Artwalk "Coastal Nights" 2024 - Port Macquarie CBD
Community Based Initiative of the Year Award
NSW/ACT
Port Macquarie Hastings Council
ArtWalk has grown into one of the region’s most anticipated cultural events on the NSW mid north coast transforming the Port Macquarie CBD into a vibrant, open-air festival of light, music and colour. What started as a small, creative endeavour nine years ago attracting 3000 visitors, has evolved into an immersive creative arts experience that attracted 25,000 attendees in 2024. Streets, laneways, and public spaces come alive with stunning art installations, interactive exhibits, live music, and digital projections, offering an unforgettable experience as a community-based initiative.
KINGSTON CITY COUNCIL
The Beauty Spot Memorial Park redevelopment in Carrum honours local wartime history while creating an inviting, sustainable community space. Guided by extensive community engagement, including input from the RSL and local residents, the project enhanced accessibility, added seating and shade, and protected native habitats. Featuring a new walking path, sensory garden, and public art, the park blends heritage with modern design. Using durable, eco-friendly materials, it ensures long-term sustainability, making it a vibrant, reflective space for future generations.
Colac Otway Shire
The Changing Place Facility in Memorial Square is the first such facility within Colac Otway Shire and part of the larger Memorial Square Public Toilet Redevelopment completed in June 2024. The purpose of this project was to fill a gap in lack of Changing Places facilities in Colac Otway Shire by providing such a facility which could be used by people with disability, their families and carers. Formerly, the nearest Changing Places facilities were in neighbouring Shires.
Brand Architects
Moorabool Shire Council
The Bacchus Marsh All-Abilities Adventure Playground is a vital community asset, fostering inclusivity, active play, and social connection. Designed for all ages and abilities, it integrates natural materials, sensory-rich play, and diverse gathering spaces. As part of a major infrastructure investment, it transforms the Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Reserve into a vibrant precinct, linking key community sporting and recreational facilities to a central gathering space. Developed through expert input and strong community engagement, it provides a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment.
Cessnock City Council
Carmichael Park has been elevated to a regionally significant facility with multiple infrastructure upgrades including lighting upgrades, a multipurpose court, hit up wall, cricket nets, and a new BMX pump track, the first of its kind in the LGA. Through these upgrades, Council has reaffirmed its commitment to providing quality co-located recreational facilities, which contribute to substantial positive social, health, environmental and economic outcomes for the community.
Maribyrnong City Council
The Empower Her Ride program exemplifies the Council's vision of a safe, sustainable, vibrant Community by enhancing social inclusion while promoting health and wellbeing. By providing multicultural women the opportunity to learn to ride a bike in a supportive environment, it fosters belonging and eliminates barriers related to cultural expectations. In partnership with the Community Bike Hub and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, it empowers women to gain confidence and independence. Empower Her Ride reflects Council's commitment to creating a vibrant, inclusive community where all can thrive
Penrith City Council
Penrith City Council transformed its disused waste facility site at Gipps Street into an exciting recreation precinct. The site presented a unique opportunity to address Penrith’s need for more sport and recreation facilities to support the growing population. It’s a dynamic facility that responds to community requests for a variety of recreation opportunities with sports fields, playspaces, youth zone, dog park, and more. The precinct welcomes thousands of visitors weekly, supports an active and vibrant city, and enhances Penrith’s reputation as the most liveable place in Western Sydney.
Port Macquarie Hastings Council
The Tacking Point Lighthouse Accessible Walkway project transformed an iconic heritage site in Port Macquarie into an inclusive, accessible destination. Guided by the Tacking Point Lighthouse Reserve Master Plan, the project introduced a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk using sustainable Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP). Community engagement, including input from the Aboriginal Advisory Group and disability advocates, shaped the design.
CITY OF PORT PHILLIP
The Moubray Street Community Park has undergone an incredible transformation, evolving from a road into a unique, vibrant, permanent, public open space. The fully fenced park now includes a climbing wall, netball ring, four square court, seating, shelter, extensive planting and raised community garden beds. The Moubray Street Community Park was supported by the Victorian Government through the Suburban Parks Program, creating a new legacy for the Albert Park community.
Monash City Council
Development of the Glen Waverley Sports Hub, a unique regional multi-sport facility catering for golf and tennis, home of the Monash Tennis Centre (18 tennis courts including 2 show courts) and the Glen Waverley Golf Course (18-holes). Other facilities include double storey multi-use pavilion with pro-shop and café, expanded car parking and supporting infrastructure including tennis hit up wall, putting green, golf practice cages, barbecue area, table tennis table, golf buggy storage, tournament office, and upstairs viewing decks.
Port Macquarie Hastings Council
Friends Of Mrs York's Garden
In the heart of Port Macquarie, Mrs York’s Garden is more than just a garden - it's a thriving community hub. What started as a personal project to clear weeds and plant flowers has grown into a beloved community garden, thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Mrs York's Garden. This transformation from a personal passion to a community treasure and a model for environmental stewardship has recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary of nurturing this space, creating a beautiful area for everyone to enjoy.
Nature Based Play
The Princess May Park Nature Playground is a dynamic fusion of history, culture, and play. Initiated by Clancy’s Fish Pub and brought to life by Nature Based Play in collaboration with the City of Fremantle, this vibrant space reimagines a public park into an inclusive adventure. Opened in November 2023, it weaves First Nations and colonial heritage into nature-inspired design. With hidden stories, a historic limestone wall, natural play elements, and accessible pathways, it’s a place for discovery, connection, and community, enriching Fremantle’s heart.
