Smokeball Community Hero - Smokeball Australia

To acknowledge the impactful work that small law firms conduct in their communities, we are proud to present the fourth annual Smokeball Community Hero Award. The winner will receive a $5,000 travel voucher*

Every day, members of the Australian legal industry go above and beyond to serve and enrich their local communities. At Smokeball, we recognise these individuals as the true heroes of our communities and wish to celebrate the important and inspiring work they are performing in the following fields:

Providing pro bono services and closing the justice access gap
Promoting inclusion and diversity for underrepresented groups
Supporting charities and community groups
Sustainability initiatives for the environment
Random acts of kindness

We wish to acknowledge an exemplary act or contribution with the presentation of the Smokeball Community Hero Award and reward the winner with a $5,000 travel voucher* to go towards a trip of their choosing.

Read our interview with 2024 winner Sarah Ibrahim

Nominate Now

Applications close Friday, 31 January 2025.
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You can nominate yourself or a legal colleague.

The Community Hero Award winner will be announced on Friday, 21st February 2025.

Apply or nominate now

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Smokeball Community Hero Award, the entrant must be:

Employed in a job within the legal industry
Aged 18 years or older
Resides in Australia
Open to both Smokeball clients and non-users

Award Criteria

The Smokeball Community Hero Award will be judged based on the supporting information provided in the below form. The following can be outlined in the submission:

Examples of achievements, initiative, planning, management and leadership
Approximate hours contributed (paid and/or unpaid)
Achievements and contribution to the community
Impact on the community/workplace
Specific reference to how actions have inspired the community or workplace
Barriers or difficulties faced and how they have been overcome
Self-development and/or training (if applicable)

Key Dates

Applications open
Thursday, 5 December 2024

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Applications close
Friday, 31 January 2025

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Winner announced

Friday, 21 February 2025

The Judging Panel

All Smokeball Community Hero Award nominations will be evaluated by our panel of esteemed industry experts.

Hunter Steele,
Smokeball CEO

Jane Oxley,
Smokeball CRO

Bianca
Bowron-Cuthill,
Smokeball GM

Sarah Ibrahim,
Racial Justice Centre Principal Director

Nominate Your Legal Community Hero

Please submit the below information to apply, or nominate a colleague for the Community Hero Award.

Create your own user feedback survey

Terms and Conditions
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Promotional Period: Applications open Thursday, 5 December 2024 at 09:00am AEDT and close on Friday, 31 January 2025 at 11:59pm AEDT.
‍Eligibility: To be eligible for the award, the entrant must be an Australian resident aged 18 years and over and be employed in a job within the legal industry.
‍Hot to Enter: To enter, the nominator must fill out all required questions on the 2025 Smokeball Community Hero Award form and submit it within the Promotional Period. A nominator is able to nominate more than one (1) person, but can only nominate a person one (1) time. A nominator can nominate themselves provided they meet the Eligibility requirements.
‍Judging: Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges on a variety of criteria, including the nominee's contribution to their community, achievements, innovation and overall impact.
‍Winner Announcement: The winner of the 2025 Smokeball Community Hero Award will be announce on Friday, 21st February 2025.
‍Prizes: The winner of the Smokeball Community Hero Award will receive a travel voucher valued at $5,000.00 AUD.
‍Privacy Policy: Information collected will be used in accordance with the terms of Smokeball’s Privacy Policy which can be viewed at https://www.smokeball.com.au/privacy. Information collected as part of the competition will be used only for the purpose of conducting this promotion (which may include disclosure to third parties for the purpose of conducting the promotion or providing the prize) and for promotional purposes surrounding this promotion, including in the future.