Family-run, sustainable, disability-led: three very different small businesses just topped the 2026 ORIAS Impact Award categories.
Australia Post has handed out its 2026 Impact Awards as part of the Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS), recognising three small Australian businesses that took very different paths to standing out in a crowded ecommerce market.
Mr Pool Man took out the Small Business Innovation Award. It’s a family-owned business helping homeowners manage pool maintenance, and the judges pointed to its strong digital retail presence and customer-first approach as what set it apart, describing the business as having “redefined the pool care experience, connecting Australians with trusted solutions from anywhere in the country.”
Nakie won the Sustainability Impact Award. The outdoor lifestyle brand makes hammocks, blankets and picnic gear from recycled materials, and plants a tree with every purchase. It was recognised for building sustainability into the core of its business model rather than treating it as an add-on, with judges highlighting how its product design is deliberately aimed at reducing waste.
Shh!t Happens took the Diversity and Inclusion Impact Award. It’s a disability-owned, female-led social enterprise making Australian-made toilet paper and everyday essentials, founded by disability advocate Anja Christoffersen and launched in May 2024. Its toilet paper is made from FSC-certified recycled office paper, and each roll is individually wrapped in recycled paper as well. The business was built around a specific idea: that an everyday product everyone already buys could be used to fund disability employment and chip away at stigma, rather than relying on charity framing. Judges recognised its work increasing disability representation and creating employment opportunities for people with disability.
Gary Starr, Australia Post’s Executive General Manager of Parcel, Post and eCommerce Services, said the three categories exist because they capture different ways small businesses can compete. “This year’s Impact Award winners have each taken a different approach to success, but all share a commitment to delivering for customers while creating meaningful outcomes for the communities they serve,” he said.
Starr also pointed to the broader pressure facing Australian online retailers right now. “As consumer expectations continue to rise and the retail landscape becomes increasingly global, Australian retailers have a unique opportunity to differentiate through innovation, customer experience and the strength of their brands,” he said, adding that this year’s winners show “local entrepreneurs can compete, grow and succeed by continually adapting to changing customer needs.”
The Impact Awards sit within the wider ORIAS, which has run annually since 2010 and is one of the sector’s better-known industry events, drawing entries from retailers of all sizes. Australia Post introduced the Impact categories specifically to put a spotlight on smaller and purpose-driven businesses, which don’t always get airtime alongside the bigger, more established names that tend to dominate industry award shortlists.
For SME owners reading this as more than an awards wrap: the common thread across all three winners isn’t budget, it’s specificity. Each business picked one thing to be known for, rather than trying to compete on everything at once.
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