The iTnews Benchmark Awards, sponsored by Interactive, Conga and Freshworks, celebrate the IT projects and leaders using technology to transform Australian business. Across the Benchmark Awards conference and gala dinner, IT leaders and their teams will be recognised for their ambition, innovation, and the impact they have delivered for government, industry, and the public. This year, we are honouring both the standout initiatives and the people behind Australia’s best IT projects.   The 2026 iTnews Benchmark Awards finalists are...    Government Technology Leader: Alexander Caroly, First Assistant Secretary, Technology, Digital and Data Division, Department of Veterans Affairs Charles McHardie, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Services Australia Elizabeth Wilson, Chief Information Officer, Department of Education Victoria Michael McNamara, Executive GM, Enterprise Services, Australia Post Dr Tom Gao, Chief Technology and Digital Services Officer, City of Sydney Tracey Whitelaw, Chief Digital Officer, Local Government Association of Queensland   Local Government Technology Project: City of Sydney – Community digital transformation delivering an integrated ecosystem Local Government Association of Queensland – AI Powered bark logging Randwick City Council – Project Elevate, a modern data centre and infrastructure transition   State Government Technology Project: ACT Government – Digital Canberra – Windows 11 fast track rollout Department for Education, South Australia – Ed Chat Apps, the LEAP App Department of Infrastructure and Transport SA- Licencing and registration modernisation Department of Transport and Main Roads – Governance, Attendance and Payroll (GAP) Report and HR forms modernisation State Electricity Commission Victoria – Market readiness program SECV Victoria Police – Electronic penalty infringement notices app WaterNSW – Water market system (WMS)   Federal Government Technology Project: Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission – Reform for better aged care program Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) – Polling place technology project Australian Trade and Investment Commission – Go global toolkit expansion project ATO – IT strategic sourcing program Services Australia – Supporting payments for aging Australians   Education Technology Leader Andrew Hottes, Chief Digital Information Officer, Cranbrook School Fiona Rankin, Chief Information Officer, TAFE NSW Glen Smith, Chief Information Officer, Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst Joshua Roberts, Executive Director Digital Sydney, University of Sydney   Education Technology Project Cranbrook School – Enterprise ISO 42001 AI Management System Implementation & Certification UNSW – Immersive futures studio enhancing the learning experience University of Sydney – Cogniti, in-house AI education platform   Healthcare Technology Leader Con Pazios, Head of IT Operations, EBOS Group Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Information and Transformation Officer, HBF Health Suzanne Soares, Head of Technology Business Engagement, Healthscope   Healthcare Technology Project Avant Mutual – AI for monitoring of member communications HBF Health – E2E Claims using AI Hume Rural Health Alliance – Hume PAS Connect Johnson & Johnson MedTech ANZ – EMPOWOR Events: ANZ MSD marketing automation Ramsay Health Care - Workforce identity transformation   Finance Technology Leader: Graham Regan, Head of Technology and Security, HLB Mann Judd NSW Jennifer Kazangi, A/Chief Information Officer, Police Bank Vinay Lopes, Head of Platforms, HSBC   Finance Technology Project: Bankwest – Digital transformation including relaunch of website and app Beyond Bank Australia – Enterprise knowledge and change management platform Caleb and Brown – AI driven conversation intelligence and modern telephony Commonwealth Bank of Australia – Core Banking 2 Cloud Finance One – Transforming call quality with AI IAG – Upskilling developers in secure coding PEXA – eConveyancing ecosystem resilience Westpac – Edge firewall transformation project   Industrial & Energy Technology Leader: Clive Bortz, APAC Region CIO, ARUP Hema Wadhwa, Associate Director, Aurecon Group Kurt Brissett, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Built Matthew Dixon, Digital & IT Director, Suntory Beverage & Food Oceania Michael Salas, Chief Information & Digital Officer, BAE Systems   Industrial & Energy Technology Project: Adelaide Airport – Process of Spend, ERP transformation project BAE Systems – Enhancing digital employee experience and compliance Endeavour Energy – Autonomous aerial pathways Energy Queensland – Application optimisation and AIOps project NBN Co – Enterprise knowledge graph Suntory Oceania – Field of Dreams digital transformation Retail Technology Leader: Anthony Sok, General Manager – IT, Sushi Sushi Bernie Repacholi, Former Head of Technology, People Platforms, Coles Group John Hunt, CIO & MD Group Enablement, Woolworths John Khoury, Group CTO, Strandbags   Retail Technology Project: AMG (Australian Motor Group) – Group onboarding into modern management Woolworths – Smart prevention of incidents and outages   Not for Profit Technology Leader: Abby Tripathi, Chief Information Officer, Australian Red Cross Andrew Dome, Chief Digital Information Officer, Uniting NSW.ACT Johan Sulaiman, Head of Technology, Heart Research Institute Roland Estrella, National Manager Business Operations, Stroke Foundation   Not for Profit Technology Project: Australian Pharmacy Council – Accreditation management system Paul Ramsay Foundation – PAL AI agent Silverchain – Migration project post acquistion Uniting – Digital AI assistant “buddy” Congratulations to all iTnews Benchmark Awards project and leadership finalists. The winners will be announced at the 2026 iTnews Benchmark Awards gala dinner in Sydney on March 26. Register your interest in attending the event here.