Since 2012, the iTnews Benchmark Awards have celebrated technology excellence, recognising both IT projects and leaders that have transformed Australian business.
At both the Benchmark Awards conference and gala dinner, IT leaders and their teams will have the opportunity to gain recognition for their ambition, innovation and the value they have delivered to government, industry and the public.
The 2025 iTnews Benchmark Awards conference and gala will be presented on the March 27 at Doltone House, Hyde Park Sydney.
This year we will be recognising both the projects and the people behind Australia’s best IT initiatives.
The 2025 iTnews Benchmark Awards project finalists are…
Best Federal Government Project
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) – The Modernising Insights and Intelligence (MII) program
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) – Election Systems Modernisation program
Clean Energy Regulator (CER) – Agile IT operations
CSIRO – Virga high-performance computer
Best State Government Project
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) of Western Australia – Next generation warnings and the Australian Warning System Project
NSW Department of Communities and Justice (NSW DCJ) – infoShare: Cloud-based application for secure data collection
Office of the Coordinator-General (Queensland) – AI-powered document classification
Skills SA & Department of State Development – Empowering self-service analytics through data intelligence
Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland Government) – Queensland Digital Licence app
Queensland Police Service – QPS QLiTE NextGen Mobile Application – Improved domestic & family violence (DFV) response
Department of Transport and Planning (VIC) – VicTraffic: Real-time emergency and traffic information for Victorian road users
Cenitex – Cloud FinOps
Best Local Government Project
City of Sydney – Public Access IT (PAIT): Providing the community with access to IT
City of Sydney – Transforming the booking experience for community venues
Local Government Association of Queensland – Early warning SMS alerts for rising floodwater at Bloomfield Bridge
Moorabool Shire Council – Property and rating system for the Victorian local government sector
City of Tea Tree Gully Council – Property and rating transformation project
Best Finance Project
Flexicommercial – 365 Collect implementation for enhanced debt recovery
ANZ – EnsayoAI: Accelerating software delivery with proprietary GenAI agent
ANZ – ANZ GitHub Copilot adoption
Helia – Elevating Helia’s customer onboarding experience
Commonwealth Bank of Australia – ChatIT: The future of tech support
Queensland Country Bank – Workplace digital experience transformation
Westpac – Pay with Points
Marsh Group – Email triage and renewal quote automation
Colonial First State – Innovative data solution: Turning data into an asset
HBF Health Insurance – The launch of HBF’s transformation program.
Best Industrial Project
GHD – CDE Synchroniser for seamless data integration
BAE Systems – Hunter Class Frigate Program: Digital shipbuilding platform
Kennedy Group – Improves efficiency and response times for vital services
Transurban – Using advanced analytics to optimise energy usage of a road tunnel ventilation system
Transurban – Transurban Data Enablement Project
NRW Civil and Mining – Driving efficiency and decarbonisation
SA Water – Keeping Connected Program
SA Water – Advancing SA Water’s data & analytics maturity
Best Energy Project
Endeavour Energy – FLISR: A self-healing network
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – The new Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).
SA Power Networks – Cloud-based remote connectivity and high-speed internet solutions.
SA Power Networks – Protection of users and faster response.
Best Education Project
Guildford Grammar School – Guildford Grammar Digital Transformation Project
University of Newcastle – AI-Powered University Operations Innovation Project
RMIT University – SAMS Global System Upgrade Program (SAMS UP)
Brisbane Grammar School – Scholarian: A school information system
UNSW – University of New South Wales advances research and innovation with cloud skills
Best Retail Project
Reece Group – Enterprise Cloud System Migration Project
Eagers Automotive and CKDA – Business continuity through acquisition
Norths Collective – Native Customer App Launch
IRONMAN 4X4 – PRISM Project – Building a foundation for growth
Best Telecommunications & Media Project
Foxtel – Hubbl: Entertainment experience and operating system
NBN Co – Data Simplicity
Optus – Unified Data Platform: From legacy data platforms to modern data lakehouse
Connectivity Innovation Network & NSW Telco Authority – Rapidly deployable Large Area Wi-Fi (LAWIFI) Project
Best Health Project
eHealth NSW – Engage Outpatients: Digitising referrals for better health outcomes
Northern Mallee Health Connect – Virtual care closer to home
Johnson & Johnson MedTech – Project Dynamic: Customer Experience Management (CXM) Platform
DPV Health – Hacking our own network to protect healthcare data
LifeFlight Australia – LifeFlight Single Source of Truth Operations Dashboard
Department of Health Victoria – Faster recognition of thunderstorm asthma, using syndromic surveillance powered by natural language processing
Best Not for Profit Project
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood – ALiVe: Pioneering automated solutions for life-saving production
Australian Red Cross – Australian Red Cross Digital Transformation
Uniting (NSW/ACT) – AR smart glasses for telehealth in residential aged care
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) – CyberSimple: Cyber support for Small, Medium and Family Business (SMFB) to prevent attacks and scams
Australian Financial Complaints Authority – IT Transformation – Integrated Case Management System and Member/Complainant Portals
UnitingCare Queensland – BlueCare Transformation
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Congratulations to all 2025 iTnews Benchmark Awards project finalists. The ‘people’ leadership awards finalists are coming soon!
We have extended nominations for individual IT leader awards until January 24 2025. Submit your applications for the people categories here.