—— 2026 AWARDS NOW OPEN

The Judging Process

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THE PROCESS

Independent, Structured and Designed to Protect Integrity

The credibility of the Consensus Awards is built on its judging process.

Each entry is assessed through an independent and structured evaluation framework designed to ensure fairness, consistency and integrity.

Independent Assessment

Consensus engages a panel of over 160 experienced industry professionals, including senior executives, advisors and subject matter experts across a range of sectors.

Judges are selected based on their experience, expertise and ability to assess innovation from a commercial and strategic perspective.

To protect the integrity of the program, individual judges are not publicly disclosed during the evaluation process.

Evaluation Criteria

Entries are assessed against a consistent set of criteria, including:

  • Innovation and differentiation

  • Commercial viability

  • Market opportunity

  • Scalability and growth potential

  • Impact and relevance within the industry

This ensures that all entrants are evaluated on substance and potential, rather than brand recognition or market presence.

Governance and Integrity

The program is underpinned by strict governance protocols, including:

·        Confidentiality of submissions

·        Conflict of interest management

·        Independent scoring and review processes

These measures ensure that all outcomes are credible, transparent and defensible.

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PAST WINNERS

2014 Awards Judging Panel

2017 Awards Judging Panel

INDEPENDENT EVALUATION

And why it matters

Innovation is often difficult to assess objectively.

Consensus addresses this challenge through a structured evaluation framework that combines industry expertise with clearly defined assessment criteria.

By removing popularity, marketing budgets and public voting from the process, Consensus ensures that entrants are assessed on merit, commercial potential and impact.

This commitment to independence is a key reason why the program has maintained its credibility and consistency for more than 25 years.

2018 Awards Judges

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  • “The Consensus Awards have a history of celebrating some of the most cutting-edge and innovative Australian tech companies, counting world-famous firms Atlassian and WiseTech Global as former recipients. I have no doubt that this year’s recipients will follow in their success.”

    Previous Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has presented Consensus Awards twice

  • “Julian Day at Consensus Awards encouraged us to enter in 2004 when we were launching our first product, JIRA. It focussed us to document exactly what our offering was, sharpen our USP’s, define our target market and confirm our go-to-market strategy. It was the first of many Awards we received but by far the most significant. It was so valuable as it gave us the encouragement to leverage off the win and promote technology assessed by a large independent panel of industry experts.”

    Mike Cannon-Brookes & Scott Farquhar, Atlassian Founders - Consensus Awards 2004 Winner

  • "We entered to validate our technology against the knowledge of a large number of industry expert judges and to ensure we were on track in terms of our offering to the market, our go-to-market strategy and our marketing material. Winning an Award opened doors for us around the world and put us on a steep growth path.”

    Richard White, Founder & CEO of ASX listed WiseTech Global - Consensus Software Awards Winner 2008

  • “Recstra entered the Consensus Awards in 2017. The application and presentation process was a real eye-opener. The judging panel were incredibly astute and looked at every aspect of the Recstra model during the presentations phase. We were humbled to win the award and to follow in the footsteps of such esteemed company as Atlassian and WiseTech Global is a real boost for us. Winning the award gave us access to the Consensus Network and I have received valuable counsel from many of the judges as we navigate our start-up phase. I would have no hesitation in recommending like-minded businesses to nominate for the Consensus Awards. The media coverage and ability to 'lean' on our win has definitely converted new clients.”

    Craig Watson – Recstra Founder - Consensus Awards 2017 Winner

  • "Winning the Consensus Award in 2018 gave Solo Cover a tremendous boost and provided an invaluable opportunity to network with leaders within the sector, as well as with other entrants. We are proud to join the ranks of previous winners which have gone on to become esteemed champions, such as Atlassian, WiseTech Global and Astute Payroll."

    Jay Cooper – SAMI Insurance Founder - Consensus Awards 2018 Winner

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