City of Perth
The Thomas Street Biodiversity Corridor project transformed a degraded road median into a thriving ecological corridor, enhancing urban cooling, biodiversity, and community connection. Spanning 3.32 km, it introduced over 28,000 native plants, guided by Indigenous knowledge and incorporating culturally significant bush tucker species. Developed with Kings Park specialists, it follows best-practice sustainability principles. Strong community involvement shaped the design, fostering stewardship and inspiring native landscaping in urban spaces.
City of Parramatta
Arthur Phillip Park Playground in Northmead, NSW, is part of dynamic community space blending nature and play. The project is the realisation of a community-led master planning process which has stayed true to course from inception to completion. The inclusive playground promotes active and imaginative play for all ages groups and backgrounds. Thoughtfully integrated with the natural landscape, the playground exemplifies excellence in sustainable and inclusive design on a budget.
Frankston City Council
The Frankston Play Strategy and Let’s Play Implementation brings our community together with engaging, accessible and inclusive experiences. The play needs of our community are diverse with access to play profoundly impacting on mental and physical health and wellbeing. The Strategy celebrates the importance of play, supports advocacy and balances investment to address provision, equity and quality shortfalls. It sets a new integrated landscape approach for Council in the planning, design and delivery responding to our community’s diverse play needs.
Claudia began as Head of Workforce Engagement at Golf Australia in April 2023, leveraging her extensive HR expertise during a time of significant growth and workforce challenges. She has played a key role in developing strategies to attract, engage, develop, and retain a workforce of over 60,000 individuals across 1,713 clubs, facilities, and places to play nationwide. Notably, she implemented Australian golf’s first Workforce Engagement Strategy, led the 2024 Australian Golf Industry Paid Workforce Research Project, and established the Golf Australia Club Governance Program.
Frankston City Council
Jubilee Park Stadium is more than a premier multi-sports complex. It's the culmination of a shared vision, passion and strong collaboration across government and sports groups to create a sporting and community hub for the south-east. Featuring six courts — including a show court with capacity to seat 1,000 people — as well cricket/multi-purpose training facilities, occasional childcare, modern cafe, event rooms and female-friendly facilities, the stadium replaced a two-court netball facility that had been well and truly outgrown.
Department of Sport, Racing, and Olympic and Paralympic Games
Launched May 2024, ClubIQ offers a centralised location for a suite of free, practical, and accessible resources to help community sport and recreation organisations operate more effectively and sustainably. The resources cover four areas—governance, financial management, planning, and volunteering—to support clubs to develop the skills and knowledge of their committees and volunteers. Currently, clubs have access to 55 downloadable resources and eight instructional videos, equipping them with the tools needed for long-term success, noting this will increase as the suite continues to grow.
Northern Beaches Council
Lynne Czinner Park is a popular multi-purpose park in a natural setting providing a visual relief to the extensive surrounding development. The park is to be enjoyed by the surrounding community for a range of recreation, social, education and community activities.
Otium Planning Group
Tamworth Regional Council
The Tamworth Regional Aquatic Centre, incorporating the Northern Inland Centre of Sport and Health, will provide a regionally significant destination for sports, recreation, health, and leisure. This development aims to generate substantial health, social, wellbeing, and economic benefits for both the Tamworth community and the broader region. Through effective strategic planning, continuous stakeholder engagement, innovation, leveraging co-location opportunities, and comprehensive business case development, the project has successfully secured funding from all three levels of government.
Hornsby Shire Council
Fiona Robbé Landscape Architects
The Fagan Park Children’s Forest connects children with nature through play and environmental education. Transforming an underutilised area, it features over fifty new trees and interactive educational pods. Children engage in discovery-based learning, exploring sustainability, biodiversity, and the importance of trees. Aligned with Hornsby’s Urban Forest Strategy and Play Plan, the space fosters physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development while promoting eco-consciousness in future generations.
Northern Beaches Council
The Manly Dam Boardwalk project has set a benchmark for sustainable and inclusive recreational infrastructure. It has enhanced the visitor experience, promoted environmental stewardship, fostered inclusion, and demonstrated the value of community-driven projects in achieving lasting positive outcomes.
Pasifika Moving a co-designed, culturally responsive physical activity program for Pasifika mums.
Community Based Initiative of the Year Award
NSW/ACT
Collective Leisure
Pasifika Moving a co-designed, culturally responsive physical activity program for Pasifika mums in Western Sydney.
City of Melbourne
The Bedford Street Pocket Park project provided new open space and greening for the North Melbourne community by converting roads and car parking surrounding Bedford Street Reserve to lawns, garden beds, tree planting, picnic and recreational areas, and a playground. The project expanded two existing reserves in proximity, Bedford Street Reserve and Courtney Street Reserve, created a new linear open space in Bedford Street, extended an existing median in Courtney Street and provided new street greening.
City of Marion
Beyond Sight is a youth-led, first-of-its-kind event in the City of Marion, designed to raise awareness and foster inclusion for individuals with visual impairments. Led by the Marion Youth Collective Committee (YCC)—a diverse group of young leaders passionate about social change—this initiative was delivered in partnership with the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Guide Dogs SA, and local businesses, creating a transformative, hands-on experience. Held in October 2024 at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Beyond Sight featured immersive activities such as: 🔹 Dining in the Dark – Over 100 particip