Finalists for HR Innovation Awards 2026 revealed

HR Leader and principal partner DLPA are thrilled to unveil the finalists for the inaugural HR Innovation Awards.

The HR Innovation Awards is a national celebration of the leaders, teams, and organisations transforming the world of work, which recognises the bold ideas, strategic vision, and measurable impact driving the evolution of HR across the country.

Launched by HR Leader, and supported by principal partner DLPA, the HR Innovation Awards reflects the extraordinary work and efforts of HR, people and culture, and learning and development professionals, and recognises the innovative ways in which their workplaces operate.

This year, a total of 94 finalists were selected, with finalists set to battle it out for trophies across 22 categories.

Click here to view the full list of finalists.

The winners will be announced at a black-tie gala on Friday, 26 June 2026, at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. Click here to buy tickets.

DLPA chief executive Karlie Cremin said: “The HR Innovation Awards finalists represent practitioners doing the hard work of making workplaces better, often without much fanfare.

“We know how much effort sits behind these nominations. Congratulations to every finalist. This recognition is well earned.”

How winners will be chosen

The HR Innovation Awards, in conjunction with event stakeholders Momentum Media and a panel of leading industry professionals, involves a robust awards methodology to form the backbone for assessing and benchmarking Australia’s leading HR professionals and teams.

All submissions undergo a thorough audit process, checking demographic and other information against category eligibility criteria based on the information provided in the submission.

Those submissions deemed eligible against submission criteria are reviewed and assessed by a panel of Momentum Media events and editorial team members and executives, plus stakeholders where required, to determine the finalists for each category.

Finalist submissions will now be delivered to a panel of respected professionals and business leaders who assess each submission against the criteria of each award category.

The judges score each part of the submission across the category’s criteria to reach an aggregated score. Several judges will individually assess each submission for each category, offering a blended score and assessment.

The combined judging scores for each submission in each category are tabulated, with the highest-scoring submission deemed the winner.

For more information about the awards program, click here.

Click here to view the full list of finalists.

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make HR Leader a preferred news source on Google.