Conditions of entry

1. The promoter

This competition is run by Localsearch Operations Pty Ltd (ABN 64 130 550 971), trading as Localsearch. Contact us at marketing@localsearch.com.au. The competition is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, and is not associated with, any social media platform.

2. Free entry and no purchase

There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary. Being a Localsearch customer, or not being one, makes no difference to whether a business is nominated, accepted, voted for or wins. No business is required to buy, subscribe to or continue any product or service at any point.

3. Key dates

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (Queensland, UTC+10).

A vote must be both submitted and confirmed by email before voting closes. Anything received or confirmed after that time is not counted.

4. Who can be nominated

To be eligible, a business must:

• hold a current ABN
• genuinely operate within the Gold Coast City local government area, evidenced by an operating address, service area and work history
• deliver hands-on trade work within one of the eligible trade groups below as its main service
• hold any licence, registration or insurance the law requires for that work
• have an authorised owner or representative accept the nomination and confirm its details

A business does not need to be a Localsearch customer. Businesses that only supply, retail, hire, inspect, clean, consult or transport are not eligible. Specifically excluded when offered alone: Retail, wholesale, dry hire, transport broking, waste collection, routine cleaning, vehicle washing or detailing, mowing and weeding, inspection or certification, consulting, property management and development, IT or phone repair, medical device or musical instrument repair, hospitality, and health and personal services. Other activities outside the defined groups are also excluded. A mixed business may qualify through a separately evidenced eligible trade service.

Gold Coast City boundaries are determined by the published local government authority boundary. View the boundary dataset.

A business is not eligible to be nominated, accepted onto the voting list or win if it is owned, part-owned, directed or operated by an employee or contractor of Localsearch Operations Pty Ltd, or by a member of that person’s immediate family. Immediate family means a spouse or partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, whether by birth, marriage or adoption. Employees and contractors of Localsearch Operations Pty Ltd and their immediate family may still nominate an eligible business and cast their one vote.

5. Eligible trade groups

6. Nominations

• Anyone aged 18 or over who is an Australian resident may nominate a business, including their own.
• Nominations are assessed against these conditions, and we may ask for evidence. A nomination that does not meet them may be declined or disqualified under clause 10.
• A nomination is not a vote. Nominations do not affect the result.
• Reasons given in a nomination are used for eligibility assessment only. They are never published and are not shown to the nominated business.
• A nominated business only appears on the voting list once an authorised owner or representative accepts the nomination and confirms the business details by the acceptance deadline.
• No business is added to the voting list after voting opens.
• A business may withdraw at any time by contacting us. Votes for a withdrawn business stop counting from the time of withdrawal.

7. Voting

• Voters must be 18 or over and Australian residents.
• A voter may only vote for a business they have genuinely hired or dealt with.
• One vote is counted per person for the whole competition. Where more than one vote is received from the same person, the first vote confirmed by email is the one that counts and any later vote is recorded but not counted.
• Every vote must be confirmed through a link sent by email. An unconfirmed vote is not counted.
• Both the vote and its confirmation must be received before voting closes.
• Votes cast by automated means, bulk or generated email addresses, incentives, payment or any other manipulation are not counted.
• Voting is free. Optional marketing consent is separate from voting and does not affect whether a vote counts.

8. What we publish

The voting page shows accepted businesses only: the display name, suburb, trade and logo where supplied. We do not publish vote counts, standings, running totals or partial results at any point during or after the competition. Nomination reasons, voter details, ABNs, licence details and operating addresses are never published. Where an operating address is a private residence, it is never shown publicly.

9. Integrity checks

We audit votes for authenticity, and we may ask for evidence at any stage. Shared households, workplaces or internet connections are not, on their own, treated as a breach. Votes and nominations that do not comply with these conditions are dealt with under clause 10.

10. Disqualification

The Promoter may, at its reasonable discretion, disqualify any nomination, nominee or vote that it reasonably believes does not comply with these conditions, including where:

• (a) the nominated business is not based in the City of Gold Coast local government area, or does not meet any other eligibility requirement;
• (b) votes have been cast using automated means (including bots or scripts), fake, duplicate or multiple accounts or email addresses, or any other method intended to manipulate the result;
• (c) votes have been offered, bought or exchanged for any incentive or reward;
• (d) information provided in a nomination is false, misleading or incomplete; or
• (e) the nominee or anyone acting on its behalf has tampered with or interfered with the competition, or behaved in a way the Promoter reasonably considers inappropriate, offensive or harmful to the competition or the Promoter’s reputation.

