The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) has announced the winners of this year’s 2020 Project Management Achievement Awards (PMAAs), which recognise, honour, and promote outstanding achievement in program and project delivery.
With a revised submission criteria and new award categories, this year AIPM received one of the highest number of entrants since the inception of the awards in 2000.
CEO of AIPM, Elizabeth Foley, said the calibre of entrants this year was truly exceptional.
“I would like to recognise and congratulate all of the winners of this year’s awards and the hard work of the professionals who drove these projects forward and delivered them to such a high standard,” she said.
Both individual and organisational PMAA winners were announced across 13 categories on 25 November, in the Institute’s first-ever fully virtual event.
“While this year’s event was in contrast to previous years’, it was truly a night to be remembered, where project professionals across Australia connected online to recognise and honour the 2020 winners,” said Foley.
“After such a challenging year, the awards provided an opportunity to reflect on the year that was and highlight the project successes on both an individual and organisational level. As we look to the new year and economic recovery there has never been a more pertinent time to celebrate project success.”
This year the prestigious Project of the Year Award went to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Project by the RPS and Australian Federal Police.
The ACCCE was announced by the Prime Minister on 25 March 2018, as a measure of the 2018-19 Commonwealth Budget.
The Centre brings together a world-leading approach, incorporating key stakeholders and partners, and driving a collective effort to counter the epidemic of child exploitation.
It provides an integrated and collaborative capability to ensure cohesion by using the expertise of federal, state and territory, non-government agencies and private industry, and by allowing a cross-pollination of resources, knowledge and skillsets between stakeholders.
Inside the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) (image supplied).
An AIPM Judge commented that an outstanding level of project management skill and expertise was applied by RPS and the AFP to deliver an innovative and technically capable policing facility.
“The ACCCE Project helped deliver a priority government initiative by accommodating a newly-established specialist team of partner agencies; the excellent application of project management processes helped ensure that the facility was delivered to schedule and budget, yet maximised innovative features to aid the mental health and wellbeing of staff performing challenging work,” they said.
“Specific aspects of the project that positioned it as the National Project of the Year included careful scope, schedule and design management that applied lessons learned from previous projects to compress complex building works to meet a demanding schedule.”
“The project managers applied their leadership skills and positive attitudes to manage users from multiple agencies and specialist providers of infrastructure, security and ICT systems. It was evident that excellent project communication and stakeholder management were critical enablers for jointly identifying, analysing and selecting options that ultimately delivered an outstanding environment for the ACCCE to carry out its important work.”
RPS Group commented that protecting kids from harm in the digital age is becoming more and more complex, and their challenge was to design and deliver the best possible environment from which the ACCCE, AFP and their partners can counter the threat.
“Unique in that the Centre would bring a number of inter-agency stakeholders with different requirements together for the first time, our team was able to draw on significant experience with ‘joint force’ defence initiatives to align stakeholder requirements and guide the design and delivery process,” the group detailed.
“We’re extremely proud to have contributed our expertise to a project that is helping make the online world a safer place. We worked as part of a three-way collaboration with AFP and the builder (Built QLD), to ensure that the most effective and operationally appropriate decisions could be made to achieve the best outcomes. Recognition from industry at this year’s Project Management Achievement Awards is just icing on the cake.”
2020 NATIONAL WINNERS:
Project of the Year – Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Project | RPS and Australian Federal Police
Individual awards:
Future Project Leader (Under 35 years) – Kelly Poniris
Project Professional – Adam Tull
Senior Project Professional – Nick de Vries
Project awards:
Construction/Engineering – UNSW Lower Campus Sciences and Engineering Precinct | Capital Insight Pty Limited
Government – Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Project | RPS and Australian Federal Police
ICT/Telecommunications – University Meeting Experience Improvement Project | University of Tasmania – Information Technology Services
Transformation – TasNetworks Operating Model Improvement Project | TasNetworks Pty Ltd
Small Projects – Route 96 Nicholson St Asset Relocation | CitiPower Pty Ltd
Regional Projects – Geelong Arts Centre – Ryrie Street Redevelopment | Development Victoria
Community Service and/or Community Development – SwanCare Leisure Precinct, Bentley Park | NS Group
Sustainable Projects – The University of Melbourne, Old Quadrangle Redevelopment, Melbourne | Aurecon
Professional Services – Coles Group Payment Services Governance Capability | Agile Management Office | Coles Group
Project Management Office (PMO) – Capital Planning & Delivery PMO | Telstra
2020 CHAPTER WINNERS:
ACT Project of the Year – Defence PFAS Investigation and Management Program | RPS Group
NSW Project of the Year – HMAS Brisbane Post Delivery Upgrade | Destroyer Enterprise
NT Project of the Year – Artificial Reefs | Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics & Harris Kmon Solutions
QLD Project of the Year – Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Project | RPS and Australian Federal Police
SA Project of the Year – Scheduling and Mobility Project (SaM) | SA Power Networks
TAS Project of the Year – TasNetworks Operating Model Improvement Project | TasNetworks Pty Ltd
VIC Project of the Year – Coles Group Payment Services Governance Capability | Agile Management Office | Coles Group
WA Project of the Year – Connect South Mends Street | NS Group and City of South Perth
Visit the 2020 Project Management Achievement Awards page on the AIPM website to see the full list of chapter and national winners.
