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Project Awards

Project Awards

The project awards celebrate success in Australia’s infrastructure projects and services across nine categories.

Advisory Excellence

Recognises excellence in advisory services on a major infrastructure project, policy or reform in a qualifying professional services or public sector discipline including (but not limited to) engineering, design, legal and policy advice.

Eligibility

  • The advisory service must have been successfully completed or delivered during 2026. The broader project may be ongoing or partially complete. Please note, this award is specifically for excellence in the advisory services, which may be a component of a larger project. In this instance, only the advisory component will be awarded, not the broader project
  • This advice must not be predominately financial in nature. Nominations of financial advice are encouraged to be submitted in the Financial Excellence category
  • Note: generally, the Judging Panel will consider the Advisory Excellence and Financial Excellence as mutually exclusive

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • A unique set of issues/challenges/opportunities that the advisory services is seeking to solve for
  • A distinctive or ground-breaking component to the advice provided
  • A direct beneficial and measurable outcome resulting from initiative or innovation in the advisory services (please also state who this outcome benefited)
  • Extra regard will be given to advisory services that resulted in new, replicable best practices for industry

  1. Please state the nature of the advisory services being nominated for this category (e.g. engineering, design, strategic, cultural, legal or policy advice)
  2. Please list all organisations that should be recognised for their contribution to the nominated piece of advice
  3. Please list the client who received the advisory services (as specific and granular as possible i.e. a specific department)
  4. Describe (in 250 words or less) how the advisory services meet the judging criteria

Financial Excellence

Recognises exceptional advice and/or innovation in the financing, structuring or transaction of a major infrastructure project.

Eligibility

  • The nominated advice must have been delivered or a transaction reached financial close during 2026. The broader project may be ongoing or partially complete. Please note, this award is for specific financial excellence which may be a component of a larger project. In this case, just the financial component will be awarded, not the broader project
  • This advice must be predominately financial in nature – nominations of other advice (e.g. engineering, design, strategic, legal or policy advice) are encouraged to submit in the Advisory Excellence category
  • Note: generally, the Judging Panel will consider the Advisory Excellence and Financial Excellence as mutually exclusive

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • A unique set of financial settings or a transaction of unprecedented size, scale or complexity that the financial service or advice is seeking to solve for
  • Beneficial, measurable, and enduring financial outcomes
  • The financial advisors went beyond a typical advisory role and provided a unique or innovative solution, structure, or outcome. Particular regard will be given if this solution, structure or outcome can become a replicable solution for industry

  1. Please state the nature of the financial services being nominated for this category (e.g. financing, refinancing, restructuring, executing a sale, etc)
  2. Please list all organisations that should be recognised for their financial advice or service on the project
  3. Please list the client who received the financial advice or services (as specific and granular as possible i.e. a specific department)
  4. Describe (in 250 words or less) how the financial services meet the judging criteria

Policy & Reform Excellence

Recognises a policy, reform, program or regulatory initiative that seeks to address an identified problem, challenge or opportunity to materially improve how infrastructure is planned, funded, procured, approved or delivered across Australia.

Eligibility

  • The policy or reform must respond to a clear need (e.g. problem, challenge or
    opportunity) in the infrastructure sector, and is designed to deliver lasting
    benefits for infrastructure users and taxpayers
  • The policy or reform must have a direct and material impact on how
    infrastructure is delivered
  • It has been delivered or commissioned by government at any level (including
    cross-jurisdictional initiatives), a government entity, or an independent regulator,
    statutory body, commission or agency
  • Examples may include a commissioned independent review, a published
    framework, standard or guideline, a program or scheme in operation, legislative
    reform in operation, or a published government strategy or policy
  • Draft or in-progress work, such as discussion papers or consultation drafts, is not
    eligible
  • Policies or reforms which are only applicable to a single project are not eligible
  • The policy or reform must have been delivered in 2025-2026

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • The policy or reform responds to a well-evidenced social or economic problem,
    challenge or opportunity in the infrastructure sector. It addresses that problem,
    and outcomes for users and taxpayers would be worse without it
  • Quantitative or qualitative evidence that it is achieving its intended outcomes,
    such as lower cost or delay. For recently introduced policies, evidence of early
    effect is acceptable. Stronger, measurable evidence will be given extra regard
  • For policy proposals, a strong analytical evidence base will be required outlining
    how the proposal addresses a clear policy gap to provide materially better
    outcomes
  • Extra regard will be given to policies that demonstrate best practice and/or are
    the first of their kind
  • Extra regard will be given to policies with cross-jurisdictional relevance or the
    potential to be adopted elsewhere

  1. Please describe the policy or reform, outlining the identified problem, challenge
    or opportunity it responds to and how it operates (or is intended to operate) in
    practice
  2. Please list the entity or entities being recognised for this award
  3. Please provide evidence that the policy or reform is the most effective solution to
    the defined problem and, where applicable, is in effect in practice, detailing its
    impact to date
  4. Briefly explain (250 words or less) how the policy or reform meets the judging
    criteria

Government Partnerships Excellence

Recognises excellence in the delivery of infrastructure or a service through a genuine partnership between government and the private sector, using this partnership to overcome challenges or exploit opportunities.

