Categories and Criteria

The STAR Awards will be determined by three independent panels

To ensure the awards process is as transparent and fair as possible, there will be a qualifying round, followed by a two-stage judging process. Entries are fully anonymised before proceeding through to qualifying and judging rounds.

STAR Awards categories

The STAR Awards are open to human resources, talent acquisition, hiring and employer brand teams and professionals within Australian organisations. Recruitment agencies and recruitment process outsourcing suppliers will be acknowledged by the SARA Awards at a later date.

Talent Acquisition Leader of the Year

The winner of this award will be focused on the big picture, and on how their talent team are driving the vision for their business. They will encourage continuous improvement throughout their team, while motivating and inspiring their team to achieve outstanding results.

Talent Acquisition Rising Star of the Year

The winner of this award will be a highly valued member of their team with fewer than 8 years of talent acquisition and/or hiring experience within a HR capacity. They demonstrate exceptional hiring skills and are helping to improve the talent acquisition strategy at their organisation through innovative and creative thinking, whilst always putting the candidate at the centre of what they do.

Talent Acquisition Team of the Year (over 1000 employees)

The winner of this award will be able to demonstrate that their team is a powerhouse, collaborating closely to drive toward their talent acquisition goals, and leveraging the strengths of their large organisation.

Talent Acquisition Team of the Year (under 1000 employees)

The winner of this award will be able to demonstrate that their team is striving to be a trailblazer in talent acquisition, taking a nimble and innovative approach to reaching their goals, and leveraging the strengths of their small or medium-sized business.

Public Sector Team of the Year

The winner of this award will be able to demonstrate that their team is championing talent acquisition in the public sector while ultimately ensuring the very best candidates go on to serve the greater community.

Best Employer Brand Initiative

The winner of this award will be focused on amplifying and optimising their unique Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to reach best fit candidates. Their nominated initiative will be strategic and innovative in approach, and will be contributing to a stronger employer brand.

Best Candidate Experience Initiative

The winner of this award will take a candidate-centric approach to ensure all candidates have a great experience. Their nominated initiative will go above and beyond their candidates’ expectations.

Best Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative

The winner of this award will treat diversity, equity and inclusion as integral to their organisation, and will have an attraction strategy that supports this.

What the judges are looking for

The judging panels will assess entries using the following guiding criteria. These have been designed to reflect the essential role internal talent and hiring teams play within organisations, and the way these teams must adapt and strive for success in an ever-evolving landscape. Here's an overview of what the judges will look for:

Candidate centric

How are you putting the candidate at the centre of your strategy or initiative/s?

Innovation

How are you doing things differently, whether it's process, technology or strategy?

Results

How do you know you are succeeding?

Greater impact

How does this achievement better your organisation, your community, or your candidate experience?

The judges

This year, the STAR Awards will be determined by two independent panels. To ensure the awards process is as transparent and fair as possible, there will be a two-stage judging process. One independent panel of talent acquisition leaders will determine the awards shortlist, then a second independent panel of HR and business leaders will determine the award winners.

Juliet Bourke

Professor of Practice, School of Management and Governance, UNSW Business School
Juliet is an author and TEDx speaker and sits on a number of boards including the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at Kings College London, founded and chaired by Julia Gillard AO; the 30% Club Education Committee, qChange (an HR Tech Start-up) and Ovarian Cancer Australia. She consults to global leaders on D&I and was recognised in 2021 ...
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Michelle Phipps

Chief People Officer, Australia and New Zealand, VetPartners
Michelle is currently Chief People Officer for VetPartners, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. She was previously General Manager HR AusPac - Business Partnership and Talent for QBE Insurance, Group Head of Talent, Leadership and Learning for Coca-Cola Amatil APAC and Vice President HR APAC for Brown-Forman as well as HR Director for Kellogg ...
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Jason Collins

Head of People & Capability - People Advisory & Talent Acquisition, Kmart
Jason is a senior HR executive with experience working across all major facets of human resources. His career has traversed the Retail, FMCG and Telecommunication industries in iconic companies including Kmart, Telstra, The Coca-Cola Company and Coles Myer (Coles Group). After leading people and capability for stores and supply chain at Kmart fo...
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Dr Ben Hamer

Chief Futurist Thinker Tank
Dr Ben Hamer is an accredited futurist, where he was recently awarded the number one thought leader for the Future of Work in the Asia-Pacific. Formerly the Head of Future of Work at PwC Australia, Ben has undertaken work and research around the world, including time spent leading critical projects at the World Economic Forum as well as being a ...
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Katherine Mitchell

Talent Acquisition Director, ANZ & ASEAN, Microsoft
Kat is a globally experienced Talent Acquisition Leader currently leading Talent Acquisition for Microsoft across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. She has spent the past 20 years in Recruiting both in specialist agency and corporate environments. Kat has delivered worldwide, large-scale g...
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Pam Stroud

Head of TA, Transurban
As part of the Transurban People Operations Leadership team, I have the privilege of leading the Talent Acquisition function. I believe wholeheartedly in the impact that a high performing, integrated Talent function can have on any organisation looking to grow, move through change or remain at the forefront of attracting, retaining and nurturing...
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Kylie Cashion

Leader, Talent Acquisition & Early Careers, TasNetworks
Kylie leads the Talent Acquisition & Early Careers team at TasNetworks, responsible for all things talent strategy, attraction and development. Passionate about breaking down barriers for women to pursue careers in trades, Kylie spent 10 years working as a Chef in the Royal Australian Air Force and FIFO on oil rigs across the country. Returning ...
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Loren De Laine

