Nominations for the prestigious Paint & Panel Bodyshop Awards open today. With so many awards up for grabs there are plentiful opportunities to shine.
The Paint and Panel Bodyshop awards have been recognising excellence in the industry for nearly 30 years. The first year the awards took place was 1996 where there was one winner and no official party.
Fast forward to last year and there were eight best shop winners in various categories, five best practice awards and three individual recognition awards as well as the Paint & Panel Hall of Fame. The awards night is the industry night of nights with 350 industry folk joining together to cheer the finalists on.
We introduced three new awards last year, Apprentice of the Year, Specialist Repairer of the Year (to include the likes of heavy vehicle repair, restoration, hail and more) and Parts Manager of the Year. The benchmark is raised every year, but don’t be intimidated by the shiny new shops – they have their own category. Winning shops in the best boutique and large shop categories are not just judged on presentation. You’ll find the judging criteria on our dedicated award website. A clean, safe environment is one of them, but so is staff development, community involvement, industry involvement, a vision for the business, diversity, apprentice development – the judging panel takes a holistic view.
Taking part in the Bodyshop Awards allows you to boost team morale and gives you some time to reflect on your achievements. James Frape of Platinum Sponsor Compass said: “Compass is proud to be the major sponsor of the 2025 Paint and Panel Awards, celebrating excellence in the collision repair industry. Whilst we still haven’t quite managed to get to Fiji (I’m still trying) you can join us this November at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast for an evening of recognition, inspiration, and celebration where we reward those who put their blood, sweat and tears into industry. It’s sure to be a fantastic evening.” Listen to our awards podcast that will be published next Monday to hear from Frape and there'a a chat with winners of last year's best large shop.
Either nominate someone else or jump right into the awards portal to enter. If you are an industry supplier or you are nominating another shop then please enter your nominations here. The shops or individuals nominated will then be contacted and directed to the awards portal. If you are a collision repair business and you want to enter the awards (you don't have to be nominated by someone else) please click here.
Judging
First line judges Neil Powell and Sam Street undertake the first round of judging for the best shop awards. This year in-person judging will take place in Queensland and Victoria, the rest of the shops will be judged via Zoom tours. They decide who are put forward to the judging panel made up of industry professionals. The second tier of judging relies on the information that entrants provide in the award portal. They do not visit the shops but can ask Powell and Street questions about the businesses. This judging panel selects the finalists and then a blind vote takes place for the winners in each category.
For the best practice and individual awards the judging panel relies entirely on the information provided in the awards portal.
The finalists are announced in September and the winners will be announced at a glittering awards night held at HOTA on the Gold Coast on 21 November. As well as a trophy, winners also receive a winners’ logo that can be used on marketing materials, social media, and email sign off so that everyone knows of your achievement, finalists also receive an email sign off.
Entries open on 7 April. Judging will take place in July. There are two ways of getting involved: you can go straight to the portal and nominate yourself or you will be notified by email if you have been nominated by a supplier. You will be asked to give us more details about your business and confirm which categories you wish enter.
In order to be considered for the awards you must fill out your entry in the awards portal – being nominated doesn’t automatically take you into the judging process.
As the final judging panel doesn’t take part in the initial judging we have asked those entering the best shop categories to make a video tour of the premises of up to 90 seconds. If you head on over to the Paint & Panel YouTube channel you’ll find a guide to making that video (it can be ever so basic) and on the awards website you’ll find some tips to help you write a winning entry.
Allow time for your entry
The more detail you put into your entry on the awards portal, the better. One page is unlikely to cut it when other business owners take more time to explain their vision, processes and management. Having a second judging panel ensures transparency in the judging process but it does mean more work for those who are entering the awards, so don’t leave it until the last minute. It’s worth the prestige of being a finalist, or even better a winner, to do yourself justice in the entry portal. If writing isn’t your forte consider getting someone else to collaborate with you to help with the entry and there are also plenty of AI sites.
The categories for the 2025 Paint & Panel Bodyshop Awards are:
Best Bodyshop
Best Shop (two size categories defined by business turnover)
Best New Shop
Best Country Repairer
Best MSO
Best Corporate Shop
Best Dealer Owned Shop
Best Specialist Repairer
Best Practice Awards
Business Excellence
Best Customer Experience
Best Workplace (MSO and single site)
Community & Social Responsibility
Awards for individuals
Bodyshop Manager of the Year
Emerging Leader (under 30)
Apprentice of the Year
Parts Manager of the Year
