The iTnews Benchmark Awards recognise Australia's leading IT projects

For over a decade, the iTnews Benchmark Awards have given end user organisations, their IT leaders and teams an opportunity to gain recognition for their ambition, innovation and the value they have delivered to government, industry and the public.

The 2023 Benchmark award winners were presented at a gala dinner in the Sydney CBD, and included the Department of Home Affairs, ATO, Transport for NSW, Lifeline Australia, ACT Health, eHealth NSW, Suncorp, and Commonwealth Bank. The full photo gallery can be found here.

This year, the 2024 Benchmark Awards have been re-imagined with several new Project categories. 

We will shortly also be announcing new People awards – where our iTnews editorial team will nominate the individuals in the tech industry that are driving innovation and transformation within their organisations. Winners to be determined by an external judging panel.

The Benchmark Awards ceremony has also been re-imagined, with finalists invited to join us early for a 2 hour conference prior the awards ceremony - details to follow.

How much does it cost to enter the Benchmark Awards?

There is no cost to enter the Benchmark Awards.

Why enter?

  • Join an alumni of IT leaders and teams responsible for some of Australia's most remarkable IT projects. This group will be invited to exclusive iTnews events. 
  • Finalists will be invited to attend the iTnews Benchmark Conference – a 2 hour event prior to the Awards ceremony
  • Finalists’ projects will be featured by iTnews, which is read by tens of thousands of people every day. Coverage will include videos about the finalists' projects.
  • Be recognised in front of your IT industry peers at our gala awards dinner on 13th March, 2024 in Sydney’s CBD. All finalists are invited.
  • Winners and finalists receive a promotional brand pack to use on social media, web sites, in email signatures and in other communications.

When is the deadline for entries?

The deadline for entries is 11pm January 19th 2024 ... so get in quick!

What can you nominate for an award?

The awards focus on IT projects by large, end-user organisations, which are invited to nominate projects. Technology companies, partners, consultants and contractors can also nominate client projects, but they must have approval from their client to do so. This is an end user-focused awards program, focusing on the organisation’s challenges and how a project helped them. So the client must be prepared to accept an award and speak about their project publicly. The client will also be invited to attend the iTnews Benchmark Awards dinner if their project is a finalist.

Your project is eligible if any part of it occurred between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Judging will focus on achievements during that period. 

To be eligible your project must have been conducted by an Australian organisation or solely within the Australian subsidiary of a multinational organisation.

Pilot projects are welcome, if testing with actual end-users or customers has been completed.

You may submit multiple entries

The judging process

The awards will be judged by a select panel comprised of the iTnews editorial team and guest judges. Event sponsors have no involvement in the judging process.

Finalists in each category will be announce
The Award categories

You can submit entries in 12 categories:
  1. Best Federal Government Project - Projects conducted by federal government departments or agencies that resulted in either internal efficiencies or improved citizen services.
  2. Best State Government Project - Projects conducted by state government departments or agencies that resulted in either internal efficiencies or improved citizen services.
  3. Best Local Government Project - Projects conducted by local governments that resulted in either internal efficiencies or improved citizen services.
  4. Best Industrial (Manufacturing construction, transport & logistics) Project - Projects conducted by any organisation in the manufacturing, construction, transport and logistics sectors that has improved operations, efficiency, and/or productivity for customers. 
  5. Best Primary industries (agriculture, farming, fishing, forestry and mining) Project – Projects conducted by any organisation in the agriculture, farming, fishing, forestry and mining sectors that demonstrate innovation, sustainability, efficiency, and/or positive impact on primary industries.
  6. Best Education Project – Projects conducted by or for educational institutions at all levels – from childcare to university to adult education – that delivered either internal efficiency or better experiences and outcomes for students.
  7. Best Health Project - Projects conducted by any organisation that delivered health services which demonstrably improved staff productivity and/or service delivery to patients.
  8. Best Finance (and professional services) Project - Projects conducted by participants in the financial services industries that either improved internal operations or resulted in improved products and/or service delivery to corporate or retail customers
  9. Best Energy, Utilities and Electricity Project - - Projects conducted by any organisation in the energy, utilities and electricity sectors that has delivered better experiences or outcomes for customers. 
  10. Best Retail project - Projects conducted by retailers that delivered internal efficiencies, innovation, customer engagement, sustainability and/or operational efficiency. 
  11. Best Telecommunications project - Projects conducted by telcos that demonstrate innovation, network advancement, customer experience enhancement, and technological excellence.
One project entered in these categories will be selected as Australian Technology Project of the Year.

You may submit multiple entries.

Submissions will be judged according to:
  • The strength of the business case for the project.
  • The project’s delivery – evidence of agility, creative applications of IT and competencies developed, whilst keeping within targeted scope, deadline and cost.
  • Whether new ground was forged – in terms of innovation and new technologies or approaches, and how this risk was managed.
  • Return on investment – anticipated or measured.
The entry form

Please note that you cannot save your work in this online entry form. We recommend preparing your entry in a separate document, then pasting the information into the relevant fields in this online form. You can download the entry form but use it for reference only and do not send it to us. To enter, you must return here and fill in the online form.

Questions?

You can ask questions about the awards by emailing us here.

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