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Irish Chamber

Irish Australian Business Awards Peoples Choice 2018

(VOTING CLOSED) 2018 Irish Australian Business Awards - People's Choice Voting category the "Higgins Award"

An opportunity for the public to make their voice heard and help support the National Finalists with their votes. The most popular finalist on the public vote wins the Higgins Award, named after our founding President Gerry Higgins and is announced on the evening of the National Final.

Congratulations to Andrew Harte, our 2018 "Higgins Award" Winner!

Scroll down and "VIEW MORE" to learn about our 2018 finalists and to watch their videos.

Consultation Status: 
Closed
Allow New Voting Ideas: 
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Votes Based: 
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Survey Based: 
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Votes Available: 
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Pipeline Training Australia would be a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business Award as we believe we make a huge contribution to the safety and productivity within the civil sector.

Pipeline Training Australia has become a leader in the education market because its focus is producing positive outcomes beneficial for both the client and the student. As an education provider we strive to transfer additional knowledge that will add value to the skill sets required for our students to work safely with confidence. This will enable them to be highly productive to their business and their colleagues.

Pipeline Training Australia also wants to provide a quality, efficient service to our clients who are continually investing in the development of their employee’s skills along with legislative requirements within the civil sector.

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A 15 year career dedicated to improve tertiary education opportunities for working adults, resulting recently in building one of the fastest-growing education businesses in Australia - servicing over 10,000 students annually - allowing working adults from all corners of Australia to improve their careers, further their education, and access world class university education that would never previously have been possible.

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If you had asked me 5 years ago where I thought I would be in 2018, owning my own successful Traffic Control business wouldn’t even have entered my mind.  I moved to Sydney from a small town in Ireland in 2012; enthusiastic and keen to travel and expand my horizons. I was keen to gain new skills and experience in Australia and was willing to take on any job role to make a success of my new life. Having worked as a hairdresser in Ireland, in 2016 I found myself in Sydney as a traffic controller and had recognised a distinct gap in the market for a traffic management company. Not long after,at the age of 25 I started my own traffic management company. In the beginning, Swilly Traffic Solutions had just 1 Ute providing traffic management to a small civil contractor. Initially I had to balance my business start up with other part time work as a hospital porter. Within three months my hard work began to pay off as word of my quality service spread and I expanded with another ute and three employees. Since then the business has gone from strength to strength.

I worked day and night to make this dream a reality; networking dedication and support from friends and family allowed the business to grow. The reputation of Swilly Traffic Solutions gained momentum and was surpassing projected sales figures. In March 2017 I unfortunately got a call to sat my best friend had been murdered in India, this was probably the most testing part of being chief executive of my own business.  This personal challenge also became a challenge for Swilly Traffic Solutions, as I tried to remotely manage the company from Ireland and India.. Thankfully with help from my closest friends who worked in Sydney to keep the business going whilst I was gone, I reluctantly returned to my old life in Sydney with a fresh perspective on what matters in life. Those around me carried me at my lowest points and encouraged me when I no longer had the drive in myself. Over time, I learned to live with my grief and slowly my hunger for success returned. After facing the most difficult hurdle in my life I have even surprised myself of my capabilities.

There have been steep learning curves, late nights, rapid expansion and personal challenges, yet Swilly Traffic Solutions continues to grow and go from strength to strength. Swilly traffic solutions which began as an idea, turned into a dream and became a reality. Swilly Traffic Solutions is proof that if you follow your dreams, ideas can become reality and I am proud that a company that began with one Ute, now has eight and currently employs over 20 staff. It is so true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds! Never give up on yourself or your dreams.

 

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Publift's rise from humble beginnings to an industry leader in the advertising technology space in Australia has been monumental. Through its own proprietary platform and industry leaders, Publift is shaping the advancement of advertising technology in Australia and globally. This is a great story of hard work, endeavour and smart business sense to achieve Year on Year growth of 190% to $5.4m in the financial year ending 2018.

Publift's focus on Fun & Learning has paid dividends with a young, energetic team focused on making life easy for clients. The team has grown to 10 in Sydney and opened an office in Manila. Publift moved into a new penthouse office in Surry Hills.

The business is founded by Colm Dolan and Tobin Page. Colm is a native of Portumna, Co. Galway. Colm accredits much of his success and constant quest for improvement from his upbringing. His parents instilled great beliefs in hard work, integrity and enjoying life. Bringing these same values to shape young people's lives in Australia with varying degrees of backgrounds mean Publift is a great example of true globalisation and a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business Award.

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I am very passionate about linking both Irish and Australian literary communities and I have worked hard over the past few years to build my profile in Australia and Ireland so that I can be a positive role model for businesses, especially for women who want to have a personal balance between being a hands on mum and earning an income. Being a mum of six and building a publishing business from the ground up has helped me inspire many people already.

I believe that winning an Irish Australian Business Award would help me reach a wider audience in both Ireland and Australia, as I make annual trips to host a retreat in an Irish castle for my authors I would be able to also work in some time share the benefits of winning this award within many circles.

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Precision Pipe Networks is a family owned company operating in NSW, predominately the Greater Sydney Region. Formed in 2016 and with a collective wealth of knowledge, experience and depth of skill, our team has built a powerful reputation for delivering projects to an exceptional standard. We have a proven track record in the construction of high quality pipeline projects, exceeding our clients’ expectations with regards to safety, quality and environmental standards in the workplace, whilst also ensuring value for money and cost competitiveness.

