What a pleasure it is to announce that Australian business legend Catherine Livingstone and Chief Defence Scientist Professor Tanya Monro have kindly agreed to act as Patrons for the 2025 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence.
With a record number of entries submitted for the fifth annual Awards program, judging is now underway. The winners of the 11 categories will be announced at the special black-tie gala dinner at the spectacular Sydney Town Hall on 27 November.
Find out more about the Awards program here. Or, you can purchase your tickets to the gala dinner here, and network with 500 entrepreneurs, deep tech researchers, policymakers and venture capitalists.
Ms Livingstone and Professor Monro will jointly host a special VIP pre-dinner event to honour our 2025 finalists and to mix and mingle with these outstanding entrepreneurs and researchers.
Catherine Livingstone AO is a former chair of the Commonwealth Bank and Telstra, with a long career before that as CEO at medical device pioneer Cochlear. She is currently Chancellor at the University of Technology, Sydney and serves as a director on multiple boards, including technology firms Quasar Satellite Technologies and Saluda Medical.
She has previously served as president of both the Business Council of Australia and the Chief Executive Women, and has held board positions at Macquarie Group, Goodman Fielder and Rural Press.
Professor Tanya Monro AC is the head of the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and capability manager for Innovation, Science and Technology within the Defence department.
She won a Eureka Prize for interdisciplinary research in 2015, a Prime Minister’s Prize for Physical Science in 2008, and was South Australia’s Australian of the Year in 2011.
Professor Monro’s previous roles include deputy vice-chancellor of Research and Innovation and Australian Research Council (ARC) Georgina Sweet Laureate Fellow at the University of South Australia. She was the inaugural Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing from 2008 to 2014.
Ms Livingstone said Australia’s future prosperity depended on the nation’s ability to “translate knowledge into impact” through collaboration across research, business and government.
“The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence provide national recognition for those leading this effort,” Ms Livingstone said.
“I’m pleased to serve as a Patron for the first time for the 2025 program and to support the visibility of innovators building capability, advancing technology and contributing to Australia’s long-term competitiveness,” she said.
Professor Monro, who has been a champion of dual-use technology development as part of her mission to get new capability into the hands of our Defence personnel, says that great ideas are not enough – that “it’s the ability to deliver outcomes that matters”.
“The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence play an important role in recognising innovators and entrepreneurs who translate research into capability – whether that’s in defence, advanced manufacturing, health, or sustainability,” Professor Monro said.
“I’m pleased to serve as Patron for the 2025 program and support this national platform to champion sovereign innovation and celebrate the diverse talent shaping our future,” she said.
Finalists for the 2025 InnovationAus Awards for Excellence will be announced in September across 11 categories. Each finalist will be profiled in the pages of InnovationAus in the lead-up to the Gala Dinner.
- AI Technology
- Defence and Dual-Use Technology
- Energy & Renewables
- Food & AgriTech
- GovTech Project, Product or Service
- Health Tech
- Software Innovation
- People’s Choice Award
- Translation Hero
- Australian Hero
The InnovationAus 2025 Awards for Excellence are proudly supported by ACS, PEXA Group, the CSIRO ON Program, Griffith Hack, TechnologyOne, Q-CTRL, National AI Centre and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.