National Winners

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video transitions from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.

Presenter speaks: The Telstra Best of Business awards, Business of the Year…

Footage: Presenter makes a small tear in the held envelope.

Presenter speaks: I've done the same thing, I've ripped it, is... DJAARA.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a white suit with black bowtie, and one in a black dress, hold hands and walk past a cheering audience. They walk past a firework display on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with presenters.

Recipient 1: It was very emotional before, but I think it's important for executives and our leadership to shine in a fashion that sets an example for all of us as people. To have those amongst us that can be visionary, be realistic, be sensible and accountable is really important. Small, medium and large businesses. You that are in the room would know that more than anyone, and for me, it's the first acknowledgement. I want to recognise all of you in the room because you, we are winners, and we'll set a standard in Australia that will set us apart internationally and globally amongst all entrepreneurs. So give yourselves a round of applause.

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Audio: [Applause]

Recipient 1: As we always do, we thank our families. Dja Dja Wurrung has a family, we're a family business that started off, like I said before, six people, over 200,  $600,000, $28-$32 million. We're projecting in five, ten years to be a $100 million business, and we want all of us to share in those successes. Thank you.

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Audio: [Applause]

Recipient 1: This participation in the awards and I found an inner child this week, thank you Barb. Thank you Dimitri on Table 1. The unsung heroes amongst all of us in our corporate entities, particularly Dimitri, is beautiful. Today I felt pretty uncomfortable being in a group with people as an introvert, even though I'm a CEO, but to see everyone there and just actually how beautiful you are as people just actually opened my heart to being less nerdy and technical as CEO. So I wanted to mention that. But Telstra provides us, I think it was '91, they redefined themselves in Melbourne from Telcom Australia to Telstra and you look at what they've achieved now over many decades, that sets an example for all of us in our partnerships, our relationships, on how we can work together as family and support each other.

We are so appreciative of Telstra to be a corporate leader in Australia, a home, and provide an opportunity for all of us to participate and show the world actually how good we really are. This award is for you.

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Presenter speaks: It is my absolute honour to announce this year's winner of the Accelerating Women's Awards. Drum roll.

Audio: [Drum Roll plays through speakers]

Presenter speaks: Ikuntji.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a white blazer and one in a black and white playsuit, walk past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: [Speaking in Luritja]

Recipient 1: Thank you, thank you to our elders for having a vision when setting up Ikuntji Artists. We are walking in their footsteps every day. They made it possible for the little art centre from Haasts Bluff, three hours west of Alice Springs, is getting recognition for all the work that we have put in over thousands of generations. Thank you.

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Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video transitions from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.

Presenter speaks: The winner is The Push-Up Challenge!

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: One recipient, wearing a black suit and bow tie, hugs others at their table and walks past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient: It is so incredible to be up here in front of so many amazing people. Australians cop it all. From bushfires, floods, violence, and financial pressures. We're constantly faced with challenges. And whilst these things aren't easy to solve, we must make our way through them. For it's not the load that breaks us; it's the way we carry it. And what better way to carry a load than to have a mate help out. To have a supportive community behind us. To be a part of a community that supports one another.

The Push-Up Challenge is strengthening communities in all parts of Australia. Bringing together families, workplaces, schools, sporting clubs, and regional towns. To date, we've had over 700,000 participants who have collectively raised over $50 million for mental health. Including-

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Recipient: Yeah. Including for such charities as Lifeline and Headspace. Through the Push-Up Challenge, we've helped families and friends of those who have lost someone to suicide. We've helped them grieve for their loved ones. We've helped them rally around each other. Through our Student Ambassador Program, last year alone, we empowered over 500 students and 500 schools across Australia to engage their schools in mental health in a fun and approachable way. Through our events, we've provided a tool to light a spark. To get people passionate about their health and the health of their community. Combined, we've levelled up the mental fitness of hundreds of thousands of Australians. And most recently, Canadians too. To help them strengthen themselves and their mates.

I am incredibly grateful to be up here tonight. Thanks to Telstra for putting on these incredible awards. Thanks to my energetic, innovative, and creative team up the back there, Absolute Champions.

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Audio: [Applause]

Recipient: They continue to push boundaries. And finally, thanks to those who have taken part in the Push-Up Challenge and have been a force for good. Together, as a community, we can make a difference. We can be resilient. Together, we will push for better mental health.

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Presenter speaks: The Telstra Best of Business Awards National Championing Health Award winner is… Bellberry.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a black dress and one in a black suit, hug each other and walk past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: Wowl, it's absolutely incredible to be standing up here, and thank you to Telstra, of course, for this privilege and for the process. Having met our competitors over the last two days, they are all extraordinary businesses making a difference across Australia, and we're incredibly proud to be part of this cohort. My name's Kylie Sproston, I'm the CEO of Bellberry, but Bellberry wouldn't exist today without the courage and creativity of two people who are here tonight: our founding chair, Fraser Bell, and our founding CEO, Imelda Lynch.

Footage: Audience applauding, footage shows the table where the recipients were seated, a guest wipes tears from their eyes.