We pride ourselves on offering a personalised service, being easy to work with and responsive to our clients and their needs. We care about our customers, their time and the projects they provide. We work collaboratively with our clients to help them make the right decisions based on our extensive knowledge and experience; ensuring that each and every project is completed in a timely and professional manner. Repeat business is testament to the honesty and integrity that underpins all dealings with our valued business partners. Precision Pipe Networks is small enough to listen-big enough to deliver.



Precision Pipe Networks would be a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business Award in recognition of the solid business foundation established in conjunction with clear goals, business objectives and sustainable planning for the future, whilst operating in a dynamic and challenging industry. All three directors, and a significant number of the Precision Pipe Networks Team, are proud to be members of both the Irish and Australian communities, and would be honoured to be recognised by their peers for their achievements in the start-up category.

 

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I work hard, I love my job and I'm ambitious - I have been a Branch manager for almost 4 years now and have worked my way up in the bank through being a Teller, Customer service specialist then after being nominated to take part in Commonwealth Bank's Future now program which is a leadership program- I gained my first Branch Manager Role and moved out to Bordertown- Rural South Australia for this.
I always want to better myself, grow my knowledge and be better at my job and Commonwealth Bank has really supported me to do this and given me the foundation and skills to believe in myself and what I can achieve. I believe my work ethic and ability to connect with people are the two attributes that have gotten me to where I am and working for the bank has given me opportunities to collaborate with other organisations.

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I think I would be a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business award because of the difference I have made and continue to make to people’s lives through my professional work, human rights work and sport. My achievements in each of these areas have been the direct result of surrounding myself with supportive, positive and hard-working role models who have helped me to develop my inner confidence. I will use this award as a platform to accelerate my human rights work, coaching and mentoring, and advocating for the Irish business community in Australia.

In my current role as a Senior Legal Counsel at First State Super, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, I help our members save for their futures. I serve members and put members at the centre of every legal advice I provide to the business. 
 

 

Nikki Bentley, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
“I consider Ciara would be a deserving winner of this award because of her strong work ethic, optimistic nature and fantastic networking skills.”

David Midolla, Head of Legal and Compliance, Fidelity International
“I think that Ciara’s hard work, dedication and commitment make her an outstanding representative of the legal profession and the financial services industry. Ciara has a strong sense of community, justice and giving back which is evidenced by her extensive work in the pro bono area and is typical of Ciara’s Irish culture and heritage.”

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I believe I am a worthy candidate for an Irish Australian Business award due to my hard work, dedication, and commitment to making a difference in every role I have worked in. I am a quality and compliance professional and very passionate about what I do and believe having strong quality systems in place in any business across any industry can improve effectiveness and efficiency on a continuous basis.

Since relocating to Australia in 2014 I have continued to work on self-improvement and have been promoted to a national role in a senior leadership position travelling up to 50% of the time whilst having two young daughters ages 2 and 6. I believe I can be a role model for women in the workplace by demonstrating women can have it all and balancing a big job and a family is entirely achievable!

I currently work as National Quality and Compliance Manager for Primary IVF and since commencing this position I have had an active role in improving the performance and perception of the organisation through active participation and stakeholder engagement with multiple stakeholders and enhanced the standing of the IVF business with key regulatory and legislative bodies overseeing assisted reproductive technology. I have introduced a number of improvement measures to enhance the governance framework within Primary IVF including introduction of a quality management system, and various related systems such as documentation systems, and continuous improvement management systems.

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Hunter Labour Hire was established in January 2015 since then I have grown the company to now having approximately 100 employees and an annual turnover of $7million. The journey to get here has been a bit of a roller coaster ride but I have learned so much along the way, overcome many challenges and risks to the businesses and thankfully I am very happy to say we’ve come out the other side now unscathed and successful.

Being a female director of a business in the construction industry I believe I am in the minority. This is one of the main reasons I recently joined the IACC’s Emerald Roundtable to gain support from other women in leadership. I would hope that more female winners of the awards would encourage more women in business to excel further in their careers and potentially win an award down the line themselves.

I believe that winning an award from the IACC will help me to continue to grow my business and attract construction talent from both Ireland and Australia. The PR related to the process will be great for building both my own network and the Hunter Labour Hire brand. It will also add more credibility my business and highlight us as leaders in a very competitive industry.

I think I would be a worthy winner of an Irish Australian Business award as I have successfully built a reputable labour hire company that uses innovation and quality control measures to ensure we consistently improve our services.



Due to the nature of the industry a lot of our work is casual, and this is well suited to backpackers visiting Australia on Working Holiday Visas looking to finance their travels. We have a high percentage of workers from Ireland, the UK and other parts of Europe and as I was once in the same shoes as these people I can directly relate to how expensive and daunting Sydney can be when you first arrive. Being in a position to now offer these people employment is something I am proud of and consider another viable reason why I would be worthy of an award.

Finally, I think the fact that Hunter Labour Hire has the highest rating and the highest number of reviews on Google for labour hire companies in Sydney is reflective of the fact that we are a company that people love working for and I think this is well worth the recognition of an Irish Australian Business Award.

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