Western Australia’s Innovators of the Year Program (Australia)

Objectives

• In accordance with the New Industries Fund, the objectives of WAIOTY program are to:
  • Celebrate, promote and acknowledge the success of Western Australian innovators
  • Encourage co-support from industry for promotional activities
  • Activate and strengthen industry-government research collaborations
  • Engage communities throughout Western Australia’s regions in innovation
  • Promote job creation and economic diversification in Western Australia

Categories

• The WAIOTY program comprises of two categories:
  • Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation Category (pre-revenue) is for applicants who have not yet generated revenue from their innovation
  • Rio Tinto Growth Category (post-revenue) is open to applicants that have generated revenue from their innovation

Benefits

• In addition to the cash prizes awarded to the winners, finalists in all award categories receive a structured ‘Accelerator Program’ with the following benefits:
  • A full day workshop run by a qualified and experienced industry facilitator to provide finalists with the skills and techniques required for a compelling and professional pitch presentation
  • A half day wellness check workshop
  • A workshop on optimising social media and developing a digital strategy
  • A seminar on board models for entrepreneurs
  • A one-hour specialised appointment on protecting your IP rights
  • A webinar on grant writing and project planning
  • A half-day workshop on maximising impact through R&D sector collaboration
  • Numerous networking events with industry experts

Funding Information

• Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation Category Winner – $60,000 (GST exempt)
• Rio Tinto Growth Category Winner – $60,000 (GST exempt)
• Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation Category Runner-up – $15,000 (GST exempt)
• Rio Tinto Growth Category Runner-up – $15,000 (GST exempt)
• Woodside Energy Platinum Award for Energy Innovation Winner – $30,000 (GST exempt)
• Business News Great for the State Platinum Award Winner – Advertising, subscription and sponsorship pack to the value of $20,000
• Wesfarmers Wellbeing Platinum Award Winner – $30,000 (GST exempt)

Eligibility Criteria

• To be considered eligible for any of the awards, and to be included in the evaluation process, an application must be received through the online WAIOTY Awards platform Good Grants and must meet the following criteria:
  • Have a business address in, and be developing their innovation in, Western Australia at the time of submission
  • Continue to be based in Western Australia for three years from the application lodgment date
  • Be an industry organisation, private sector firm, public sector agency, university, research institute, partnership, other organisation or a sole trader, based in Western Australia
  • Have an ABN or CAN
  • Have developed their product or service from original concept, can clearly define the market need or problem it solves and have some form of IP protection and/or rapid route to market
  • Be the legal or authorised owner of the innovation
  • Not have previously been a recipient of an award under the WAIOTY program for the same innovation
  • Commit to attending as many WAIOTY Accelerator Workshops in August and September 2025 as possible
• To be eligible in the Emerging Innovation Category, the applicant must:
  • Not yet have generated revenue from the innovation set out in the current application (at the time of application submission).
• To be eligible in the Growth Category, the applicant must:
  • Have generated revenue from the innovation set out in the current application (at the time of application submission).
• Applicants can only enter one application per innovation in one of the Emerging or Growth categories (i.e. an application for the same innovation cannot be lodged for both categories).

For more information, visit WA.gov.au.