Eligibility

  • The partnership must have been completed, delivered or in a steady state during 2026. Judges will also consider a partnership that has changed or been optimised during 2026
  • The partnership must include at least one Government entity and one private sector entity

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • A genuine partnership or collaboration that demonstrates clear benefits, either directly to the end user or through the efficient and effective use of public resources
  • A unique approach to partnership either by a new structure or enduring collaboration that will continue to provide beneficial outcomes
  • A partnership or approach that resulted in new, replicable best practices for industry
  • Extra regard will be given to a partnership or approach that demonstrated a strong collaboration with First Nations peoples, or resulted in significant benefits to First Nations communities

  1. Please list the government entities being recognised for this award
  2. Please list the private sector entities being recognised for this award
  3. Briefly explain (250 words or less) why this partnership meets the judging criteria

Contractor Excellence

Recognises exceptional work completed by a contractor including the achievement of innovative, sustainable, safety, or quality objectives.

Eligibility

  • The project must have been fully completed and operational during 2026
  • The project should have an exemplary safety record
  • Projects must be major infrastructure in nature (while judges will use some discretion, this will be defined as $300 million and above)

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • Meets or exceeds traditional time, quality, community and cost objectives
  • A unique set of circumstances/challenges/opportunities in which the project was being delivered
  • Innovative techniques that considerably aided in the planning, delivery, or safety outcomes that exceeded the project’s objectives
  • Advancements in sustainable or carbon reducing practices that contribute to the construction sector’s responsibility to decarbonise
  • Exceptional community engagement that resulted in a clear, discernible, positive outcome for the project
  • Strong partnerships with or benefits to First Nations organisations, peoples, or communities

  1. Please list the contractors and constructors being recognised for this award
  2. Briefly explain (250 words or less) how the nomination meets the judging criteria

Operator & Service Provider Excellence

Recognises excellence in the delivery of services or management of operations of a major infrastructure asset.

Eligibility

  • The project or service must have been operating during 2026. Operations or services must have commenced, been optimised, or achieved persistently strong outcomes during 2026

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • A unique set of issues/challenges/opportunities that the operations or services is seeking to solve for
  • Operations or services that persistently delivered quantifiable exceptional outcomes
  • Extra regard will be given to operations or services that resulted in new, replicable, best practices for industry

  1. Please list the service providers, operations or management organisations being recognised for this award
  2. Briefly explain (250 words or less) how the nomination meets the judging criteria

Innovation Excellence

Recognises innovation in a major infrastructure project or service. This may be through the use of technology, intelligent engineering, innovative business models, system optimisation,
modernisation, or disruption.

Eligibility

  • The specific innovation must be complete and operational during 2026 even though the broader project may not yet be complete
  • The project must be genuinely innovative being the first development or deployment in Australia
  • This category can include capital and non-capital solutions

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • A unique set of issues/challenges/opportunities that the project is seeking to solve for
  • Genuine innovation being the first of its kind in Australia
  • The use of technological or innovative solutions to improve the design or delivery of infrastructure or the associated operational outcomes
  • Extra regard will be given to an innovation that resulted in new, replicable best practices for industry

  1. Please list the organisation/s that contributed to innovation in the project or service
  2. Briefly explain (250 words or less) how the project meets the judging criteria

Industry Choice

Voted on by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s membership and the attendees of the 2027 Awards Dinner, the award recognises a project that demonstrates exceptional customer outcome and/or community benefits. The judging panel will determine the shortlist.

Eligibility

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • The project must have been fully completed and operational during 2026
  • This category is generally awarded to the project as a whole, not a component of a larger project

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • The unique attributes or conditions that make this project stand out as excellent
  • How the project made a positive impact on a community or a distinct benefit to the infrastructure end users. This may be through the delivery of the infrastructure itself or through positive community engagement/outcomes during construction or operations and may also include benefits to First Nations peoples or communities

  1. Please list all organisations involved in the success of the project (this can include both delivery and client-side participants)
  2. Briefly explain (250 words or less) how this project excels in the judging criteria

Project of the Year

The coveted Project of the Year Award recognises a major, transformational infrastructure project, transaction or policy reform that has been exceptional across all phases of delivery.

Eligibility

  • The project must have been completed and/or began operations during 2026. The project must be fully complete and successfully providing its intended service
  • The Judging Panel will take it as a given that all projects nominated in this category will have been delivered on time, on budget and to scope
  • This award is given to the entire project, not a smaller part of a bigger project
  • The projects that will be finalised for this category will be no surprise to the sector

 

Nominations will be judged based on their ability to demonstrate:

  • The successful delivery of a high-quality infrastructure project that excels at every stage of delivery or execution
  • How the project fundamentally changed the landscape of the sector, place, or policy environment in which it is operating
  • The project is of significant scale, scope, or reach and resulted in significant benefits to the end user, or the community it serves

  1. Please list all organisations involved in the success of the project (this should include both delivery and client-side participants)
  2. Briefly explain (500 words or less) how this project excels in the judging criteria

Past winners include:

  • Melbourne Metro (2026)
  • Sydney Metro City (2025)
  • Prince of Wales Hospital Acute Services Building (2024)
  • Sydney Airport Transaction (2023)
  • Bruce Highway, Haughton River Floodplain Upgrade Project (2022)
  • New Parallel Runway (2021)
  • Sydney Metro Northwest (2020)
  • The WestConnex Transaction (2019)

Contact Information

Damon Luu

Head of Events