) to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the promotion.

17. The nominees must, on request by the Promoter, be able to provide evidence which, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Promoter, demonstrates that the nominee is eligible to be nominated under these Terms and Conditions, that their nomination form is true and correct, and complies with these Terms and Conditions.

18. The Promoter reserves the right to, in its absolute discretion, disqualify a nominee or withdraw an award that has been awarded to a nominee if:

(a) the nominee is not eligible to be nominated under these Terms and Conditions;

(b) the Promoter believes that the nominee has breached these Terms and Conditions, the Rules and Regulations of ACS, or any other applicable codes of ACS;

(c) the Promoter believes that the nominee has committed any act which brings the nominee's reputation or the Promoter's reputation into disrepute; or

(d) in the case of an nominee who has been awarded an award, he or she has not claimed the award.

19. Entry details remain the property of the Promoter. The name, photograph and information provided in the application/nomination may be used for promotional purposes by the Promoter.

20. Entrants consent to the Promoter using personal information provided about this promotion for the purposes of facilitating the conduct of the promotion and awarding of awards, including but not limited to providing the information to assigned judges. For further information, visit ACS Privacy Policy at www.acs.org.au.

21. The Promoter may, in its discretion, amend or vary these Terms and Conditions (including the dates set out in these Terms and Conditions) or suspend, withdraw or terminate the Awards at any time and in its absolute discretion. Any such amendment, variation, suspension or withdrawal will be binding on all nominees even where the Promoter does not give notice of the event.

22. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of New South Wales and each party irrevocably agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that State.