The Awards That Have Been Quietly Picking Australia & New Zealand’s Business Winners for 25 Years
The first ever winners in the year 2000 with Senator Richard Alston and Consensus Founder Julian Day
Independent analysis reveals the extraordinary long-term success of Consensus Award winners across Australia and New Zealand.
As Consensus prepares to celebrate its Silver Jubilee in 2026, an independent analysis undertaken by a Capstone Project Team from the University of Sydney has revealed an extraordinary finding.
Of the 190 Consensus Award winners recognised across Australia and New Zealand between 2000 and 2023, 181 companies (95.3%) have gone on to achieve long-term commercial success, having either been publicly listed, acquired or remained active businesses.
The analysis found:
190 Consensus Award winners analysed
181 companies (95.3%) classified as commercially successful
7 publicly listed companies
28 acquired companies
146 active businesses
The findings reinforce Consensus' reputation for identifying organisations that go on to shape industries, create jobs and deliver lasting commercial impact.
Over the past 25 years, Consensus has recognised many organisations long before they became household names, including Atlassian and WiseTech Global, both recognised in 2004, along with hundreds of innovators that have helped shape Australia's and New Zealand's technology and innovation landscape.
Unlike many awards programs, Consensus winners are selected through a rigorous, independent judging process involving respected leaders from business, technology, investment, academia and government.
"Having researched innovation awards programs around the world for many years, I believe Consensus is the world's most successful innovation awards program," said Julian Day, Founder of Consensus.
"That belief is based on the long-term success of the companies we've recognised over the past 25 years and my own research into comparable awards globally. Rather than simply make that claim ourselves, we've engaged the University of Sydney Capstone Project Team to independently assess our track record. The findings provide compelling evidence of an extraordinary success story for innovation across Australia and New Zealand."
The analysis forms part of a broader review of Consensus' 25-year legacy, which also includes benchmarking Consensus against comparable innovation awards programs worldwide. Professor Bhuvan Unhelkar from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business is also leading the development of the Consensus Silver Jubilee Directory, documenting the stories and achievements of every Consensus Award winner over the past quarter century.
Andrew Hayes, who independently developed the Consensus Awards Winners Fund after recognising the commercial potential of the Consensus alumni network, said the 25-year track record was compelling from an investment perspective.
"What caught my attention was the extraordinary track record of the companies Consensus has recognised," said Hayes. "When you have 25 years of businesses being identified through an independent judging process and 95% going on to remain active, be acquired or publicly list, that creates an incredibly interesting investment proposition. I saw enough commercial potential in that network to build a managed fund around it."
The full research findings, together with the results of the international benchmarking study, will be released as part of the Consensus Silver Jubilee celebrations.
The 2026 Consensus Awards and 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee Gala Dinner will be held at The Fullerton Hotel Sydney on Wednesday 11 November 2026, bringing together Consensus alumni, founders, investors, judges, industry leaders and the 2026 Award finalists and winners.
Tickets are now on sale, with individual tickets and corporate tables available.
Consensus is also inviting organisations interested in connecting with this network and supporting the next generation of Australian and New Zealand innovation to explore 2026 sponsorship and partnership opportunities.