FREQUENTLY ASKED
 QUESTIONS

A. They must be members – it is easy to join online via our website. The awards are open to all Auckland Branch members, or a member of another Branch with a permanent office in Auckland.

A. Project Categories A and B are specifically intended for SMEs, hence the lower project values (<$1m and $1m-$10m). The company turnover threshold might feel high (<$25m), but is ultimately designed to give SMEs a chance showcase their projects and successes. The projects are judged based on project performance relative to the company size/resources available.

You can enter subcontract works in the awards – it doesn’t have to be the main contractor entering an entire project. In your entry you identify the scope of works that you performed as a sub-contractor, who your client was (i.e. another contractor/main contractor) and then concentrate your entry on the work that you performed, your relationship with your client, management of your obligations under the subcontract and your company’s performance (H&S, financial, environmental, etc.).

In addition, SME’s are likely to have great people in their team that can be nominated for a People Award and/or have developed innovative solutions that can be entered in the Technology & Innovation Awards.

A. The CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards are only open to Contractor Members of CCNZ. However in the case of the Technology & Innovation Awards categories there is potential for an Associate Member to partner with a Contractor Member who is using the innovation / technology provided by the Associate Member. The Contractor Member can submit an entry centred around how the Contractor has applied the innovation / technology in their business. The Associate Member can work with the Contractor Member on the entry, attend the Awards event and even get up on stage with the Contractor Member to share the celebration if the entry wins.

A. Yes, all submissions are confidential.

A. The cost is to help cover some of the costs associated with the awards programme. If you have projects or innovations that you would like to enter, but are stopped because of cost, please contact us to discuss.

A. The main contractor would get the subcontractor to make an entry in their own right, but support the application, both in the entry and in person at the judging.

A. Judging is completely independent of CCNZ. In order to maintain the integrity of the judging process, judges are not employees of CCNZ Contractor Members. They typically have extensive civil construction industry experience and most are consultants, representatives of the award sponsor or an employee of a Branch Associate Member (i.e. not a contractor). For projects and technology & innovation awards, the marking is weighted as shown next to the questions – information provided in both the written submission and the interview combine to determine the judges score out of each of the possible percentages.

A. No it cannot. The judges use a marking schedule which is based on the response template. There is a weighting for each section. The response template has been designed to make sure you don’t miss anything important.

A. No, we don’t have a video partner for these awards. We use your photos that you submit in the entry portal and produce digital graphics to display in the Awards event.

A. There are many reasons to enter awards, however here are a few reasons to enter:

• The opportunity to be recognised within a whole industry, from clients to architects, engineers, contractors and suppliers for your construction and civil contracting excellence.
• Leverage the opportunity to have senior industry clients and peers visit and judge your projects face to face on site.
• Increase brand awareness and marketing potential with your key clients.
• Improve employee morale and recognise and reward staff performance.
• Boost your business by cementing and establishing new contacts and relationships.
• Stand out as a leader in the industry - placing you in a positive position to win further work and securing a competitive edge.
• Be recognised with the region's best in civil contracting.
• Receive a specially commissioned trophy.
• Earn the right to display the relevant award winner logo on your business stationery, in promotional materials, in tenders and on your website.

A. There are many benefits of winning. Being recognised within your industry, brand awareness and marketing potential with your key clients, improving employee morale through recognising and rewarding staff performance, winning projects and of course being able to display your newly commissioned trophy and winning logo across all your communication channels. As well as the celebrations on the night of the Gala Awards Event the winners will be acknowledged in the Contractor magazine, CCNZ Auckland Branch newsletters, numerous plugs and videos shown at the bi-monthly meetings, social media posts and Civil Contractors NZ website.

A. Yes, a lot of contractors find benefit in the process of submitting an entry because it provides recognition for the team who carried out the work. The team see that the company is proud of the project, innovation or person because time and effort has been spent on preparing and submitting the entry. Recognising projects, people and/or innovations are important and valuable, win or lose.

A. In many ways including Contractor magazine, CCNZ Auckland Branch newsletters, the CCNZ Auckland Branch Awards website, numerous plugs and videos shown at our bi-monthly meetings, Civil Contractors NZ website, and social media posts.

A. Staff engagement in awards programmes starts internally. Our suggestion is get a group together based on the category you are targeting. The people within the group should be from all levels, from site to management. This gives you a greater understanding of how your staff are engaged into the project or your business and provides them with a new reason to succeed. If they are part of the entry process you can identify what you are doing well and what you may do differently in the future. By doing this it also sends a message to your staff that you value their input and opinions.

A. CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards open Monday 9 June 2025 and close at 12pm, Friday 8 August, 2025.

A. If you register your details on the site an account will be created for you; you will then be able to start a draft entry and view the questions. There are only two pages of questions, so you don't need to proceed through multiple pages. There is no obligation to enter after registering.  You are also able to print a blank PDF version of the entry form.  Note the entry must be completed within the online portal.

A. Please log in. Once you enter your e-mail address and password you will be taken through to your dashboard.  The dashboard shows all of the entries that you have (in progress and submitted).  You select the relevant entry from your dashboard to continue working on it.

A. It may be that you have registered but not saved an actual category. Please log in through the ENTER NOW button, put in your email address and press proceed. Enter your password and it will then take you through to your filled in registration page. Press proceed and select a category. Ensure you save regularly when filling in your entry.

A. When saving your entry to return later, please ensure that you click 'Save'. If you have not clicked save you may have lost your entry.

A. Your entry may have timed out. We would recommend that you save regularly while going through the entry process. Alternatively, write out your answers in a word document and then copy and paste your answers into the correct question space. If you are leaving the page for any length of time, please ensure you click 'Save'.

A. Once you enter your email address and password this will take you through to the next page (your dashboard) with any saved entries. Click 'Create new entry', this will then give you the full list of categories that you can select and enter.

A. Depending on which Awards you enter dictates what is published, however it is generally company name, short bio, project name, and photos of the project or person. The entry portal indicates what is published.

A. There is an upload section after the written portion of the entry that allows you to upload photos, videos, and/or PDFs. 

A. The number of photos required depends on the category that you are entering and is specified in the entry portal.

     Supporting Documentation/Material that may be supplied:

     - Upload, AI, JPEG, TIFF or PDF files
     - Video attachments may be hosted on a video site such as YouTube or Vimeo
     - Provide website URL's to the publicly accessible campaign or active URL of a landing page
     - Provide website URL's to information around your project

A. You will receive an automated email from the Awards platform confirming your submission. You will also see this as 'Submitted' in your dashboard in the portal.

A. If an entry fee is payable, you have the option to pay immediately via credit card or you can be invoiced and pay by bank transfer.  An invoice / receipt will be sent once you submit your entry.  

A. If you have any questions on the entry criteria, please contact Kimiora McKenzie-Downey by email (aucklandevents@civilcontractors.co.nz) or call  0800 226 925.

A. Project Categories A and B are specifically intended for SMEs, hence the lower project values (<$1m and $1m-$10m). The company turnover threshold might feel high (<$25m), but is ultimately designed to give SMEs a chance showcase their projects and successes. The projects are judged based on project performance relative to the company size/resources available.

You can enter subcontract works in the awards – it doesn't have to be the main contractor entering an entire project. In your entry you identify the scope of works that you performed as a sub-contractor, who your client was (i.e. another contractor/main contractor) and then concentrate your entry on the work that you performed, your relationship with your client, management of your obligations under the subcontract and your company's performance (H&S, financial, environmental, etc.).

A. No but it needs to be substantially complete i.e. at a stage that it can be judged. It can even be completed and covered up, e.g., a piling project, but in this circumstance, you need to have good photos/video.

A. The entire project does not need to be completely finished, but it needs to be substantially complete.  If in doubt, please contact aucklandevents@civilcontractors.co.nz to discuss.   

A. You can check out each of the categories and the category questions on the Auckland CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards website: www.ccnzhyndsconstructionawards.co.nz. Just click into the awards you are interested in and read the questions you will be asked in the portal.

A. The main entry area is Warkworth and Pokeno, however projects outside this area can be entered with the following proviso: Judges will need to visit an Auckland office or connect online to interview relevant parties. You will need to use ingenuity and technology to portray entries in a way that allows the judges to understand and mark the merits of the entry. This could include photos, drone videos, 3D imagery and client participation in person or by video.  Entries delivered by an Auckland Branch member, but located outside of New Zealand, may be eligible.  Please contact aucklandevents@civilcontractors.co.nz with a description of the project and the level of involvement of your Auckland Branch prior to completing your entry – these will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  The decision on eligibility will be final and no correspondence will be entered into once the decision has been advised.    

A. No, there is no requirement for projects to be a public works project. Private projects / subcontracts have successfully won in the past.

A. Our recommendation is to keep it concise, simple and avoid repetition. There is no need to explain in detail information that is "business as usual", instead focus on what it is that differentiates your project and makes it stand out from others and what has contributed to its successful delivery. If you have already discussed something that is relevant, you can refer to that section of your entry instead of repeating yourself.

