Awards

ARISO Rail Safety Awards

The Rail Safety Awards recognise and celebrate individual and organisational achievements that strengthen safety outcomes across rail in Australia and New Zealand.

 

Note
These Awards were established under RISSB. From November 2025, the organisation transitioned to ARISO. This page retains the historical ARISO record and will be updated for future ARISO Awards as details are confirmed.

2025 Awards

2025 winners, highly commended and finalists

Congratulations to all 2025 finalists. Category winners are listed below.

Community
Community Safety Initiative

The community safety award acknowledges initiatives that deliver improved community rail safety outcomes (for example level crossings, trespass, or other community safety engagement initiatives).

Winner
Ollera Creek Emergency Response
Queensland Rail
Highly commended
Respect the sign. Lives are on the line
Aurizon
Finalists
Rail Active Crossing System, Rail Safety Systems
Corridor Intrusion Detection System and Obstacle Detection System (ODS), UGL
What’s it going to take? A team approach to safety, TasRail

Frontline
Frontline Worker Safety Initiative

This award recognises a frontline rail worker (or team) who has championed a safety initiative or workplace improvement with exemplary safety outcomes.

Winner
BallastMate – A safer and smarter way to lay bottom ballast
Martinus Rail
Highly commended
ALSTOM Dandenong Excellence League (DEL)
ALSTOM
Finalists
Safer Jig Movement, Downer
M18 Bluetooth Cable Cutter on the METRONET Victoria-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project, METRONET
Airborne Hazard Protection, Swietelsky Rail

Program
Safety Leadership Program

This award celebrates programs that lift safety capability and improve physical and/or psychological safety outcomes.

Winner
Real-time access & possession interactive display
Sydney Trains
Highly commended
Safe by choice, not by chance
Downer
Finalists
Employee Wellbeing Framework, Swietelsky Rail
Level Crossing Predictor Improvement Program, Rio Tinto
Electronic Authorities Milestone, 4Tel

People
Emerging Leader

This award recognises excellence and innovation by a rail worker with less than 5 years in the industry.

Winner
Linda Toovey
Laing O’Rourke
Highly commended
Jayden Edmonds
Downer
Finalists
Akshay Doosa, Systra
Alaman Altaf, MTM
Muhsiul Hassan, V/Line

Professional
Industry Safety Professional of the Year

This award acknowledges the overall achievements of a safety professional in improving health, safety and wellbeing outcomes within a team or organisation.

Winner
Kylie Pearse
John Holland
Highly commended
Shoaib Ahmed
ALSTOM
Finalists
Dave Lumsden, Downer
Joe McGinlay, Rio Tinto
Corrie Summers, TasRail

Judging panel

Thank you to the judges for the generosity of their time and expertise.

  • Colin Holmes – Projects & Technical Program Director, Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR)
  • Jesse Baker – General Manager Passenger Rail and Safety, Australasia Rail Association (ARA)
  • Mark Harris – President, Permanent Way Institute (PWI)
  • Melissa Radke – Head of Standards Reform, National Transport Commission (NTC)
  • Mohit Sareen – Director Rail Operations, Public Transport South Australia (SA)
  • Sudha Niles – General Manager Products and Innovation, ARISO
  • Sharon Tang – General Manager Stakeholder Engagement, ARISO

2024 winners

2024 Awards summary

Community Safety
Mental Health Co-deployment Trial – Queensland Rail
Frontline Worker Safety Initiative
Sharing ideas to ‘Make a Change’ – ARTC
Emerging Leader
Jason Zhou – Downer Rail Transit Systems
Safety Leadership Program
Safe Access for Maintenance Program – Sydney Trains
Industry Safety Professional of the Year
Ann Tomlinson – Alium Works
Photos from the 2024 Awards ceremony and earlier years are shown below.

Photos: place existing “Photos from 2024…” and “Photos from 2023 and 2022…” image galleries under this section