Audio: [Applause]

Recipient 1: In 2004, we were created to solve a problem with one committee providing scientific and ethical review of clinical trials at one research site in South Australia. Twenty years later, we have 12 committees providing HRAC oversight across the country. We're internationally recognised for the excellence of our service and we have regulatory responsibility for more than 40% of Australia's clinical trials.

But we do this as a not-for-profit, or rather as a commercial business that operates in a profit-for-purpose way. We've returned more than $12 million back into the medical research sector and have facilitated over 11,000 trials. To give you an idea of the scale of that impact, in a typical year, more than half of all new therapies approved on a global basis have been seen by a Bellberry HREC at some point in their development lifecycle.

That's an incredible statistic and it's testament to two things. Firstly, the strength and reputation of the Australian medical research sector. And secondly, the community that I have the privilege to lead at Bellberry, where we have nearly 250 members of staff, HREC reviewers of all categories, and our board who join together with us to make a difference.

And the last word: it's never been more important to tell stories about the value of evidence-based medical research. The medical breakthroughs of the future will only be possible because of volunteers participating in clinical trials today. Bellberry's primary objective is to protect the welfare of human research participants. And so in closing, I want to recognise their contribution. Thank you.

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Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video transitions from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.

Presenter speaks: The winner of the Telstra Best of Business Awards National Embracing Innovation is… Verterra Ecological Engineering.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a black suit and one in a black dress, hug others at their table and walk past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: I'm absolutely excited beyond words. I'm really extremely honoured and humbled to be here and accept this award on behalf of Verterra. This is a win not only for our company but also for the recognition of ecological engineering and the need for new solutions on how people and the environment can beneficially co-exist on planet Earth.

We tend to think of nature as something apart from society, but it's the way that people interact with nature that's driving some of the greatest challenges of our age: climate change and biodiversity loss. These are the types of issues that ecological engineering seeks to reframe to find win-win outcomes rather than trading development off at the expense of the environment.

And it's the people in Verterra who have the conviction of working towards sustainable solutions for our future, who are always looking for better ways to do things, that are the reason we're receiving this award tonight. First of all, I'd like to thank my family for the long work hours over many, many years. My beautiful wife, Sue, has been my rock.

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Recipient 1: Really integral to the long journey, and has been central to keeping the financial wheels of the business turning as well. Chick Robb, a lifetime friend, I've actually known longer than Sue, left a secure job to join Verterra when it was just an idea. Neil Halpin, another long-time friend, who's just retired at the right young age of 75. We just couldn't get him out of the business, he's so excited. At the back table there, our senior staff: Laura, Penny, Dave, Ben, Andrew, I should have read my notes here, Peter, and Marion, our senior staff who I have the honour and privilege to work with every day.

A special call-out as well to our long-term chairman, Graham Thompson, who unfortunately passed away last year but was a guiding light in the development of Verterra.

To all our other team members, past and present, I won't name them because I know I'm going to miss someone, but thank you, this is your award to be proud of and to reinforce our mission of finding better ways to support society and the environment.

We were actually nominated by a past employee, Gordon Seeto. I'd like to mention Gordon and thank him for nominating us out of the blue. To our clients, associates, partners, and many other supporters over the years who have had the trust to engage us, work with us, collaborate with us and deliver nature-based solutions when this wasn't even a thing. And finally, to Telstra for running this great event. It's been a very rigorous process, a great chance to reflect on what we do, why we do it, and a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by a fantastic cohort of people.

People that know me know that I love a good bush ballad, but another poem I think by Roger Kipling that my father used to recite when I was a young boy is appropriate for the evening. "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the world and everything that's in it." Everyone in this room tonight has more than amply filled that unforgiving minute, and the world is your oyster to go forth and do great things. Thank you very much.

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Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video transitions from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.

Presenter speaks: The Telstra Best of Business Awards National Indigenous Excellence Award winner is… Is there a drum roll?

Audio: [Drum Roll plays through speakers]

Presenter speaks: To the deadliest business… DJAARA.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a white suit and black bow tie and one in a black dress, get up from their table and walk past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: Duma, duma, thank you everyone. Martinga Guli murrup, thank you to the ancestors. Six years ago, Dja Dja Wurrung was six employees, $600,000 budget. Fortunately, in the last ten years, for me as the CEO, we have over 200 employees. We work across four locations. Last year's budget was $28 million. Thank you, thank you.

The multiplier effect for us as a people to the wider community, as First Nations people, we're not just an add-on now; we're a significant contributor. And the multiplier economic effect is between three and five times. So if we think that we're trading at nearly $30 million a year, we're significantly contributing. Our cultural knowledge as First Nations people is so significant and lost, I think, on Australia to be actively utilised and positively utilised for all of our benefits. And we hope, going forward, you all engage First Nations people, support them to contribute in difficult situations but across so many economies in central Victoria.

We can do this together as Australians. We can do this, and we will show the world how good we really are. Duma. Thank you.

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Presenter speaks: The Telstra Best of Business Awards National Outstanding Growth Award winner is… Proptech Labs.

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, both in black suits, walk past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: That's a big surprise actually. My co-founder John owes me a hundred bucks, so thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. It's an absolute honour to be standing here tonight in front of you to accept this wonderful award for the National Telstra Business Award for Outstanding Growth on behalf of Proptech Labs.

