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Bass Coast Business Awards Winners

Business of the Year Award

Wildlife Coast Cruises

Some judges comments for this applicant include:

“Wonderful application, your ability to clearly articulate with examples of the great work and strategies you are doing and plans for future ideas was fantastic.”

“This business in not only making amazing strides in terms of its own sustainability practices, but sharing and assisting the community as well as other businesses - a true sustainability leader in the business sector.:

“Great examples used to show their policies in action.” 

Access, Equity and Inclusion Award

Brinnie T Design - Winner

Brinnie T Design draws on her own experience to bring inclusive design and design for diversity into her products. Servicing all of Bass Coast and South Gippsland, they offer product purchases, custom made orders, interior design solutions and full renovation services including accessible design and design for diversity. They expended to their new design studio in the last 12 months that has given them space to further explore design for diversity and to create a space showcasing support for inclusive design. They have also recently completed their first bathroom build making a tremendous impact to the quality of life to their client.

Phillip Island Tenpin Bowling & Entertainment Centre - Runners Up

The Phillip Island Tenpin Bowling & Entertainment Centre is fun for all ages and all abilities. As well as tenpin bowling, there’s laser tag, amusement games, pool tables, table tennis, an indoor kids playground and a café with a licensed bar. Everyone, from one to one hundred will find something to enjoy. The bowling lanes have auto bumpers, ramps and lightweight balls, so everyone can enjoy a game.

Business Innovation Award

Terralab - Winner

Terralab is a geospatial and environmental consultancy operating from San Remo. The STA logger is a location tracking and data logging device that fixes to existing herbicide application equipment and tracks the position and activity. Originally designed for the conservation industry, STA logger has been adapted worldwide by the forestry, mining and water industries. The STA logger is a one-of-a-kind product that has gone global which is now being utalised in New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Europe and Africa.

Wattle Bank Farm - Runners Up

Wattle Bank Farm is an agri-business with a tourism focus. Each Wattle Bank Farm experience is curated for the individual or group. Wattle Bank Farm hosts its experiences through the experiential platform Riparide and their cabin (aptly named Seahorse) holds a 100% recommendation rating. They strive to adapt to the changing market keeping the business diversified.

Environment and Sustainability Award

Wildlife Coast Cruises - Winner

Wildlife Coast Cruises share their knowledge of local wildlife, habitat and history on their tours, incorporating environmental take-home messages for visitors. They also focus on sustainability by procuring local and environmental suppliers for their souvenirs, snacks and beverages. They moved from boxed water which still had a plastic lid to water in a 100% recyclable can. Mid-2022 they introduced a three-bin system on their vessels, being on of the first businesses in the region to have this system available for their visitors. The three-bin system includes general waste, green waste, and recyclables, also including a can crusher to reduce the space the aluminium can stake up in this disposal.

Bass Strait Direct - Runners Up

Bass Strait Direct buy and sell Australian seafood. They supply local restaurants, fish and chip shops and local independent supermarkets and maintain strong community relationships with their customers. They have been working on a whole new packaging process so that they can use 100% recyclable packaging, importing on of the latest thermoforming/skin packing machines form Italy. This machine allows the removal of all oxygen in the packaging replacing it with food grade nitrogen giving fresh produce a 21 day shelf life. One of the first small seafood businesses to do so. Finally, Bass Strait Direct can get these skin packed products into the IGA Stores. Now saving approximately 2400 single use foam trays, 2400 single use plastic sleeves and 2400 single use plastic product stickers per IGA store.

The Only Straw - Runners Up

The Only Straw provides high quality, cost-effective, sustainable drinking straws to the hospitality and household markets in Australia. The straws and fully degradable, home compostable and breakdown anywhere in less than ninety days. Being gluten-free and vegan friendly makes them suitable for everyone. They are also marine life, wildlife and bird life friendly.

French Island Cottage - Runners Up

Sustainability and care for the environment are key to French Island Cottage's business model. They use renewable sources for water and energy by collecting rainwater and having a solar and battery system for electricity. They are becoming a recognised eco-tourism destination where visitors discover and appreciate nature in the environment that they have created. Completing their 5,000 tree planting project to capture carbon and ameliorate climate change, while also creating a large wildlife corridor connecting separation sections of National Park, they are retuning their 30 hectares of farmland to its original state, enhancing French Islands status as a biodiversity hotspot.

Leadership Award

Maru Koala Park - Winner

Maru Koala Park is a family run tourist attraction in Grantville, that includes an animal park, a pirate themed mini-golf course and the Homestead Bistro. Maru is proud to regularly support staff in developing and upskilling their employment skills from entry-level positions to supervisor and management roles. Staff are also encouraged to participate in external training courses that support leadership and other skills.

Sunscape Solar - Runners Up

Sunscape Solaris a family owned and operated business and have installed more than 2000 solar panels since they opened in 2008. They pride themselves on creating a supportive, growth-oriented and happy workplace. They invest in employing local staff for their team and focus on long-term education for staff. This includes offering apprenticeships, work experience, A-Grade electrical qualifications and helping their staff find the right fit for their career. They have focused on expanding their install team with a high level electrician and two appreciative enabling them to continue to offer the same great service to more customers. All team members are properly trained and overseen as they learnt to work to the high standards, before becoming independent and competent to work independently or in small groups as required

Marketing and Communications Award

Connect2 Electrical Solutions - Winner

Connect2 Electrical Solutions is an electrical contracting business, servicing the residential and commercial sector in Bass Coast for over 13 years. Recently having rebranded the business to stand out from local competitors, appeal from homeowners and align with their servicing offering, they have also built a brand-new website and implemented SEO to enable a higher reach on Google search results.

Bass Coast Boat and Caravan Storage - Runners Up

With land subdivisions getting smaller and smaller, Bass Coast Boat and Caravan Storage decided to introduce a business into the area that would benefit the tourism industry. Having spent extensive time working on their marketing strategy, their focus has been to make the business easily accessible and attract tourists to the Bass Coast Shire area while providing affordable and safe options. Their ‘back to basic’ approach is helping Bass Coast Boat and Caravan Storage succeed, being genuine and down to earth, flexible, trustworthy and transparent are all key things in their communication strategies.

Resilience Award

Balance Health Phillip Island - Winner

Balance Health Phillip Island faced challenges during the lockdowns reducing the ability to run 30 group clinical pilates classes and put a halt to over 100 clients rehabilitation. Balance health had to shift the way that they worked during the pandemic, offering shorter one on one Pilate sessions and telehealth services. Unfortunately losing staff throughout mandates meant the remaining staff were taking on additional caseloads to keep the clients happy. Balance Health Phillip Island have truly shown resilience during this very difficult time to be in business.

My 24/7 Gym - Runners Up

My 24/7 Gym is a 24-hour member-based health and fitness facility offering a variety of membership options for the local community and visitors to the Bass Coast. Throughout the pandemic the health and fitness industry were hit hard. My 24/7 gym put a stop to all required payments for memberships and extended their expiry dates to ensure people could still get exactly what they paid for. “A positive attitude and the focus on coming through challenges stronger is admirable.”

VORTEX Surf Skate Snow - Runners Up

VORTEX Surf Skate Snow was established by recognising the opportunity for a specialised retail store to service the Bass Coast community and tourism trade. 22 years later the resilience of VORTEX Surf Skate Snow is clear and recognised. During the pandemic, VORTEX developed an online store and arranged non-contact home delivery and click and collect options to ensure customers were able to continue shopping as normal.