2025 AOE GALA DINNER
11 October 2025 | 6:30pm – 11:30pm | Wrest Point, Federation Room
Join us for the social event of the year as we celebrate the best of Australia’s parks and leisure industry, this is a night not to miss. Our Awards of Excellence recognise and showcase the outstanding initiatives and innovative efforts of our members across eleven award categories:
- Best Regional/ Rural Industry Contribution
- Best Use of Technology
- Community Based Initiative of the Year
- Community Facility of the Year
- David Aldous Emerging Professional
- Environmental Stewardship
- Park of the Year
- Playspace (project value >$0.5M)
- Playspace (project value <$0.5M)
- Research Project of the Year
- Strategic Planning
- Frank Stewart Award
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
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 the wise use of leisure time for a multitude of social, environmental, and economic benefits to the community. It’s a celebration of those who contribute to creating vibrant, healthy, and inclusive spaces for all.
These prestigious awards honour remarkable projects and initiatives that have contributed significantly to the advancement of our industry. Starting within our regions, PLA recognises outstanding achievements across a diverse spectrum of fields, from park development to community engagement programs. The winners of the Regional awards, move forward to represent what we recognise as National excellence, showcasing projects and initiatives that not only deliver outstanding value but also enrich the lives of our communities.
Please visit the dedicated Awards of Excellence webpage for further details and this years National Awards of Excellence finalists.
David Aldous Emerging Leader Award
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.
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Environmental Stewardship Award
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.
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Community Based Initiative of the Year Award
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.
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Best Regional/Rural Industry Contribution Award
Regional/Rural Australia includes all of the towns, small cities and areas that lie beyond the major capital cities, 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.
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Research Award
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.
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Strategic and Master Planning Award
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.
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Community Facility of the Year Award
This community facility award recognises facilities that demonstrate innovative features of design, development and operation.
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Park of the Year Award
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.
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Playspace Award (<$0.5m)
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.
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Playspace Award (>$0.5m)
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.
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Best Use of Technology Award
This award acknowledges outstanding and innovative achievement in the area of technology application and how that application has benefited the industry.
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Frank Stewart Distinguished Service Award
The Frank Stewart Distinguished Service Award is the longest standing award and introduced by the Australian Leisure Institute. Laurie Boyd was the first recipient. Named after a formal Federal Minister for Tourism and Recreation, this is the most prestigious individual award bestowed by PLA. The award recognises the significant contribution an individual has made to the development, promotion and advocacy of the parks and leisure industry through their personal and professional endeavours over a substantial period.
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Thanks to our partners and sponsors for their support
