2017 Winners and Excellence Awardees

Friday 5 September 2025 | THE FULLERTON HOTEL SYDNEY

Award Categories


EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (1-99 EMPLOYEES)


Winner: Excite Holidays

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

AdRoll
Carman’s
Corporate Technology Services
DDG
JCurve Solutions
Learning Seat
VGC Food Group Pty Ltd

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (100-999 EMPLOYEES)


Winner: Lindt Australia

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Adshel Street Furniture
Credit Union Australia
Dexus
Employsure
HESTA
NSW Business Chamber
oOH!media
QinetiQ
Roche

ACCUMULATE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (≥1000 EMPLOYEES)


Winner: PepsiCo

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Accenture
ALDI Australia
Assetlink Group
Mantra Group
PETstock
The Star Entertainment Group
TLC Healthcare

Sponsored by

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (PUBLIC SECTOR & NFP)


Winner: Cancer Council NSW

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Adelaide Shores
BankVic
icare
Infoxchange
Key Assets – The Children’s Services Provider
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation
Port Stephens Council

BEST CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY


Winner: PepsiCo

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Australian Unity
Brisbane Motorway Services
Casey City Council
Defence Bank Ltd
Medibank Private
Vodafone Hutchison Australia
Westpac Group

BEST GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM


Winner: Broadspectrum

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

AMP Adviser Academy
Flight Centre Travel Group
Philip Morris International
PwC Australia
Quantium
Telstra Corporation Ltd
Winson Group (incorporating Signet and insignia)

BEST HEALTH & WELLBEING PROGRAM


Winner: Youi

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Anglican Care
Arts Centre Melbourne, Arts Wellbeing Collective
Colliers International
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Deloitte People &Performance
Mercy Health
Sydney Trains

AFTERBURNER BEST LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM


Winner: Special Broadcasting Services

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Adshel Street Furniture
ANSTO Training &Development Team
Australian Unity Human Resources Team
Deloitte People &Performance
Healthscope
IKEA
McDonald’s Australia Ltd
Vodafone Hutchison Australia

Sponsored by

BEST LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM


Winner: Bakers Delight

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Campbell Arnott’s
Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
Edwards Lifesciences
Griffith University and AMP Partnership
Medibank Private
Merivale
Rio Tinto Iron Ore (WA)

BEST RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN


Winner: International Convention Centre Sydney

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Accenture
Cox Purtell Staffing Services
Inghams Group Ltd
McDonald’s Australia Ltd
PwC Australia
Telstra Corporation Ltd
WSP Australia Pty Ltd

SOLTERBECK BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION PROGRAM


Winner: Employsure

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

BankVic Sapphire Awards
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Connect Hearing
Merivale
The Star Entertainment Group
Western Power
Westpac Group

Sponsored by

CEB GLOBAL BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY


Winner: ISS Facility Services

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Blackmores HRM Project Team
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
HUGO BOSS
IAG Capability & Learning Team
Mantra Group
McDonald’s Australia Ltd
WSP Australia Pty Ltd

Sponsored by


SMARTGROUP BEST WORKPLACE DIVERSITY & INCLUSION PROGRAM


Winner: Vision Australia

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
Crown Resorts
Deloitte People & Performance
EY
HESTA
New South Wales Police Force Human Resources Command Workforce Relations and Strategy
The Star Entertainment Group

Sponsored by


BEST WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM


Winner: Dexus

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Accenture
Family Planning Victoria
Medibank Private
NSW Business Chamber
performHR
Philip Morris International
Roche Products

DAVIDSON AUSTRALIAN HR DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR


Winner: Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, NSW Police Force

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Neil Baker, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers
Greg Barnier, icare
Fiona Crawford,InfoTrack
Gwilym Davies, Brisbane Airport Corporation
Alex Diab, NSW Business Chamber
Laurence Halabut, Toyota Finance Australia
Denise Hanlon, Former HR Director – Vocus Group
Jane Keating, Queensland Treasury Corporation
Mathew Paine, International Convention Centre Sydney

Sponsored by

HAYS HUMAN RESOURCES AUSTRALIAN HR MANAGER OF THE YEAR


Winner: Jane Shand, Endeavour Foundation

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Helen Calladine, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Joanna Copeland, The Citadel Group Ltd
Richard Griffiths, New South Wales Police Force
Jane Klumpp, Brisbane Motorway Services
Che Lewer, Heinemann Australia
Kariss O’Connor-Kerr, Honeywell
Lacey Schulz, Deloitte People &Performance|

Sponsored by

ELLE BELLE RECRUITMENT AUSTRALIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR


Winner: Lachlan Fleming, Endeavour Drinks Group, Woolworths Ltd

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Jessica Amanoel, Merivale
Camille Hughes, Quantium
Brett Johnson, University of Southern Queensland
Sam Johnson, PwC
Daniel Ko, The Fred Hollows Foundation
Karley McCormick, Access Community Services Ltd
Chris Purdy, Mantra Group

Sponsored by

AUSTRALIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO) OF THE YEAR


Winner: Trent Innes, Xero

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Stephen Canning, JCurve Solutions
Stephen Capello, BankVic
Lyndell Fogarty, performHR
Aurora Fonte, Assetlink
Gail Ker OAM, Access Community Services Ltd
Philip Noble, Queensland Treasury Corporation
Lou Pascuzzi, TLC Healthcare

PEOPLE + CULTURE STRATEGIES AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (≤1000 EMPLOYEES)


Winner: Queensland Treasury Corporation

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Amadeus IT Pacific Human Resources Team
BankVic People & Culture Team
Employsure
GrainCorp Operations Ltd – Human Resources Team, Storage & Logistics
NSW Business Chamber HR Team
Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd
Xero Australia

Sponsored by

IRONFISH AUSTRALIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR (>1000 EMPLOYEES)


Winner: International Convention Centre Sydney

EXCELLENCE AWARDEES

Endeavour Drinks Group People & Culture Team
Honeywell HR Team
ING Direct
New South Wales Police Force Human Resources Command
PepsiCo
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT)
Vocus Group

Sponsored by