Entries for the 2026 Stella Awards, proudly sponsored by Livingstone Building Excellence, will be opening on April 30th. Check back after our Launch Night BA5 event on the 30th!
Entry Forms Industry-Based Primary Award Categories
Pick your Industry-Based Award Category (descriptions sit within the drop-down menus), click through and fill out the entry form to get in the running! Please only fill out one of these categories. For further category options, please see the Specialist Categories below.
Note! You can save your progress by clicking Save For Later. You will need to sign up for an account with your Google account, Microsoft account, or with your email. You’ll receive an email to your entry form progress to keep working on it.
Powerhouse Professionals
This category is for the Professional Services businesses in the Taupō District. This includes lawyers, accountants, insurance brokers, consultants, designers, engineers, IT professionals, marketers, architects, etc.
Retail Royalty
This category is for the remarkable Retail Owners in the Taupō district. This could be brick and mortar or online and selling anything from clothing to kitchen supplies, specialty food to camping equipment, and anything in between.
Feast Masters
This category is for the Food & Beverage firecrackers in the Taupō district. This could be for a brick-and-mortar restaurant, food truck, café or bar, or it could be for those providing catering for events or other venues.
Smooth Operators
This category is for the premier Tourism & Accommodation providers in the Taupō district. These businesses could be tourism activity operators, hotels, motels or backpackers, equipment outfitters, guides or transport providers. Think of this category as being the outward face of the Taupō district, greeting our visitors and making them feel like the luckiest people on Earth.
Glow Getters
This category is for the high-grade Health & Beauty heroes in the Taupō district. This could be brick and mortar or online and providing anything from herbal remedies to cosmetics; or you could represent a fitness centre, a hair salon or a skin clinic.
Tradie Titans
This category is for the titans of Trade in the Taupō district. These businesses could be builders, electricians, plumbers, engineers, gasfitters, welders, mechanics, landscapers, and everyone in between. Think of this category as being the backbone of the Taupō district, making sure the water is running, the lights are on and it’s smooth sailing for the rest of us.
Entry Forms Specialist Award Categories
You may apply for up to 2 of the below categories, but you need to apply for one of the above Industry-Based Primary Categories as well. There is some logic behind only being eligible for two of the below categories, since a sole-trader wouldn’t have a dream team, and vice versa. But no matter the size of your business, anyone could be a Stella Survivor!
Note! You can save your progress by clicking Save For Later. You will need to sign up for an account with your Google account, Microsoft account, or with your email. You’ll receive an email to your entry form progress to keep working on it.
Amplify Solo Superstar
The Amplify Solo Superstar category celebrates the sole-traders building a presence in a competitive market on their own terms and with limited resources, using their creativity, savvy, and self-belief.
Westerman Dream Team
The true measure of a great team is in the culture they help to protect and the great people they develop over time. The Westerman Dream Team Award sets out to showcase the best teamwork and teammate builders our district has to offer.
CAMEX Stella Survivor
The CAMEX Stella Survivor category exists to recognise businesses that have faced the ultimate test — whether personal, financial, operational, or circumstantial — and not only made it through, but emerged stronger, wiser, and more resilient for it. These are the stories of courage, reinvention, and the human spirit that refuses to give up.