Commercial Project of the Year

WINNER – SDF Electrical, Destination Gold Coast – Tower 1 (South Queensland)

This Gold Coast based project is the first of five residential and hotel towers to be built adjacent and linked to the Star Gold Coast Hotels and Casino. With many complexities to work around including staged demolition and HV & LV shutdowns that did not interrupt casino operations, careful risk assessments and planning of shutdown methodology was required. Featuring state of the art technology and high spec finishes, this project was more than just a large commercial project, and a major achievement for the SDF Electrical team who worked with several stakeholders to successfully deliver the project.

Women in Contracting 

WINNER – Sally Higgs, Alykan Electrican Solutions (Victoria)

Sally is a Co-Founder and General Manager of Alykan Electrical and Speedheat Australia. Connected to the trades industry for most of her life, she has incorporated her previous banking and software development careers to lead these two businesses with a passion for developing the team and delivering great solutions to customers. A passionate advocate for women in contracting, she is inspiring more women to become electricians with a 50/50 gender split in apprentices in Alykan.

Industrial Project of the Year

WINNER – Ausbright Electrical Solutions, HMAS Adelaide Operation Tonga Assist 2022 (New South Wales)

While conducting Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief operations in Tonga in January 2022, HMAS Adelaide suffered a total power failure and was without power and essential services for approximately 72 hours. The Ship’s Company were able to restore some services, however a decision was made to fly in civilian specialists to join HMAS Adelaide on operations. Nicholas Grbin, Ausbright’s Technical Director was deployed to provide technical support. The remaining Ausbright team at Garden Island Naval Base were also engaged to conduct a full condition assessment of relevant systems on HMAS Canberra to ensure her material state was sound prior to deploying to replace HMAS Adelaide in Tonga.

Energy Efficiency Project of the Year

WINNER – Climate Care Electrical & Solar, Heron Island Resort Solar (North Queensland)

This project involved installing 100kW of Solar power onto the Heron Island Resort. As the resort runs off a diesel powered microgrid, innovations had to be implemented to ensure that solar could inject energy harmoniously into the diesel microgrid and controlled in such a way that the diesels were not damaged. Solar Diesel Hybrids are rarely implemented due to their extremely high complexity and skill required to successfully implement. With much research, many planning meetings and rehearsals, the project was successfully delivered with minimal impact to resort operations.

Residential Project of the Year

WINNER – RBC Electrical Solutions, Kent Street New Farm (South Queensland)

The project involved an old Queenslander house being moved and incorporated into the new three-story home. The home included a basement underground carpark, temperature-controlled wine cellar room and separate pool house. Not your average build/renovation job, the project required a high level of technical detail and workarounds including redesign of the air-conditioning system, installation of an automated pool blanket and track lighting installed to be flush with the timber ceilings – all delivered on time and within budget.

Apprentice of the Year

WINNER – Daniel Hunting, Fallon Solutions (South Queensland)

Daniel chose a career in the electrical contracting industry due to its stability and diversity. Knowing that he’d be able to develop transferrable skills that he can take to other areas of his life. Daniel has thrived during his apprenticeship and has enjoyed working across a wide range of projects from domestic and commercial to sports field lighting and solar.

Lance Cislowski Memorial Award – Electrician (Tradie) of the Year

WINNER – Gareth Felton, GreenElec (New South Wales)

As an electrician one of the things Gareth is most passionate about is the mentoring and leadership aspect of his role. Being onsite showing his apprentices and/or trades a new concept or practice principle and then seeing them give this a go is incredibly rewarding. Passionate about learning about new technology especially in the home automation industry, Gareth is incredibly proud to be the director of a multidisciplinary electrical contracting company providing clients expertise and services across the electrical, solar and storage; and home automation fields.

National Safety Award

WINNER – David Simmonds, Shiny Electrical (Victoria)

Last year we introduced the National Safety Award. This Award was created to recognize a standout individual who demonstrated the qualities of a Master Electrician towards safety. Factors taken into consideration included safe work practices, attitude to work, attention to detail and safety philosophy. Over the course of 7 challenges across 6 states all candidates were monitored and probed on these qualities. The winner, David Simmonds made a significant impression on the judge as a fine example of what a tradesperson should be, when safety is part of their DNA.

Master Electrician of the Year

WINNER – Wilco Electrical, represented by Frank Mitchell (Western Australia)

Wilco Electrical is an Aboriginal company whose primary innovation is a philosophy that community infrastructure should have community outcomes. Accordingly, they work towards deep long-term impact by empowering Aboriginal businesses, Aboriginal sub-contractors, staff, and apprentices alike, building more than just infrastructure, but relationships, and a stronger and more resilient society. Their services extend across small to large scale solar, hybrid and off-grid storage systems, structured cabling, civil and general electrical maintenance, light industrial, voltage optimisation, water from air technologies, lighting efficiency solutions, and communications. Since September 2020, Wilco has formed a JV with Resource Services Group (RSGx) and Kardan Construction called Baldja which is the Noongar name for ‘Standing United’. Now, with additional capabilities of HV, commissioning, instrumentation, mechanical, electrical engineering, minor civil and construction, Wilco has been able to engage in such projects such as FMG’s Iron Bridge, Synergy’s Tesla batteries for schools and Water Corp’s Canning Dam valve’s replacement program. Through Baldja’s success, Wilco has been able to supercharge its social impact through diversifying its upskilling pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.