• VIC/TAS

2024 VIC/TAS Awards of Excellence Winners

  • May 16, 2024

After a magnificent evening at the PLA VIC/TAS Regional Awards of Excellence gala dinner at Marvel Stadium last night, we are thrilled to announce the 2024 winners across our 11 award categories below. 

Hosted by leading tennis commentator and broadcaster Brett Phillips, we hope you enjoyed the night as much as we did celebrating the outstanding initiatives and innovative efforts of our industry. A huge congratulations to all the exceptional nominees, and to our winners who will now proceed to the Parks and Leisure Australia National Awards of Excellence to be held in Brisbane in October. For more information on the award-winning projects visit the links in each award category set out below. 

2024 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS
ABOUT THE AWARDS & WINNING PROJECTS

Each year, PLA acknowledges excellence in our industry through its prestigious Awards of Excellence. These annual awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding initiatives and innovative efforts of ‘the people behind the places’ which promote good use of leisure time for a number of social, environmental and economic benefits to the community.

Check out all the 2024 nominees and winners below

This award seeks to recognise and celebrate outstanding contributions made by a student or emerging professional (under 30 years of age) in a course of study leading to a nationally recognised qualification in the sector throughout Australia or who has made a significant contribution to the parks and leisure industry.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

Endeavour Turf Professionals are one Australia’s leading sports field design and turf agronomy consultancies. For over 17 years, our expert team of designers, consultants and agronomists have been working with Local Government Authorities and the professional turf industry designing and improving natural turf surfaces.

www.etpturf.com.au

This award is designed to recognise the combined effort that is required to successfully plan, organise and manage effective initiatives, projects, programs, events and/or festivals which promote and enhance leisure time for a number of social, environmental and economic benefits to the community. Evidence of success should form a component of the submission.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

@leisure is a sports, aquatic, open space planning consultancy with more than 30 years of experience. We provide rigorous strategies, business cases, feasibility studies and facility plans that are market tested and practical to implement. Our staff with sport, planning, and business backgrounds provide excellent service and good value for money.

www.atleisure.com.au

This award celebrates and acknowledges those who protect nature and parks, improve climate resilience, ensure sustainability, and care for our land, as well as champions in all of these areas as part of this award. Awarded to an individual, a team, or an organisation for the development of innovative processes, practices, or technologies that contribute to the development of a sustainable future. Developing and implementing a sustainable approach to economic, social, and environmental concerns should be integrated into all core activities in addition to complying with industry standards and best practices. Those responsible for subordinate strategies to an institution’s overarching strategic plan are not included in this category.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

Christie Barbecues is an Australian family-owned public barbecue manufacturer. We have focused exclusively on providing the safest, most reliable and sustainable products for over fifty years. Our reputation for value and quality makes us the leader in public barbecue technology. Our products are the best in the category and provide a superior cooking experience.

www.dachristie.com

This award recognises the development of strategies for parks, open space, sport, recreation and leisure opportunities by rewarding outstanding examples of strategic planning that have enriched and revitalised a community.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

WillPlay is an Australian manufacturer of play and fitness equipment with an extensive range of products to suit all size projects and budgets. Using premium materials such as aluminium, stainless steel and recycled plastics, WillPlay offers world class quality in a cost effective package. WillPlay’s custom design capabilities can bring your next project to life and create a true destination experience for all users.

www.willplay.com.au

This community facility award recognises facilities that demonstrate innovative features of design, development and operation.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

insideEDGE passionately supports communities to enhance sport, leisure, and recreation programs and services. Our mission is to drive more thoughtful decision-making regarding investment in community infrastructure, ultimately leading to increased participation and improved facility utilisation. Through our work, we aim to foster stronger connections between communities, sports, and government, creating a more vibrant and engaged environment for all.

www.ieslp.com.au

This award celebrates and promotes vibrant, successful well designed and managed new or significantly revitalised parks/ open spaces by recognising and rewarding exceptional examples of best practice in terms of design and management. This includes parks and open spaces that are large, small, linear, along transport corridors, road closures, foreshore and reclaimed urban spaces.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

An industry leader in the production, sale and distribution of premium instant turf and lawns for life. They are one of the nation’s largest growers of premium drought-tolerant, water smart turfgrass varieties and are regarded amongst the most efficient and technologically advanced turfgrass operations in the world. Coolabah Turf are passionate about the turf and lawn industry and the power their people and products have to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

www.coolturf.com.au

This award is given to a playspace under the value of $500,000 that involves a range of stakeholders, contributes to the creation of a sense of ‘place’ for its local community and exhibits landscape and/or structural design innovation that delights and aids childhood development.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

Shade N Sails is an Australian company that specialises in designing manufacturing and installing shade products. The company was established in 1999 to provide durable shade products for both the domestic and commercial markets. With over 150 years of combined industry experience and a focus on exceptional customer service and communication they have grown rapidly servicing both the Australian and global markets, offering a wide range of solutions.

www.shadensails.com.au

This award is given to a playspace over the value of $500,000 that involves a range of stakeholders, contributes to the creation of a sense of ‘place’ for its local community and exhibits landscape and/or structural design innovation that delights and aids childhood development.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

Ground Science is a multi-disciplinary geotechnical consultancy company, that specializes in all forms of sports field profile design and engineering. A leading consultancy in this space they service clients Nationally and Internationally. Their designs focus on leading technology with sustainability in mind and provide niche expertise.

www.groundscience.com.au

Regional/Rural Australia includes all of the towns, small cities and areas that lie beyond the major capital cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Canberra), who make a significant contribution through community initiatives which contribute to the parks and leisure industry. These projects can be playspaces, events, tourism, trails, programs, repurposing of facilities and environmental initiatives (ie. water saving, habitat development and restoration projects).

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

We are an integrated team of passionate civil engineers, landscape architects, surveyors, town planners, urban designers, water engineers and visual media artists providing specialist services to the property and infrastructure sectors.

As property and infrastructure consultants, we are connected with the industry, and work together every day to deliver a high level of forward thinking and creative solutions our clients are proud of.

With over 350 employees across our Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Gippsland and Albury / Wodonga offices, we are one of Australia’s largest employee owned property and infrastructure consultants, supporting local development projects with local expertise.

www.spiire.com.au

This award acknowledges outstanding research achievement by a group or individual, professionals, student or academics who have made a significant contribution to the parks and leisure industry through expanded knowledge enhancement promoting the benefits or importance of the parks and leisure sector in Australian society.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

Endeavour Turf Professionals are one Australia’s leading sports field design and turf agronomy consultancies. For over 17 years, our expert team of designers, consultants and agronomists have been working with Local Government Authorities and the professional turf industry designing and improving natural turf surfaces.

www.etpturf.com.au

This award acknowledges outstanding and innovative achievement in the area of technology application and how that application has benefited the industry.

VIEW CATEGORY NOMINEES HERE

Proudly sponsored by

GreenLife Group is a national leader in property services and open space management. GLG delivers a wide range of integrated commercial landscape, horticultural and environmental services that include property and ground maintenance, sports turf, arboriculture, and development of sustainable solutions. With more than 27 years of industry experience, GLG is a dedicated open space specialist.

www.glgcorp.com