KEY DATES | AWARDS CEREMONY | HOW TO ENTER | CATEGORIES | JUDGING CRITERIA | ABOUT THE AWARDS | CONTACT US | SPONSORS 

At the Building Institute Aotearoa we are all about people. Our awards celebrate people in the building and construction industry doing great things. We recognise people at all stages, places and scales – from our inspiring Next Gen already making a difference to those working in major projects on site and behind the scenes.

Key Dates

Awards Ceremony

6:00pm – 11:00pm, Friday 8 August 2025
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, 50 Cable Street, Pōneke | Wellington

Tickets will go on sale for the awards ceremony in June 

Accommodation

Special rates are available for conference participants at several hotels in Pōneke | Wellington. Find out more here. 

How to enter

Eligibility

• Nominees do not have to be members of the Building Institute Aotearoa to enter.
• Nominees need to be based in New Zealand and legally allowed to work here,
• In the 'cost-based' categories the project used by a nominee to demonstrate their performance must be located in New Zealand, and to have been practically completed (the issuing of a CCC is not a prerequisite) during the period 1 January 2024 to 1 August 2025.

Cost 

Building Institute Aotearoa members can enter the Awards for FREE.

The entry cost for non-members is $350 + GST, with the following exceptions:

• Entry is free to a team (i.e. Collaboration category) where at least one team member is an Institute member;
• Entry is free to a nominee entering the ‘Consultants Award’ category who are members of: NZIA, Engineering NZ, or NZIQS;
• Entry is free to a nominee entering the ‘Innovation Award’ category who are members of: NZGBC and OffsiteNZ;
• For Next Gen Awards - entry is only for Next Gen members - becoming a Next gen member is free and easy.

Completing a nomination form

Before you start your application download the Entry Form requirements document - we suggest reading through and putting together your application in a word document before transferring it to the online nomination form. 

Complete the online nomination form here. 

Categories 

Find out more about the Award categories and which one might fit you best.  

Judging Criteria  

Find out more about the Judging process. 

About the Awards

The Institute has been delivering a popular and respected awards programme since 1994. The 2025 Building People Awards will be the 32nd awards.

Over the years the name, categories and judging criteria have shifted to continue to reflect the changing environment. What hasn't changed is the focus of celebrating excellent people in the construction industry. 

The New Zealand Building People Awards are open to anyone in the building industry, and entries are judged by a panel of senior construction practitioners.

The 2024 winners were celebrated on 30 August at the Awards evening. Take a look at the full list of winners and other placeholders and their citations.  Check out photos from the Awards evening.

Natasha Possenniskie is the Convener of Judging of the Awards in 2025. Natasha is a passionate construction industry professional with extensive experience in New Zealand and abroad, spanning both public and private sectors. She is the Founding Director of Urban Outcomes Limited.

Contact us

For any questions about the awards get in touch with us at hello@buildinginstitute.nz

Sponsors

AWARDS PARTNER

CATEGORY SPONSORS

PORT & CHEESE SPONSOR                   MC/HOST SPONSOR                

 ENTERTAINMENT/DJ SPONSOR