This award represents not only our achievements as a company but the shared vision of everyone who's been with us, believed in us, and helped make our dream a reality.

First and foremost, I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to Telstra for recognising and celebrating businesses that push the boundaries, create impact, and to the wonderful team at the awards who called me many, many times, and the judging panel as well, who made it all possible.

Actually, when they called me, I thought they were trying to get me to upgrade my plan. It turns out this is a little bit better than the unlimited data that I thought was going to be on offer. It's a great recognition for the crazy journey that we've been on, and let me tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than standing here in front of you tonight.

I'd like to acknowledge our clients and our partners, and most importantly, our team at Proptech Labs. They're not just talented individuals, they're the best group of enablers to help dreamers like Jon and I to fulfil our vision.

When I said, "Let's revolutionise property management," no one actually ran away, which was quite surprising. They rolled up their sleeves, they made countless cups of coffee, and we turned real ideas and dreams into reality and working products. And let's be honest, we broke a few things along the way, but the team managed to fix them, and we did it with a smile on their face. So you're rock stars to our team. Thank you so much. But—thank you.

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Growth doesn't happen just because you've got a good team. No, growth happens when you're willing to dive headfirst, make mistakes, to laugh at yourself, and keep going no matter how many times you hit a roadblock.

Growth happens when you take risks, give it your all, and become so obsessed with your mission that even your pets start wondering why you're still looking at spreadsheets at 2 in the morning. It's about listening to your customers, failing spectacularly, iterating like maniacs, and never ever settling for "it's good enough."

Our growth story is the story of people—the people that trusted us, collaborated with us, and shared our slightly unhinged dream. And I mean slightly unhinged in the best possible way, because honestly, you've got to be a little bit crazy to tackle the problems that we were trying to solve in property management and think, "Yeah, we can totally do this."

But we did, and here we are, celebrating the results. They say success doesn't happen overnight, and yes, they're right. It's over a lot of sleepless nights—that's where it happens. Blood, sweat, tears, and definitely hard yakka. It's been built through the collective efforts of all the individuals who refused to give up even when things got tough.

An interesting statistic for you: that more than one in two people in Australia use one of our platforms, either in renting or owning. So to let that sink in: half of this country uses one or more of our platforms from two blokes from Perth who cooked up an idea in an Officeworks on Boxing Day eight years ago. So that's pretty cool. Thank you.

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To leave you with a couple of thoughts: to everyone who's out there who's building, growing, or striving, keep going. To our fellow finalists in our category and all categories, congratulations on getting this far. You're all superstars. The journey might be long and full of unexpected twists, and the occasional "Why on earth did I sign up for this?" But moments like this, I can promise you, the rewards are worth every second.

Thank you again for this incredible honour. Let's keep pushing the boundaries. Let's keep innovating, and most importantly, let's keep laughing while we do it. Because if you can't laugh through the chaos, you're missing the best part. Thanks again and have a fantastic night.

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Presenter speaks: So, the Telstra Best of Business Awards, the National Promoting Sustainability Award winner is…

Footage: Presenter makes a small tear in the held envelope.

Presenter speaks: Ripped it. That's lovely. Wildlife Drones.

[Cheers]

Audio: Audience cheers, upbeat swinging music

Footage: Two recipients, one in a purple dress and one in a black suit, hug each other and dance past a cheering audience. They walk on the stage and towards the podium. They receive an award and take a photo with the presenter.

Recipient 1: Oh my gosh, thank you. What an amazing honour. To think that sustainability has come to where it is today and its effect in everybody's lives here, and that we were chosen amongst these amazing companies driving a positive future for all of us. It's a real honour.

Thank you, Telstra, for the opportunity. My team is what makes all of this possible. They are the most inspiring, creative, smart people. I have the privilege to work with every single day, including my partner in life and in the craziness that is a start-up company. We're a really small company, but we pack a big punch. Our technology started off in our shed, in the backyard, with a hacksaw and a drill and an idea for doing things differently.

I worked on endangered species most of my career, and I spent most of my life trying to protect our natural world. I never imagined when I started my career that I would set up a tech company and actually manufacture technology using circular economy materials and being able to export all around the world.

We help people in Vietnam track pangolins from the black market. We help people in the US track Burmese pythons that are across the Everglades, destroying entire ecosystems, and giant hornets in Washington that are threatening food security across the United States.

These are just a few of the things that the technology I developed for my own problem are now being used. And I have the great fortune of working with engineers, designers, marketing specialists, sales specialists, all together sharing a unique passion for the environment.

And this has now transformed into even bigger markets where we're harnessing not only drone data, but data from all different elements of the environment and pulling that together for corporations, financial institutions, and their entire value chains so they can report on biodiversity, much like there is a need to do for carbon.

This is coming out of Europe and is going to be a requirement of all businesses around the world. And we're at the forefront of that. And my team make this possible. And it's just amazing to be here. And what a celebration.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been involved along the journey, our investors who believed in us, before nature-based solutions were a thing, that believed in the vision and the idea and in us as people, and continue to support us and grow. Thank you.

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