Ten refreshed award categories and dozens of contenders. Hundreds of projects worth billions of dollars. More than 350 people dressed to the nines. One amazing night of celebration and connection. Were you there?

These critical works to widen two kilometres of the Princes Freeway in Victoria introduced two new ramps, a two-span bridge, signalised intersections and safety features. During delivery of the works, principal consultant BG& E worked collaboratively with principal contractor Symal and client Major Road Projects Victoria. This robust collaborative relationship resulted in high-quality designs, dramatic improvements in safety and a team that outperformed against time, cost and quality key performance indicators.

A complex, ambitious multidisciplinary project, Sydney Modern was delivered through close collaboration between multiple parties. Arup developed strong relationships with three clients, designers across various continents and time zones, and many project partners to ensure Sydney Modern opened on time, in December 2022. Arup’s team overcame significant site constraints and challenged standard design practices to deliver innovative engineering solutions, none of which were possible without genuine, cohesive teamwork. The result? An extraordinary new public space for people to experience and enjoy art in all its forms.

Civil, structural and asset management consultants from Tonkin’s Adelaide, Mildura and Berri offices worked with state government agencies and 10 local councils across Victoria and South Australia before, during and after the 2022-23 River Murray flooding. While downstream communities had time to prepare, the predictions of peak water levels became more alarming as the water neared. With support from a range of stakeholders, including local contractors, Tonkin facilitated the rapid construction of temporary levees to protect Riverland communities and critical infrastructure from the flood waters.

Dr Michael Vinod is Senior Geotechnical Engineer at CIMIC Group’s specialist engineering and technical services business, EIC Activities. Michael’s achievements include the completion of a groundbreaking PhD from the University of Technology Sydney in geotechnical engineering, with a focus on landfill settlement prediction for transport infrastructure. Michael’s integration of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar technology into monitoring strategies now extends to a diverse projects range of projects. In addition to Michael’s technical prowess, the award recognizes his mentorship of junior staff, publication of influential research papers and dedication to innovation. 

Gmetrik is an intuitive technology platform which increases productivity by connecting and integrating suppliers and contractors directly to a ‘live’ collaborative design team. Developed by boutique structural engineering consultancy Geotron, Gmetrik provides ‘real time’ project costings and environmental metrics during the design process. Importantly, Gmetrik generates median pricing to remove the guesswork at the tender stage. Gmetrik supports the development of sustainable and efficient designs, reducing rework and budget overruns and saving time, money and emissions.

As the Vice President and General Manager for Jacobs People and Places Solutions for Australia and New Zealand from 2018 to July 2023, Rich Hayers championed and amplified an ambitious diversity and inclusion agenda. Rich was the driving force behind several significant achievements, improving gender balance in key management positions, overseeing Jacobs’ Reconciliation Action Plan and actively promoting the LGBTI+ Annual Workplace Equality Index. As a genuinely inclusive leader, Rich has inspired teams across Australia to be inclusive, fair and respectful by example.

Australia’s healthcare sector accounts for 7% of national emissions. Arup was commissioned to support the aspirational ‘net zero by 2035’ targets of the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and the Northern Sydney Local Health District. Arup developed a clear decarbonisation roadmap, underpinned by detailed mapping of emissions across three scopes – the first time this work has been undertaken for health organisations in New South Wales. Arup’s work transcends healthcare with applicability across other complex organisations and raises the bar for policy makers by providing robust data and models to drive decarbonisation at scale.

Recognising that racial equality requires proactive action, Arup made a fundamental shift from being a non-racist firm to an anti-racist one. In collaboration with Diversity Council Australia, Arup has developed a best practice Race, Ethnicity and Culture Action Plan. By centring the voices of racially marginalised people and hearing their experiences of workplace racism, Arup has developed an action plan that directly addresses the barriers and inequalities within its systems, processes and workplace behaviour.

Melbourne’s Burnley Tunnel features an innovative pacemaker lighting system that merges aesthetic design, data analytics and human factors to enhance road safety. Unlike traditional, static tunnel lighting, the pacemaker system, powered by LED lighting, adapts to real-time traffic conditions to optimise traffic flow and enable a safer and smoother driving experience. The impact on road safety has been compelling, with a 45% reduction in heavy vehicle breakdowns. Reductions to fuel consumption, fewer road incidents and lower maintenance costs, affirm the system’s success.

A former co-vice president and board member of Consult Australia, Stuart Manley is an experienced leader, director and engineer with a career spanning 35-plus years. Stuart has held executive, project delivery and governance roles in small and global businesses, and has delivered complex multi-disciplinary projects in excess of $5 billion. Stuart was chair of Consult Australia’s Nominations and Remunerations Committee and contributed to CEO succession planning and implementation, as well as important reviews of the association’s strategy, charter and Code of Ethics. A mentor and advisor to many, Stuart has had an enduring influence on the engineering profession in Australia.

The awards for small, medium and large firm of the year are awarded to the firms with the highest scores, in their categories, across all submissions.

An emerging structural engineering consultancy, Geotron was established in 2015 by Peter Geoghegan. Today, Geotron has eight employees who have amassed an impressive portfolio of projects. These range from schools to sports facilities, mid-rise residential to bespoke homes, community infrastructure to industrial developments. Geotron’s intuitive technology platform, Gmetrik, was presented with the Planning for a Digital Future Award for a solution that supports the development of sustainable and efficient designs, reducing rework and budget overruns. This is the second consecutive year that Geotron has been named Small Firm of the Year.

Tonkin is an engineering and environmental professional services firm with more than 200 employees in eight offices across Australia. Tonkin’s team is committed to serving local communities, and designs intelligent solutions for the buildings, environmental, land development, maritime and riverine, transport, waste, and water sectors. Tonkin’s ethos was on display during its work to construct temporary levees to protect communities and critical infrastructure during devastating floods along the Murray River and was awarded the Collaboration for Project Excellence – Working with Government for its efforts.

SMEC’s origins date back over 70 years to the iconic Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, recognised as one of the civil engineering wonders of the modern world. Today, SMEC is a trusted partner for major highway projects all over the world. SMEC’s transformative pacemaker lighting solution on Melbourne’s Burnley Tunnel was recognised with the Innovation for Excellence Award. SMEC’s approach presents a blueprint for broader applications from highways to city streets, in Australia and globally, to regulate speed, reshape road safety, modify driver behaviour and enhance energy efficiency in infrastructure.

The Consult Australia Future Leader Program runs for six months each year, during which time a cohort of young professionals attend workshops and work on joint projects to grow their skills and networks. 

The joint projects asked each team to establish and document best practice fossil fuel free construction and maintenance in a technical review, to evaluate Transport for NSW current standard practice and suggest innovative fossil fuel free solutions.

Each joint project was judged by an esteemed industry panel, with 400-plus Consult Australia members also choosing a winning team in the ‘People’s Choice’ category..