The Aussie Plumber has been named a 2026 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics Finalist in Greater Arizona.
James “The Aussie Plumber” Hill, a strong advocate for Truth in Advertising, built his entire local plumbing service business around the rule of "better solutions". For the past half-decade, The Aussie Plumber's been proving it. And in 2026, the great advocates of truth at the Better Business Bureau took notice of this better solution.
James Hill, The Aussie Plumber, 2026 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics Finalist
Out of thousands of local business applicants, The Aussie Plumber have been selected as one of three finalists in our business-size category.
The BBB Torch Awards for Ethics is the highest honor the Better Business Bureau can give a company. It recognizes businesses that demonstrate ethical leadership and a genuine commitment to the people they serve.
Applicants are evaluated across four areas the BBB calls the four C's: Character, Culture, Customers, and Community.
The BBB's Four C's Evaluation Criteria
Applicants are evaluated across four areas the BBB calls the four C's:
Character examines the character of the organization's leadership: how leaders live and lead with high ethical standards and hold themselves accountable. In our application it shows up in how leadership strives to live and lead with high character, how staff are empowered to carry out ethical business practices, and the tools, activities, and training that reinforce a commitment to character ethics as part of normal operations.
Culture looks at how an authentic internal culture is fostered: working toward a culture of trust through clarity of purpose, empowering employees, and providing opportunities for growth. That means uniting the team around the vision and mission, letting employees help shape expectations, and demonstrating commitment to individual employees.
Customers evaluates how the company prioritizes its relationship with the homeowners it serves: empowering employees to proactively address issues homeowners experience, going above and beyond to maintain transparency, and showing where a commitment to honesty was a positive differentiator in a challenging interaction.
Community measures the impact the organization is making in its community: the programs, contributions, and activities that return value to and support the community, how employees are encouraged and recognized for community service, and contributions of funds or in-kind services consistent with the organization's values.
About The 2026 BBB Torch Awards
An annual awards program from the Better Business Bureau that publicly recognizes local companies going above and beyond with their homeowners, community, and stakeholders. It is the highest honor the BBB can bestow on a company, designed to recognize businesses committed to the highest ethical standards and to advance marketplace trust.
Applicants are evaluated across four areas the BBB calls the four C's: Character (the character of leadership), Culture (how an authentic internal culture is fostered), Customers (how the company prioritizes its relationship with the people it serves), and Community (the impact the organization makes in its community). Each criterion requires written statements backed by specific examples, documentation, and evidence.
It is an independent, third-party validation of ethical business practices, not a self-reported claim. For homeowners choosing a service provider, a Torch Award finalist has been vetted against rigorous ethical standards by an organization that exists specifically to protect consumer trust.
The program is open to any for-profit company in the BBB's service area that has been in business three or more years and holds a current BBB rating of A-, A, or A+. Accreditation is not required, and nominations can come from customers, vendors, community leaders, or self-nomination, so the pool is large.
The award demands more than good intentions. The application requires documented evidence across all four criteria: specific leadership behaviors, defined internal systems, real examples of ethical decisions under pressure, and verifiable community contributions. Only a few companies can prove ethical behavior is systematic and consistent across every part of the business.
It means a company advanced through the full evaluation and was selected as one of a small number of finalists in its business-size category. The designation can be used in promotional materials for one year, following BBB standards, and finalists are identified with the year included, as in "2026 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics Finalist." Winners are announced at the awards ceremony.
James Hill grew up in Melbourne, Australia, watching his father, a tradesman, live by one rule: the way you do anything is the way you do everything. He carried that belief across the Pacific Ocean. Landing in New York, he developed a passion for the art of plumbing. This passion led to a profession and that profession led him to Phoenix, Arizona, where he would spend little time learning the market, getting to know the neighborhoods, and meeting members of the community who would all together coin the nickname "that Aussie plumber guy". And here we are half a decade later of that Aussie plumber guy being officially registered with the Secretary of State as The Aussie Plumber, licensed as a plumbing service provider for homeowners throughout Maricopa County.
Over 5,000 local residents call The Aussie Plumber their go-to plumber to protect or enhance the home of their loved ones. It is an honor that The Aussie Plumber does not take lightly.
Our Community, Our Neighbors
Aussie Up Billboard in Paradise Valley, AZ
Being a finalist for this award is part of something larger that we have been building in Phoenix for years. We believe being in giving back to the communities we serve.
Here is some of what that looks like:
Partnering with Recycle Your Bicycle to collect and provide refurbished bicycles for foster and adopted children across Phoenix.
Donating a portion of plumbing jobs during June to the ALS Foundation in Phoenix, supporting research, patient care, and family services. This cause is personal for our family.
Joining Desert Cove Elementary School's Trunk or Treat, where we turned one of our plumbing vans into a "Haunted Plumbing Van" for the kids.
Contributing $1,000 to Shadow Mountain High School to help repair musical instruments when the school had $8,000 in repairs and only an $800 annual budget.
Sharing practical homeowner education through The Aussie Plumber Podcast and our YouTube channel, because we believe you deserve to understand the plumbing systems inside your own home.
We hold a BBB A+ rating and have been voted a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave for four consecutive years, from 2022 through 2025. That recognition comes directly from your neighbors.
What Happens Next
The winners of the 2026 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics in Greater Arizona will be announced on November 19, 2026, at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.
No matter the outcome that evening, we already know the real result. You trusted us with your home. You told your neighbors about us. You gave us honest feedback, and we used it to get better. That is how we got here, one house at a time, one honest conversation at a time.
Thank you, Phoenix. We are proud to serve this community, and we are just getting started.
