Australia and New Zealand’s leading internal talent teams, leaders, professionals and partners named as finalists ahead of the 2026 ITAs at Melbourne’s Plaza Ballroom.
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Melbourne, Australia: The finalists for the 2026 Internal Talent Awards, affectionately known as the ITAs, have been announced, recognising the teams, leaders, professionals, employers and solution providers shaping the future of talent acquisition across Australia and New Zealand.
The 2026 ITAs will be held at the Plaza Ballroom, Melbourne, on Thursday, 3 September 2026, bringing together the region’s internal recruitment and talent community for a night of recognition, celebration and, inevitably, a few deeply emotional acceptance speeches that start with “I’ll keep this short” and absolutely do not.
This year’s finalist list includes leading organisations such as Ampol, Culture Amp, Marsh, Optus, Australia Post, Deloitte, Bunnings Group, Coles Group, Lendlease, Qantas Group, V/Line, AGL, Infosys, Transgrid, Movember, Sportsbet, Bupa, ASB Bank New Zealand, MUFG Pension & Market Services, Calvary Healthcare, Infinite Aged Care, Delaware North, BOQ Group, VetPartners, WSP, EACH and many others
The awards celebrate excellence across a broad range of categories, including enterprise and corporate talent teams, individual talent leaders and professionals, candidate experience, employer branding, onboarding, innovation, diversity and inclusion, careers websites, tech stack, contingent workforce solutions, social consciousness and vendor partnerships.
The 2026 program is supported by Platinum Partner SmartRecruiters, an SAP company, with the awards powered by TaPod and TQSolutions.
“The ITAs exist because internal talent teams deserve a stage of their own. These are the people helping organisations find, attract, assess, hire and retain the talent that drives business performance. This year’s finalists show just how far the profession has come, from operational delivery to genuine strategic impact.”
Lauren Sharp, co-founder of the ITAs, said the quality of submissions had again highlighted the depth of talent capability across Australia and New Zealand.
“What stood out this year was the range. We saw brilliant work from large enterprise teams, nimble corporate talent functions, individual recruiters, people leaders, tech partners and community builders. It is a reminder that talent acquisition is no longer just a service function. Done well, it is a commercial advantage.”
2026 ITA Finalists
Finalists are listed below by award category.
Enterprise Talent Team of the Year
Finalist |
Consolidated Power Projects |
Ampol |
Deloitte |
VetPartners |
Culture Amp |
Marsh |
Enterprise Talent Leader of the Year
Finalist |
Kylie Jurukov – Optus |
Emma Cassidy – Ampol |
Patricia Viknyansky – Culture Amp |
Andy Cross – WSP |
Jamie Holder – MUFG Pension & Market Services |
Benjamin Whitfield – Marsh |
Enterprise Talent Professional of the Year
Finalist |
Stefan Welack – Xplor Technologies |
Brooke Baker – Sportsbet |
Annalise Neal – Culture Amp |
Ben Livingstone – Australia Post |
Danielle Ravese – Swinburne Institute of Technology |
Corporate Talent Team of the Year
Finalist |
Movember |
Melba Support Services |
Centorrino Technologies |
MACSEYE |
InstantScripts |
EACH |
Corporate Talent Leader of the Year
Finalist |
Natasha Brent – JJ’s Waste & Recycling |
Stacey Fletcher – Metso Australia |
Kristy Glew – EACH |
Edan Haddock – Movember |
Corporate Talent Professional of the Year
Finalist |
Sean Perera – Movember |
Holly Rees – Bureau Veritas |
Natalie Badaway – Andromeda Robotics |
Kiyo Ichijo – Movember |
Paul Jenkins – Everest Engineering |
Fiona Davidson – Metso Australia |
Excellence in Candidate Experience
Finalist |
Culture Amp |
Movember |
EACH |
Transgrid |
Deloitte |
Bunnings Group |
Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Finalist |
AGL |
Australia Post |
hipages Group |
Trade Me NZ |
V/Line |
Infosys |
Excellence in Employer Branding
Finalist |
V/Line |
Bupa |
Coles Group |
VetPartners |
AnglicareSA |
Story House Early Learning |
Excellence in Onboarding
Finalist |
Infinite Aged Care |
V/Line |
Babcock Australasia |
Story House Early Learning |
Excellence in Innovation
Finalist |
Probe CX |
Culture Amp |
Lendlease |
Delaware North |
Movember |
ASB Bank New Zealand |
Social Consciousness Award
Finalist |
Brisbane Recruitment Meet Up |
Melbourne Talent Meet Up |
Tas Talent Day |
Best Tech Stack
Finalist |
InstantScripts |
EACH |
Delaware North |
BOQ Group |
Bunnings Group |
Boustead Geospatial |
Best Careers Website
Finalist |
Ampol |
Calvary Healthcare |
Infinite Aged Care |
Endeavour Group |
Coles Group |
Qantas Group |
Best Contingent Workforce Solution
Finalist |
Optus |
Calvary Healthcare |
Ampol |
Best Vendor Solution
Finalist | Organisation / Partner |
CheckWorkRights | Delaware North |
Cappfinity | Deloitte |
Checkmate | Infinite Aged Care |
HireVue | MUFG Pension & Market Services |
Amberjack, GradEngage | NTT DATA |
Noble Agency | Probe CX |
Event Details
Winners will be announced live at the 2026 Internal Talent Awards, held at the Plaza Ballroom, Melbourne, on Wednesday, 3 September 2026. Tickets are now available via the official ITAs event page.
About the Internal Talent Awards
The Internal Talent Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in internal recruitment and talent acquisition across Australia and New Zealand. The awards shine a light on the teams, individuals, employers and partners delivering meaningful impact through great hiring, candidate experience, employer brand, technology, innovation, inclusion and workforce strategy.