Aurecon named one of Australia’s Most Innovative Companies for 10 consecutive years
For 10 years, Aurecon has been named in the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list, reflecting the company's sustained investment innovation.
Change your location to view content tailored for you.
Asia Pacific engineering consultancy Aurecon has won the Consult Australia 2025–26 Client Service Excellence Award for its work on GEMCO (Milner Bay) Wharf – supporting the world’s largest exporter of manganese ore to transform its facility from catastrophe to rebuilt and operational in just 14 months.
The EnergyConnect transmission project with Transgrid and Elecnor Australia – one of Australia’s largest energy transmission projects involving a multi-billion-dollar, 900 km transmission line to connect the energy grids in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia – was highly commended in the Innovation for Excellence category.
Two additional Aurecon nominations were recognised as finalists: NEXTDC S3 Sydney Data Centre for Project Excellence and Amanda Pearce, Technical Director, Defence Design in the Emerging Leader Category.
Aurecon’s Chief Executive for Australia, Todd Battley said the achievements reflect the company’s focus on bringing technical excellence to clients’ most complex problems and delivering critical energy, resources and data centre infrastructure.
“Major infrastructure is complex and high stakes, and it only succeeds when the right people with the right technical skills come together,” Battley said. “That’s where Aurecon does its best work, working side-by-side with our clients to uncover what’s possible and then making the solution a reality.
“At GEMCO Wharf it was reinstating a critical global supply chain at pace. On EnergyConnect, it was challenging conventional design approaches with an Australia-first transmission tower design. At NEXTDC S3 Sydney Data Centre, that meant delivering a data centre to the highest global standard for resilience. With Amanda Pearce, it’s about her deep professionalism and continued excellence in project delivery within the Defence Estate Works Program and Capital Facilities Infrastructure Branch.
“This is further evidence that technical excellence, deployed with care and pragmatism, improves project outcomes and reduces client risk. We’re grateful to our clients for trusting us with their most difficult challenges, and proud that we can play a part in delivering projects vital to Australia’s future.”
The winners were announced at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, 5 March 2026, at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney.
Category: Client Service Excellence
Category overview: Recognising member firms who have delivered exemplary customer service throughout the course of a client engagement or project.
In March 2024, the GEMCO (Milner Bay) Wharf was severely damaged, halting global exports of manganese ore, used in steelmaking and rechargeable batteries. As the world’s largest exporter of manganese ore, responsible for 10 – 15% of global supply, expediting the recovery of the wharf was an urgent priority.
Aurecon expedited Milner Bay Wharf's recovery, the largest manganese ore exporter.
GEMCO (a South32 joint venture) appointed Aurecon to lead planning and design of the recovery effort – drawing on deep expertise in marine infrastructure, multidisciplinary engineering and disaster recovery. The Aurecon team worked with GEMCO to enable manganese exports to recommence in May 2025, transforming the facility from catastrophe to rebuilt and operational in just 14 months – a process that could have taken three to five years.
Category: Innovation for Excellence
Category overview: Recognising member firms who have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process and excellence.
Transgrid’s EnergyConnect is one of Australia’s largest energy transmission projects involving a multi-billion-dollar, 900 km transmission line to connect the energy grids in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The project improves reliability security of electricity supply and enables future connections from renewable energy sources.
Transgrid's EnergyConnect is one of Australia’s largest energy transmission projects involving a new, multi-billion dollar, 900 km transmission line to connect the energy grids across three states.
On the 700 km NSW section, Aurecon provided detailed design for Australia’s first new 500 kV transmission line in over 30 years, from Dinawan to Wagga Wagga, including high voltage transmission towers, electrical lines and substations.
Pioneering design innovations streamlined construction, reducing costs, materials, embodied carbon and the environmental footprint. A key feature was the Australian-first adoption of European-style Danubio towers, optimising tower height, quantity and spacing to reduce the overall tonnage of steel required by around 20%.
Using an innovative 500 kV tower design helped reduce material use, lower environmental impact, and improve construction efficiency.
This achievement is the result of a collaborative effort between Transgrid, Elecnor Australia (Transgrid’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor) and Aurecon on the adoption the innovative design approach.
Category: Collaboration for Project Excellence
Category overview: Recognising exemplary project team collaboration initiatives between a member firm and its clients.
NEXTDC S3 Sydney is one of Sydney’s largest and most technologically advanced co-location data centres, strategically located less than 10 kms from the CBD. Designed to support the nation’s continued demand for secure, always-on digital infrastructure, S3 Sydney delivers more than 20,000 m² of technical space, 10,800 racks and up to 80 MW of critical power. It expands NEXTDC’s data centre ecosystem alongside S1 Sydney and S2 Sydney, while enabling future network growth through S4 Sydney, S5 Sydney, S6 Sydney and S7 Sydney.
NEXTDC S3 Sydney is one of Sydney’s largest and most technologically advanced co-location data centres, strategically located less than 10 kms from the CBD.
Aurecon partnered with NEXTDC Engineering to deliver structural, civil and building services engineering, achieving Uptime Institute Tier IV design, constructed and test witnessed certification, the highest global standard for data centre resilience, reliability and fault tolerance. The centre plays a critical role in powering Australia’s digital economy, supporting hyperscale and cloud providers, enterprise clients and the broader ICT ecosystem.
Aurecon partnered with NEXTDC, delivering structural, civil and building services engineering.
Category: Emerging Leader
Category overview: Acknowledges professional staff of member firms aged 38 years and under who have made a significant contribution to their firm and added value in a demonstrable way.
Since joining Aurecon in 2006, Amanda has consistently demonstrated her commitment and vision, establishing herself as a pivotal contact within the Defence Estate Works Program and Capital Facilities Infrastructure Branch. Her ability to integrate innovative solutions with a deep understanding of client needs not only strengthens partnerships but also sets a benchmark for excellence in project delivery, positively influencing Aurecon’s engineering and design projects.
Amanda Pearce’s leadership has been recognised by her election as president of the Western Australia advisory committee for the Women in Defence Association (WIDA).
Amanda’s unwavering dedication to professional growth, combined with her talent for empowering those around her and her proactive contributions to the engineering, Defence, and consulting communities, exemplifies the qualities of an emerging leader committed to making a lasting and meaningful impact.
Amanda Pearce is captured speaking on a panel at a CollabX event.
She has played an instrumental role in enhancing the local capacity of Aurecon’s Perth office and has become a prominent advocate for Aurecon in Western Australia, championing improved value and sustainable outcomes in major projects.
Amanda’s leadership has also been recognised by the Defence industry, as evidenced by her election as president of the Western Australia advisory committee for the Women in Defence Association (WIDA).
The Consult Australia Awards celebrate organisations and individuals shaping the future of Australia through forward-thinking engineering, design and advisory services. This year marks 16 years of recognition for Aurecon in the prestigious program.
Group Director, Brand, Marketing & Communications
For 10 years, Aurecon has been named in the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list, reflecting the company's sustained investment innovation.
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.
Aurecon wins multiple honours at Engineers Australia's state and territory Excellence Awards, including Project of the Year for Adelaide Aquatic Centre.
