Time to shine: 2024 InnovationAus Awards entries open


Entries to the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2024 are now open, kicking off a six-month program of celebration to showcase Australia’s best and brightest entrepreneurs and innovators. 

Now in its fourth year, the awards shine a light on the broad cross-section of industries covered in the editorial reporting of the InnovationAus.com website, including cybersecurity, energy and renewables, manufacturing, and software. 

It is a chance to stop and recognise the cutting-edge efforts of startups and small to medium-enterprises – and the people behind them – that are propelling the new economy forward right across the country. 

A black-tie celebration of Australian innovation, affectionately known as the ‘Oscars of innovation’, is attended by the who’s who of government, industry and academia, and will cap off the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence at Sydney’s The Venue Alexandria.  

Nine categories are now open, with more categories to be announced in the coming weeks. Entrants will also go into the running for the People’s Choice Award and for the top award of the night, the Australian Hero Award. 

BluGlass chair James Walker, Sydney School of Entrepreneurship chief executive Sarah Jones and Synchron co-founder Nicholas Opie

Thinking of entering? Here’s what you need to know for now: 

  • Early-bird entries are open from Thursday May 9 and will be accepted at the discounted early-bird rate until Friday May 24 
  • Entries for all categories will officially close on Friday June 21 
  • Finalists will be announced in August and will each be profiled on InnovationAus.com 
  • The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner celebration will be held at The Venue Alexandria on Wednesday October 30 

As is the case every year, an esteemed group of judges from across the industry will select finalists and winners for each of the 13 categories, with the Australian Hero Award selected from the pool of winners from each category. 

Past judges are leaders in their various fields – from venture capital and finance to research and academia and startups and corporates. The group of judges for the 2024 awards will be announced in the coming weeks. 

“Hosting these awards and having the opportunity to hear from hundreds of like-minded people working on frontier technology is a privilege that will never get old. I always come away more inspired than ever.” InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod said. 

Last year, Laser diode manufacturer BluGlass (Jim Haden) took home the Australian Hero Award, joining past winners Samsara Eco (Paul Riley), and Q-CTRL (Michael Biercuk) and Sea Forest (Sam Elsom) – who shared the award in the inaugural year. 

Other past winners, just to name a few, include Advanced Navigation, Synchron, DroneShield, Five Cast, Quantum Brilliance and Gilmour Space –companies all doing great things worthy of your attention.

You can relive all the moments from last year’s celebration – including some rather interesting dance moves – here and read about the hundreds of winners and finalists over the last four years here 

Entries for the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence 2024 are now open and will close on Friday June 21. You can enter the below categories here, and if you want to be part of the celebration, you can purchase tickets here. 

Categories: 

  • Cybersecurity 
  • Defence, Dual-Use Technology & Space 
  • Energy & Renewables 
  • Food & AgriTech 
  • GovTech Project, Product or Service 
  • Health Tech 
  • Manufacturing Innovation 
  • Software Innovation 
  • Translation Hero Award 
  • And more to be announced! 

The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence are proudly supported by ACS, Technology Council of Australia, Reason Group, Q-CTRL and IP Australia. 

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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