Behind the scenes: our Nine employees experience ‘The Block’ dream in Daylesford

At Nine, we’re committed to making working life more rewarding for our people. Our ‘Employee Exclusives’ program is a way of getting closer to our incredible brands, offering unique experiences, behind-the-scenes access, and awesome perks.

In celebration of the 21st season of The Block, we kicked off the excitement with a special live event in our Sydney office, which was livestreamed across the country. Scott Cam, Shelley Craft, and this year’s Blockheads joined our employees to chat about insights on challenges, and all the memorable moments from the season. Attendees also experienced a special appearance from Bunnings to share their experience on the first year with The Block, followed by a barbeque hosted by Bunnings. The Block live event was designed to bring our employees closer to the program and the teams that bring productions like this to life for Australian audiences.

In conjunction with our live event, we ran two employee competitions in 2025 for the chance to win an exclusive getaway to visit The Block houses in Daylesford, Victoria. Three lucky Nine employees and their plus ones scored the ultimate prize, visiting the 5 x Block houses with return flights for interstate winners, 2-nights accommodation at a luxury hotel (the same hotel as the contestants after a winning Room Reveal), a Good Food voucher and exclusive merch from The Block 2025.

The prize package was designed to give our winners the full The Block experience.

For Bianca Keys, Programming and Acquisition Manager and winner of The Block trivia competition, the experience exceeded all expectations:

“Winning the Nine Employee Exclusives Trivia Competition was AMAZING, easily the best prize I have ever won! Flights to Melbourne, 2 nights at the Mineral Springs Hotel (where Matt and Robby stayed after a win) and touring The Block houses made for an AWESOME weekend.”

“The hotel was so beautiful, quiet and relaxing. Daylesford is a beautiful little country town and we loved just walking around checking out all the sights.

Our absolute highlight was touring the Block houses, the houses looked just as good in real life as they did on TV.

We spent two hours looking at every room and every inch of the backyards.

I highly recommend entering employee competitions, someone has to win…..still can’t believe it was me.”

The true highlight for all three of our winners was the private, up-close tour of the completed Block houses. This unique employee perk offers a perspective no viewer at home could ever get.

For Senior Graphic Designer and winner of our bathroom design competition, Liam Hitchcock, the experience unforgettable:

“I was thrilled to see my bathroom design progress through each stage of the voting process. Once I saw the final votes, I almost couldn’t believe it. I was genuinely surprised and grateful. Thank you to the Employee Exclusives team and everyone involved.

The opportunity to check out The Block builds up close, and experiencing Daylesford was both inspiring and unforgettable. It was amazing to see and feel the difference being in the houses compared to viewing them from the couch. The trip certainly gave my partner and me plenty of ideas for our own home one day.”

For a longtime fan like Jamie Freestone, Senior Reporter, News, and The Block trivia competition winner, the experience was a childhood dream realised:

“Having watched every season of The Block from the very start, winning a trip to Victoria to tour the 2025 Block site was a dream come true. The Nine Employee Exclusives team organised a fabulous prize and my trip to beautiful Daylesford was most enjoyable – just about everything was thought of and sorted. To top off the weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing WA’s team, Britt and Taz in House 3, for Nine News. Thanks to everyone involved.”

This competition is just one example of the unique experiences available exclusively to our employees at Nine.

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