WINNERS OF THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN LGBTQ+ INCLUSION AWARDS ANNOUNCED
DLA Piper, The Star Entertainment Group, McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Macquarie Group and The University of Queensland are among this year’s top employers announced at this year’s Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards held in Sydney today.
Both DLA Piper and The Star Entertainment Group tied for ‘Employer of the Year,’ while McCullough Robertson Lawyers was announced as ‘Small Employer of the Year.’
Other top honours went to organisations including Accenture, AGL Energy, Australian Taxation Office, Capgemini, Clayton Utz, Deloitte, EY Oceania, MinterEllison, NAB, PwC, QBE Insurance, Queensland Department of Education, RMIT University, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), UNSW Sydney, and Woolworths Group.
These 16 organisations are members of Pride in Diversity and were recognised for their long-term, high scoring performance within the AWEI Submission. In obtaining Gold Tier Status for four out of the last five consecutive submission years, their results firmly establish them as Platinum Tier Employers. This is the highest ranking within the AWEI Submission results.
First held in 2011, the Awards are based on the results of the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) Submissions, which allows Australian organisations to benchmark their LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practice on an annual basis. The event acknowledges and celebrates the organisations demonstrating foundational and progressive efforts toward making all workplaces inclusive for all.
Dawn Emsen-Hough, Director of ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, said she was proud to see employers around the country continue to commit themselves to improving LGBTQ+ inclusion practice despite issues that are continuing to have an impact globally.
“We have some record-breaking results within the AWEI Submissions this year, highlighting the importance that participating organisations are placing on this work. We know from the AWEI Employee Survey that many within our community have been impacted by the negativity and misinformation that is playing out in social media and the country more broadly. The number of people out to all at work is continuing to decrease with respondents indicating that this is a significant reason. It is therefore critical that there remains a high level of focus on this important aspect of Diversity and Inclusion,” Emsen-Hough said.
“These awards are a testament to the remarkable commitment of organisations who understand that importance and the individuals who are strong visible allies for LGBTQ+ people at their places of work. We hope this sends a powerful message to Australian employees that we are working incredibly hard to ensure that you can feel safe and empowered to bring your whole self to work.”
This year, the Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards were hosted by drag icon Courtney Act and broadcaster Jeremy Fernandez and held for the first time at the ICC Grand Ballroom.
The sold-out event is produced by Pride in Diversity, the national not-for-profit diversity inclusion program spearheaded by Australia’s largest LGBTQ+ health organisation ACON.
ENDS
For more information please contact: David Alexander, ACON Media and Communications
E: dalexander@acon.org.au T: (02) 9206 2044 M: 0428 477 042
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Winners from the Australian Workplace Equality Index Submissions
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Employer of the Year | DLA Piper The Star Entertainment Group |
| Platinum Tier Employers | Accenture AGL Energy Australian Taxation Office Capgemini Clayton Utz Deloitte EY Oceania MinterEllison NAB PwC Queensland Department of Education QBE Insurance RMIT University Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) UNSW Sydney Woolworths Group |
| Gold Tier Employers | Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Allens Amazon American Express Australia Post Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Brisbane City Council Coles Corrs Chambers Westgarth CSIRO Department of Health and Aged Care DLA Piper Fujitsu Griffith University KPMG Australia Lion Macquarie Group Macquarie University Monash University nbn co Norton Rose Fulbright Australia Origin Energy Qantas SAP Australia Scentre Group Services Australia Stockland The NRMA The Start Entertainment Group The University of Queensland The University of Sydney Victoria University Westpac |
| Silver Tier Employers | Allianz Australia AstraZenica Charter Hall Dentons Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Dexus Edith Cowan University Energy Australia Gold Coast Health Gold Corporation (Perth Mint) International Convention Centre – ICC Sydney Jacobs Maddocks Marsh McLennan (Mercer) Monash IVF NSW Department of Education QIC Limited Salesforce Shell Australia Suncorp Telstra The GPT Group TPG Telecom Transgrid Treasury Wine Estates Victoria Police Woodside Energy Zurich Financial Services |
| Bronze Tier Employers | 7-Eleven Australia AECOM Alcoa Australia ARUP Attorney General’s Department Aurecon Australian Federal Police Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Australian Retirement Trust Bank of Queensland Bendigo and Adelaide Bank BUPA CBRE Charles Sturt University Compass Group Cushman & Wakefield Datacom Department of Health Victoria Department of Home Affairs Endeavour Group Grant Thornton HCF IAG IFM Investors ING Insignia Financial IQVIA John Holland Group JP Morgan Kinetic King & Wood Mallesons Life Without Barriers Mars Australia MediaBrands Medibank Metcash Trading Ltd MSD – Merch Sharp & Dohme NSW Police Force Pacific National Publicis Groupe Queensland Department of Health Sodexo TAL Thales Group The University of Wollongong Transdev Virtus Health WSP Australia + 3 not for publication |
| Small Employer of the Year | McCullough Robertson Lawyers |
| Small Employer Platinum Tier | Deutsche Bank |
| Small Employer Gold Tier | Clifford Chance Custom Fleet Liberty Financial McCullough Robertson LAwyers Northern Trust Russell Kennedy Lawyers |
| Small Employer Silver Tier | Future Group Investa |
| Small Employer Bronze Tier | AbbVie American Express Global Business Travel Australian Payments Plus Clyde & Co Envao Energetics Fidelity International Giead Sciences Motorola Solutions Page Group (Michael Page) PaperCut Software RAM Group Roche Products Think HQ Watson Farley & Williams |
| Employee Network of the Year | Winner: Macquarie Group Finalists Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Australian Taxation Office Clayton Utz Department of Health and Aged Care KPMG Australia Qantas SAP Australia Transgrid Westpac |
| Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion Award | Winner: The University of Queensland Finalists: Capgemini Gold Corporation (Perth Mint) Monash University RMIT University Services Australia Stockland The Star Entertainment Group |
Winners from the Nominated Awards Categories
| Award | Recipient |
|---|---|
| CEO of the Year | Winner: David Locke, Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Finalists: Mike Burgess, Australia Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Murat Dizdar, NSW Department of Education |
| Executive Leadership Award | Winner: George Hughes, The Star Entertainment Group Finalists: Chris Waite, IHG Jess Huf, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Australia and New Zealand Nicky Bell, Services Australia |
| LGBTQ+ Inclusive Innovation Award | Winner: “Voices of Our People,” KPMG Australia Finalists: ABC’s Retracing the steps of the first Mardi Gras, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) American Express World Pride Activation: & Proud, American Express Queer Careers, EY Oceania Sydney World Pride Activation |
| LGBTQ+ Role Model Award | Winner: Kim Lee, NAB Finalists: Sarah Bateson, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Damian Bachor, Clifford Chance Jed Shiels, Gold Coast Health Renee Shike, MinterEllison |
| Network Leader of the Year | Winners (tie): Luke Nixon, Brisbane City Council Craig Dumas, The Star Entertainment Group Finalists: Federica Pastorino, Charter Hall Luke Butler, Compass Group Michelle Pallas, KPMG Australia |
| Sally Webster Ally Award | Winner: Anthony Massaro, Russell Kennedy Lawyers Finalists: Hannah Venn-Brown, Services Australia Justine Knight, The GPT Group |
| Sapphire Inspire Award | Winner: Maggi Hughes, EY Oceania Finalists: Lisa Walton, Deloitte Catherina Behan, Suncorp |
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For more information on the AWEI and Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards event, please contact the Pride in Diversity office on (02) 9206 2139 or at AWEI@acon.org.au.
For more information on ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, go to www.prideinclusionprograms.com.au