If a nominee is disqualified, all votes cast for that nominee may be void. If the winner is disqualified after the winner announcement, the Promoter may award the prize to the nominee with the next highest number of valid votes, applying the tie-break in clause 11 if two or more nominees are level in that position.

11. Determining the winner

The winner is the eligible accepted business with the highest number of counted votes. If two or more businesses finish on the same total, the winner is the one that reached that total first, determined by the order in which votes were confirmed. If that still does not separate them, the winner is drawn at random from those tied, supervised by two Localsearch staff members, and the draw is recorded.

12. The prize

One prize is awarded: a AUD $2,500 pre-paid card. All prize values are in Australian dollars and include GST where applicable. There is no cash alternative. The prize is not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be redeemed for cash, unless required by law.

If the prize becomes unavailable for any reason outside the Promoter’s reasonable control, the Promoter may substitute a prize of equal or greater value, subject to any applicable law or direction from a regulatory authority. Any pre-paid card is subject to the issuer’s own terms and conditions, including expiry dates, which are provided to the winner at or before the time the card is issued. The Promoter is not responsible for any loss, theft or unauthorised use of the card once it has been delivered to the winner.

The winner is contacted using the representative contact details supplied at acceptance and must confirm acceptance within 14 days of being notified. If a winner cannot be contacted, does not confirm within that time, is ineligible, is disqualified or declines, the Promoter may award the prize to the nominee with the next highest number of valid votes, on the same basis and applying the tie-break in clause 11.

The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any tax implications arising from the prize, and the winner should seek their own independent financial or tax advice.

13. Entrant responsibilities and liability

Nominating, accepting a nomination or voting means accepting these conditions. Subject to clause 15, the Promoter’s decisions on eligibility, votes and the result are final.

• Anyone nominating a business confirms the information they give is true to the best of their knowledge.
• Anyone accepting a nomination confirms they are an authorised owner or representative of that business, that the details they supply are accurate, and that any logo or material they supply does not infringe anyone else’s rights.
• The Promoter is not responsible for nominations, votes or verification emails that are lost, late, corrupted, blocked or not delivered, or for any technical failure or interruption outside its reasonable control.
• Entrants are responsible for their own internet, device and email costs.

To the extent permitted by law, the Promoter is not liable for any loss or damage arising from taking part in the competition or from accepting or using the prize. Nothing in these conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law.

14. Publicity

By accepting a nomination, a business agrees that its display name, suburb, trade and any logo it supplies may be used on the competition pages and in related announcements. The winner agrees to reasonable announcement of the result. We do not require a business to take part in promotional activity as a condition of the prize.

15. Complaints and disputes

Concerns about eligibility, voting or the result can be raised with us at marketing@localsearch.com.au within 14 days of the announcement. We will review the relevant records and respond in writing. Nothing in these conditions limits rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

16. Privacy and how information is handled

We collect nominators’ names and email addresses, business details supplied at acceptance, and voters’ names and email addresses, in order to run the competition, verify votes, determine and contact the winner, and handle complaints. Verification and integrity checks also record technical information such as a one-way hash of the submitting connection.

Who handles this information:

• Localsearch runs and hosts this competition, including the competition website, the nomination form and the voting form.
• Competition records — nominations, business acceptance details and vote records — are held in Localsearch's own systems.
• Verification and notification emails for this competition are sent by Localsearch.
• The pre-paid card is issued by a third-party card issuer. The issuer will be named to the winner, with a copy of or a link to the issuer's terms, at or before the time the card is issued.

Voter records are deleted or de-identified within 90 days after final prize fulfilment or the resolution of any dispute, whichever is later. Marketing consent, where given, is handled separately from the competition and can be withdrawn at any time. Our privacy policy explains how to access or correct your information or make a complaint.

17. General

The Promoter reserves the right, subject to any applicable law or direction from a regulatory authority, to amend, suspend, extend or cancel the competition, or amend these conditions, if an event outside its reasonable control (including fraud, vote manipulation, technical failure or other interference) affects the proper conduct, security or fairness of the competition. Any amendment will not materially disadvantage entrants who have already nominated or voted, and will be published on this page with the date of the change.

If any part of these conditions is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. A delay or failure by the Promoter to enforce any part of these conditions is not a waiver of it. These conditions are governed by the laws of Queensland.

Effective 16 September 2026. Last updated 17 September 2026.