Our panel brings together senior Rotary leaders from across NSW, selected for their professional integrity and deep community experience. Judges serve independently and assess nominations solely against the published criteria.
- Balanced representation of metropolitan and regional perspectives.
- Annual reviewers rotate to preserve independence and reduce bias.
Nominations are assessed holistically against the following dimensions. Provide clear, evidence-based examples for each where possible.
- Normal Duties (10%): How they conduct themselves and the duties they perform.
- Service Above Self (40%): What has the person you are nominating done within their ESA role that demonstrates Service Above Self (i.e. above and beyond their normal paid or unpaid role within their Agency)
- Service to Community (50%): Tell us about their Community Service, include how long they have demonstrated Service Above Self (unselfish volunteer service).
Weightings are guidance only; judges may calibrate to fit the category and evidence provided.
Each nomination is reviewed independently by multiple judges using a shared rubric.
- Rubric levels: Exemplary / Strong / Emerging / Not Evident for each criterion.
- Panel averaging: Final score combines individual scores; major outliers are moderated after discussion.
- Contextual review: Evidence quality and category context are considered alongside numeric scores.
- Tie-breakers: Service to Community first and then Alignment to “Service Above Self”.
We uphold strict integrity standards to ensure a fair, impartial process.
- Declarations: Judges disclose any real or perceived conflicts before reviewing and as they arise.
- Recusals: Judges with conflicts do not assess the affected nomination(s) and leave related discussions.
- Confidentiality: Nomination information is shared only with authorised reviewers for judging purposes.
- Records: A secure audit trail is maintained for key decisions and recusals.
- Nominations Close: Submissions are verified for eligibility and completeness.
- Individual Reviews: Judges score independently using the rubric.
- Final Endorsement: Governance group confirms recipients.
- Finalists Notified: Recipients contacted ahead of the event.
We respect the privacy of nominees and nominators. Information is collected solely for assessing nominations and administering the awards.
- Storage: Data is stored securely with restricted access.
- Sharing: Only with authorised judges and administrators for evaluation purposes.
- Retention: Records are retained only for as long as needed for awards administration and compliance.
- Consent: Nominators confirm consent to share relevant details for judging.