Over 700 public administrators attended the awards for individual and organisational excellence in public service
The Institute of Public Administration Australia WA (IPAA WA) recognised individual and organisational excellence in public administration at its 12th annual Achievement Awards ceremony on the 7th of December 2023.
Gail Barrow opened proceedings with an inspiring and educational acknowledgement of country, taking attendees on a journey through WA, and challenging everyone to connect with the country around them.
Hosting this year’s ceremony were IPAA WA Councillor, Ian Cowie FIPAAWA, and IPAA WA Treasurer, Kaylene Gulich PSM. In his opening remarks, Mr Cowie outlined the rigorous three stage judging process, and acknowledged the high standard of nominations which were received this year. IPAA WA was honoured to welcome their Patron, His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM FIPAA, Governor of Western Australia, to this year’s ceremony. His Excellency provided brief remarks which explored the importance of excellence in public service in sustaining the wellbeing of citizens and the functioning of the state. Co-Host Kaylene Gulich PSM continued proceedings after lunch, introducing the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shane Love and His Excellency to the stage to present the first set of awards.
Awards were presented across 21 categories. As was the case in previous years, the Awards saw an influx of nominations for the two collaboration categories and the Best Practice in Innovation categories. This continues to highlight the outstanding collaboration being undertaken by the WA public service, and the innovative practices being utilised to deliver better outcomes to the WA community.
The IPAA WA Patron’s Award, the highest accolade in public administration in WA, was the final award presented on the afternoon. His Excellency presented the IPAA Patron’s Award to Liz Macleod PSM FIPAAWA for her significant contributions to public administration. Liz has been a senior leader in Health for approximately 15 years. Most recently Liz was Chief Executive of the East Metropolitan Health Service where she was responsible for managing a $1.75 billion annual budget and leading a team of approximately 10,000 staff. Liz played a pivotal role in WA’s response to COVID-19 as CE for COVID-19 Health Operations, leading the coordination and oversight of activities carried out by WA’s healthcare providers in response to the pandemic. As a leader who has made an outstanding contribution over a substantial number of years to, and excellence in, public administration and management, Liz was a worthy recipient of this award.
Mr Cowie then closed the ceremony by congratulating all the winners and thanking all in attendance for coming together to celebrate the professionalism and achievements of the WA public service.
IPAA WA extends a thank you to all the award judges, sponsors, and presenters. IPAA WA greatly appreciates their support and commitment to excellence within the public service.
For a full list of winners, please visit https://www.wa.ipaa.org.au/resource/2023-achievement-awards/