A. No, less could be more. The important thing to focus on is the message that you are trying to get across. Submissions are a prompt for questions for the site visits. Submissions do not need to contain every single detail of the project, person, or innovation.

A. Yes. The site visits are a very important aspect of the judging process. The judges use the entry submission as a prompt for questions at the site visit.

A. Be organised. Make sure the judges are provided with correct directions to the site, ensure the people who are part of the site visit are on time. We recommend that you have a senior person who was involved with the project available for the site visit and to guide the visit. Be prepared for the judges to ask searching questions around the project delivery. Think about the things that differentiate your project and make sure you tell this story to the judges during your site visit.

A. Yes it does, have a look at the Project Awards and what Category you would sit in. Look at the questions and see if you are able to answer them with the project you have in mind.

A. Yes you can, and we highly recommend recognising those people in your organisation that have made a difference. This can have many more benefits to your staff, and organisation than winning or being in the awards programme.

A. Yes you can! If you have a great person in your team, then enter them in as many of the People Awards as is relevant. You may have a person that you are entering as an Outstanding Individual who also fits the Young Engineer of the Year or Woman In Contracting criteria for example – enter both!

A. We recommend that both parties are involved in the entry process. Firstly, if you are nominating someone in your organisation for a People Award, make sure that they know about it – this is a huge achievement and should be celebrated! Secondly, it's great if both parties are involved in answering the entry questions to ensure you have as much information as possible. Finally, the entrant may be interviewed as part of the judging process so it's really important that they know what has been submitted and can be prepared.

A. No, the judges use the answers in the entry to short-list to finalists. The interview provides them with the opportunity to explore some of these further, rather than trying to establish a baseline.  There are between 6-10 questions for the People Awards, take the opportunity to sit down with the person you have nominated and answer the questions together. The People Awards are about individuals; by working on the application together they will feel more comfortable with being entered into the awards as well as an opportunity for you as an employer to celebrate their success. The judges use the answers in the entry to understand what sets the nominee apart from other entrants. 

A. Yes you can. You can definitely enter the Excellence in Onsite/Management Innovation category as this award recognises companies that have implemented an innovation that greatly improved the way business operated. Depending on the nature of these, they could also fit within the Excellence in Sustainability Innovation and/or the Excellence in Product Innovation categories.  You can talk about the R&D, your engagement with clients and sub-contractors, etc.

A. Innovation is the creation, development and implementation of a new product, process or service, with the aim of improving efficiency, effectiveness or competitive advantage. If you have a product, process or service that you have implemented into the site or office that has changed how you deliver projects more effectively then you have identified the innovation. We recommend looking at all of the Technology and Innovation categories as you could fit into more than one depending on the innovation.

A. Yes it can be site or office based. Innovation may be part of a particular project, or it might sit within your management or the company's strategy, it could be in any area of your business. This is what makes the Technology and Innovation Awards unique as innovation can include a large number of business practices and doesn't limit you to a particular project.

Have a look at the award categories for Excellence in Sustainability Innovation (which recognises companies that have implemented an innovation that greatly improved the quality of our lives, protects our ecosystem, and preserves natural resources for future generations) or Excellence in Product Innovation (which recognises a business that has achieved success by identifying and then developing or utilising an innovative product that has greatly impacted the business).

A. Yes, most certainly. This is an important part of business now and having an innovative approach that has improved your retention of staff is something you should be proud of. The Technology and Innovation Award category for Excellence in Onsite/Management Innovation recognises companies that have implemented an innovation that greatly improved the way business operated, this is the category you should be entering to talk about your wellbeing app and how it has improved your retention of staff.

A. If the green project sits within the Project Awards criteria, then this could be entered into one of the Project Awards, if it is a new and innovative process then you should be also looking at the Technology and Innovation categories.

A. Yes, these sit within the Technology and Innovation categories, in particular the Excellence in Onsite/Management Innovation which recognizes companies that have implemented an innovation that greatly improved the way business operated. A reminder that innovation is the creation, development and implementation of a new product, process, or service, with the aim of improving efficiency, effectiveness or competitive advantage; this means you can talk about your employment or structural processes and how they are innovative.

A. The CCNZ Hynds Construction Awards are only open to Contractor Members of CCNZ. However, in the case of the Technology & Innovation Awards categories there is potential for an Associate Member to partner with a Contractor Member who is using the innovation / technology provided by the Associate Member. The Contractor Member can submit an entry centred around how the Contractor has applied the innovation / technology in their business. The Associate Member can work with the Contractor Member on the entry, attend the Awards event and even get up on stage with the Contractor Member to share the celebration if the entry wins.