Aurecon Design Academy named Best in Class at Australian Good Design Awards
Aurecon Design Academy wins Best in Class at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, celebrating the company's decade-long investment in developing its people.
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Asia Pacific design, engineering, and advisory company Aurecon has been recognised with a prestigious Good Design Award Winner accolade for Aurecon air® – a digital platform transforming the future of environmental reporting.
The award is recognition of Aurecon’s ongoing efforts to guide complex infrastructure projects away from traditional environmental reports – often delivered as large PDFs – towards more transparent and user-friendly experiences.
The Good Design Award jury praised how Aurecon air® is empowering communities and delivering sustainable outcomes, commenting:
“Aurecon air® redefines environmental assessments with its user-friendly format, increasing transparency and decision-making efficiency. The Jury commends its ability to turn static data into dynamic insights, reflecting a sophisticated approach to integrating content and context for impactful results. This project is enriching information and transforming static material into dynamic, cross-referenceable insights. It's clear that the design team took a lot of effort to ensure cross-device accessibility and to integrate content into context. Masterfully done.”
Aurecon’s Managing Principal, Digital, Dave Mackenzie said, “The information required to address environmental statutory requirements for large scale infrastructure projects has grown in complexity and with increasing interest from the community, they often become contentious, thereby influencing project schedules.
“Aurecon air® reimagines the delivery of environmental assessments by using multimedia, interactive maps and 3D scenes, making it easier for communities to engage and understand the project leading to faster decision-making and approvals, supporting rapid delivery of critical infrastructure projects.”
Aurecon air® has already proven successful in supporting major energy infrastructure projects like the Humelink Transmission Project.
The HumeLink digital Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) powered by Aurecon air® received 141 formal submissions from a project covering five local government areas across a corridor approximately 360 km in length. This illustrates that very few community members generated a formal submission to Government and the digital delivery supported community awareness and understanding of the project.
Additionally, analytical monitoring reported 2,000+ community members accessed 20,000 pages digitally during public display providing new insight into environmental community engagement.
While initially designed for environmental impact reporting, Aurecon air® is expanding into new areas such as carbon markets, where the useability, accessibility and advanced user metrics mean Aurecon’s sustainability team can tailor materials and broaden the reach of critical sustainability market reporting.
“Our vision for Aurecon air® goes beyond simplifying environmental reporting. It’s about driving more sustainable outcomes by enabling early project collaboration and embedding environmental considerations into every stage of infrastructure development,” Mackenzie said.
"Aurecon air®'s ability to visualise data and facilitate collaboration among project teams, government agencies and the community is revolutionising how we approach the future of sustainability."
Dave Mackenzie, Managing Principal, Digital at Aurecon
“Aurecon air®'s ability to visualise data and facilitate collaboration among project teams, government agencies and the community is revolutionising how we approach the future of sustainability,” Mackenzie said.
“The HumeLink digital EIS powered by Aurecon air® is a great example of how digital innovation can simplify the complexity of environmental assessments. By making these reports interactive and accessible on any device, we’ve not only improved transparency but also enhanced the speed and quality of decision-making on critical infrastructure projects.”
This latest accolade adds to Aurecon’s growing reputation as a leader in digital transformation within the engineering and infrastructure sectors. Aurecon was named a Digital Transformation Leader in 2023 by the Australian Financial Review and Aurecon’s pioneering environmental platform siteLab® achieved a Top 5 ranking in the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies List in 2022.
The Australian Good Design Awards showcase the very best in design and innovation to a worldwide audience. Every year, the awards attract cutting-edge design projects from across the globe, celebrating the very best in design, architecture, engineering, research, fashion, and social impact.
Group Director, Brand, Marketing & Communications
Aurecon Design Academy wins Best in Class at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, celebrating the company's decade-long investment in developing its people.
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