Director, Talent Acquisition, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Tὓrkiye & Africa, CHEP
Loren believes that growth is achieved through maximising potential and there is nothing more satisfying than enabling people to reach their career goals. She has had exposure to all facets of Talent including attraction, succession, development and Early Careers across a diverse range of industries and companies, from agency to RPO and leading ...
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Jessica Smith

Group Manager, Talent Acquisition, TSA Group
Driven by a passion for connecting people with opportunities, Jessica has forged a fulfilling career in Talent Acquisition. She excels in connecting with, challenging, and supporting individuals to realize their full potential. Jessica boasts a proven track record in enhancing team engagement, streamlining recruitment processes, and implementing...
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Adam Buxton

General Manager, Talent Acquisition Transformation, Ventia
Adam is a strategic talent acquisition leader with over 20 years' experience in the Technology, Financial Services and Government sectors. Recently appointed as GM Talent Acquisition Transformation at Ventia, his broad history has also seen him lead strategic recruitment initiatives for companies such as Westpac, ING and IBM. Adam's expertise en...
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Jenna Barnes

Head of Talent Acquisition, Australia & New Zealand, AECOM
Jenna is Head of Talent Acquisition ANZ at AECOM. Jenna has spent the last 20 years recruiting globally, initially commencing within agency recruitment before making the transition to internal recruitment 10 years ago. Throughout her career she has always led with an innovative and strategic approach to talent acquisition which has resulted in b...
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Ben Roberts

Head of Talent Acquisition, David Jones
Ben Roberts is a seasoned Talent Acquisition leader based in Melbourne, with a proven track record spanning global recruitment, executive search, and workforce planning and optimisation. With extensive experience at organisations like David Jones, Team Global Express, Australia Post and Telstra, Ben is involved in developing comprehensive recrui...
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Ainsley Muir

Head of People Operations, Angle Auto Finance
Ainsley is a HR Executive who has led the delivery of HR Services within Australia and New Zealand across the end-to-end employee lifecycle. Her experience has involved most areas of HR, including large transformation initiatives. Her career includes heading up Talent Acquisition and Early Career Programs. Ainsley has been deeply involved in set...
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Sally Farr

Talent Acquisition Lead, People and Organisational Development
Sally began her recruitment career in the UK with Brooke Street Bureau, a prominent agency, in 1990. Their initial exposure to recruitment proved captivating from the outset. Under the guidance of Margery Hirst, renowned for revolutionizing recruitment services in post-World War II London, Sally received top-tier training that established her as...
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Olivia Kurta

Recruitment Manager, Suncorp
Olivia is an experienced talent acquisition leader with a breadth of exposure in the talent acquisition landscape over the last 17 years. Currently leading the Talent Acquisition team across Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp, she specialises in operational excellence, strategic planning, and fostering innovative practices in attraction, early...
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Alexandra Badenoch

Group Executive, Transformation, Communication and People, Telstra
Most recently Alex held the role of Group Executive – Transformation, Communication and People for Telstra. She has a breadth of experience across a range of industry sectors (including Mining, Retail, Technology, Telecommunications and Supply Chain and Logistics) and has a strong understanding of the governance requirements of highly regulated ...
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Mary-Jane Stenbeck

Talent Acquisition Manager, Cluey Learning
Mary-Jane Stenbeck is a seasoned Talent Acquisition leader with over two decades of experience in strategic talent management, employer branding, and executive recruitment. Holding a Post Graduate Diploma in Business with a major in Human Resource Management from Auckland University, she has demonstrated a robust ability to lead high-performing ...
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Jamila Malkoun

Talent Acquisition Lead, HESTA
Jamila is a seasoned HR and Talent Acquisition Leader with nearly 25 years of experience driving organisational growth and success through strategic people and talent initiatives. Jamila’s experience spans beyond Talent Acquisition, she is an experienced Strategic HR Business Partner and HR Operations Leader, having worked across many sectors in...
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Rachel Clarke

Head of Talent Acquisition & Onboarding, HSBC
Rachel has spent her career in Human Resources across many different specialist areas including Business Advisory, Talent Acquisition, Programme Management, ER and Operations, predominately within global blue chip organisations such as HSBC, PepsiCo, General Electric and IBM. In her current role as the Head of Talent Acquisition & Onboarding at ...
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Nicole McKenna

Talent Partner Lead, Talent and People Systems, Brisbane Catholic Education
As a strategic business executive with over 25 years of HR experience across national, international, and local arenas, Nicole excels in steering business strategic vision and making impactful decisions to drive company growth, implement cost savings, and maintain budget control. Nicole has a proven track record of developing and leading high-pe...
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Susan Nichols

Group Manager, Organisational Capability, Pact Group
With over 20 years experience across agency, RPO and inhouse functions Susan is a highly experienced Executive and Leader in Human Resources with a strong foundation in Talent Strategy, Attraction, and Development. Having lead high performing teams across a broad range of geographies, industries and organisations, Susan has designed and implemen...
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Kerryn Dillon

I-MED Radiology Network's Chief People Officer
As a qualified lawyer and having held numerous senior positions across the health and aged care sector, Kerryn has an extensive history across the healthcare sector including acute, sub-acute, aged care, allied health, primary care and homecare. Prior to joining I-MED, Kerryn was a Director in PwC’s Health and Wellbeing team and has held numero...
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