It is now scheduled to take place on October 15, which will allow judging to resume and conclude after lockdown ends, and for winners to enter the larger Business NSW awards.

Ultimately, any chance of in-person attendance to the awards ceremony will hinge on when the region is released from stay-at-home orders, which are currently set to end on September 10.

Quality Business Awards committee member Caroline Lumley said it would be fantastic to have any sort of physical gala night go ahead.

"Our ultimate goal and our ultimate wish is to make sure that we can deliver the awards and ideally face-to-face, but of course until we know what the conditions will look like we can't promise that," she said.

"We can commit to it being a digital show but we and our sponsors would really like to give businesses something to look forward to."

READ ALSO:

Judging for a number of categories has been put on hold since the beginning of the lockdown as it relies on mystery shopping, and the chamber is keen to see that process completed.

"This is obviously based on the advice we have that we will be out of lockdown by the 10^th, so that's where that timeline has come from," Ms Lumley said.

"Then we've still given judges the chance, they've still got ten days to get their judging finished where they can't have done it remotely."

The chamber received the most nominations in six years for the 2021 awards, which president Stephanie Cameron said represented the gratefulness the community has towards owners and staff for staying strong during tough times.

"We've had record numbers this year, with more than 1400 nominations received, for over 650 local businesses," she said.

"It is vitally important that these local businesses, who've continued to do it tough are celebrated for their strength and ingenuity in these trying times."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: