Making the difference

A huge congratulations to this year’s winners. It was great to see innovative projects delivering tangible benefits to the Victorian community. Stay tuned as we continue to celebrate and share the stories of our winners and finalists over the coming weeks.

Amanda Stevens, Chief Executive Officer, IPAA Victoria

Making the difference: IPAA Victoria Leadership Awards 2025 winners 

Better Outcomes Through Regulation & Innovation Award  

Moonee Valley City Council launched Register to Reunite with your Pet to tackle the high number of unregistered dogs and cats and reduce animals being impounded or euthanised. The program offers a compelling value exchange: heavily discounted first-year registration fees, waived impound charges, free pet return services, and no fines for registered pets found at large. 

Communicating with Impact Award  

In an Australian-first, the Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing is funding 1,500 free pad and tampon machines across up to 700 public sites—tackling period poverty and promoting dignity for all Victorians. Launched in November 2024, the test phase of Free Pads and Tampons. Period. saw 20,000 free packs accessed at 30 locations statewide.  

Designing Services for People Award  

Launched in July 2024, Bringing the ED to Me: The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) Diabetes Service is Australia’s first dedicated virtual emergency diabetes service, transforming how Victorians with diabetes access urgent care. Developed in partnership by The University of Melbourne, Northern Health and the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI), Ambulance Victoria, Diabetes Victoria and the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service, the service enables people with diabetes to receive timely specialist care from the safety of home. This pioneering model is now being evaluated as a blueprint for diabetes emergency care across Australia. 

Developing Evidence-Driven Policy Award  

The COVID Catch Up Plan and resulting Planned Surgery Reform Blueprint represent a landmark evidence-driven reform of Victoria’s planned surgery system. Developed by the Department of Health’s Planned Care Recovery and Reform Program, the initiative addressed pandemic-driven backlogs and long-standing system challenges. The Blueprint, released in September 2023, now provides a ten-point reform roadmap to embed long-term system improvements.  

Implementing Aboriginal Self-determination Award

The Self-Determination in Education Reform initiative is a statewide effort led by the Victorian Department of Education to strengthen Aboriginal self-determination in the education system. Funded through successive State Budgets, the initiative engaged over 3,000 participants across 182 “Campfire Conversations” with 89 schools and 12 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). These culturally safe gatherings created space for storytelling, deep listening, and genuine community-led dialogue about how schools can better partner with Koorie communities to improve learning outcomes. 

People’s Choice Award   

This award was open to all finalists, enabling individuals in our sector to commend work conducted by the people for the people 

Receiving 120 of the over 700 total votes to take home the People’s Choice Award is Bringing the ED to Me: The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) Diabetes Service.  

Congratulations to all our 2025 Leadership Award winners and finalists. You are truly making the difference for the Victorian community.

Want to learn more about the projects and initiatives? Visit the Leadership Awards page to learn more about the 2025 finalists. 

IPAA Victoria would like to thank its event partner, Victorian Public Sector Commission, for their continued support in this year’s Leadership Awards.