Disability Confidence Awards 2026 Finalists

The Disability Confidence Awards are Australia’s premier awards event for disability access and inclusion – the pinnacle of recognition for those who champion accessibility.
We are delighted to announce our 2026 finalists below. Award recipients will be announced at the awards dinner on 20 October 2026.

Disability Inclusion Changemaker of the Year

Finalists

• Katherine Alderson — Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Ronny Andrade Parra — RMIT
• Prabha Bogoda Arachchige — Serco Asia Pacific
• Dr Kelsey Chapman — Inclusive Futures, Griffith University
• Cathy Easte — Griffith University
• Caroline Ghatt — Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Akii Ngo — Victoria University
• Ant Raje — Transport for NSW

Award recipient

• To be announced

Emerging / Next Generation Leader of the Year

Finalists

• Lucy Abbott — Westpac Banking Corporation
• Anna Black — Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Hayley Bowling — Publicis ANZ HQ/- Publicis Communications Australia Pty Ltd
• Fiona Herron — Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Kiri Pedersen — KP Productions
• Jakob Suvaal — HealthShare NSW
• Brooke Szucs — University of Queensland
• Miana Von Klein — TPG Telecom Limited

Award recipient

• To be announced

Digital Accessibility Progress

Finalists

• Advanced Personnel Management (APM)
• Coles Group Limited
• CQUniversity Australia
• NBN Co Limited
• NSW Department of Communities and Justice
• Plan Partners
• Queensland Disability Research Network
• Woolworths Group Limited

Award recipient

• To be announced

Inclusive Marketing and Communications

Finalists

• Achieve Australia Ltd
• Bupa Australia Healthcare Holdings — Health Stories
• Bupa Australia Healthcare Holdings — No Board
• CareChoice
• My Plan Manager
• NBN Co Limited
• Plan Partners
• Youth Disability Advocacy Network

Award recipient

• To be announced

Inclusive Event and Space Design

Finalists

• Amplifii Music Festival
• Asahi Beverages
• Bupa Australia Healthcare Holdings
• Cahoots
• Embrace Inclusion Southwest
• NBN Co Limited
• Optus
• Queensland University of Technology
• TAL Life Limited

Award recipient

• To be announced

Workforce Inclusion Initiative of the Year (Large)

Finalists

• Amazon Australia
• Konekt
• National Australia Bank Limited
• NSW Department of Communities and Justice
• NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
• Publicis ANZ HQ/- Publicis Communications Australia Pty Ltd
• Revenue NSW
• Serco Asia Pacific

Award recipient

• To be announced

Workforce Inclusion Initiative of the Year (SME)

Finalists

• Australian Spatial Analytics

Award recipient

• To be announced

Customer Inclusion Initiative of the Year (Large)

Finalists

• City of Adelaide
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Department of Parliamentary Services
• Legal Aid Commission of NSW
• National Australia Bank Limited
• TAL Life Limited
• The Walt Disney Company (Australia) Pty Ltd
• Victoria University

Award recipient

• To be announced

Customer Inclusion Initiative of the Year (SME)

Finalists

• ACT Labor
• Annie’s House
• InSync Profiles
• Transform Life

Award recipient

• To be announced

DEN/ ERG of the Year (Large)

Finalists

• Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Mars Incorporated Australia & New Zealand
• National Australia Bank Limited
• Publicis ANZ HQ/- Publicis Communications Australia Pty Ltd
• Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
• RMIT
• Scope (Aust) Ltd
• Westpac Banking Corporation

Winner

• To be announced

DEN/ ERG of the Year (SME)

Finalists

• ANDPA

Winner

• To be announced

Supervisor of the Year

Finalists

• Marina Booth — VIC Department of Education
• Lisa Dalgleish — QBE Insurance Group Ltd
• Professor Dimitria Groutsis and Dr Megan Osmond — University of Sydney
• Kim Kohlman — Dept of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts
• Jara Millward — National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
• Dr Amy-Leigh Rowe — University of Sydney
• Dr Elizabeth Stratton — University of Sydney

Award recipient

• To be announced

Intern of the Year

Finalists

• Kristin Arian — University of Sydney
• Matthew Denipitiya — VIC Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)
• Colleen Lam — IAG
• Andrea Maggio — Women NSW
• Lisa Morii — VIC Department of Education
• Abdullah Naeem — QBE Insurance Group Ltd
• Sakoon Sharma — Australia Post

Award recipient

• To be announced

Mentor of the Year

Finalists

• Alison Coutt — TAL
• Ashok Dixit — Pfizer Australia
• Stefan Jayawardana — Hanes Australasia Pty Ltd
• Liam Sanderson — Australian Federal Police
• Jeffery Schrale — ANZ Banking Group Ltd (Aust)
• Johanna Steyns — Qantas Airways Limited
• Steve Tu — AGL

Award recipient

• To be announced​

Mentee of the Year

Finalists

• Zoe Atterbury — ANZ Banking Group Ltd (Aust)
• Nikki Chen — Australian Federal Police
• Emily Hellyer — Arup Pty Limited
• Ezlouve La Montreviene — Qantas Airways Limited
• Matthew Lee — RMIT
• Sarah McInnes — Physical Disability Australia
• Moira Negline — Coles Group Limited
• Jake Purdey — Department of Industry, Science and Resources
• Monica Song — Australian Federal Police

Award recipient

• To be announced