The IPAA WA Achievement Awards are the premier awards for the public service in Western Australia, celebrating individual and organisational excellence in all tiers throughout the public service.
Communities was recognised for outstanding achievements across multiple award categories at the IPAA Achievement Awards event last Friday 12 December at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre’s BelleVue Ballroom.
Individual Award Categories
Policy Practitioner of the Year
Nicole Leggett, Department of Communities
Dr Nicole Leggett is a dedicated policy professional who has spent her career advancing the safety and wellbeing of women and children in Western Australia. She has led major initiatives within the Department of Communities, including child protection and prevention of family and domestic violence.
Since 2022, she has led the Office of Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, driving strategic reforms and collaborative efforts across sectors. Nicole’s compassionate leadership, deep expertise, and commitment to innovation have significantly improved outcomes for victim-survivors. Her work continues to shape a more responsive, person-centred approach to family and domestic violence in WA.
Organisational Award Categories
Gold Award - Australian Evaluation Society Award for Best Practice in Public Sector Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation of Boorloo Bidee Mia, Department of Communities
Boorloo Bidee Mia (BBM) provides low-threshold accommodation for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, combined with tailored and responsive support.
The Department of Communities (Communities) in collaboration with the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre at Curtin University led a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, Process and Summative Evaluation of BBM from 2021 to 2024. Communities worked collaboratively with BBM’s Service Providers – Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and Noongar Mia Mia to deliver the work.
The evaluations findings indicated that BBM was effective, appropriate, value for money and identified lessons learned and recommendations for improvement of BBM.
Silver Award - Best Practice in Social Values
Aboriginal Cultural Framework 2024-2034, Department of Communities
In November 2024, Communities launched the Aboriginal Cultural Framework 2024–2034 alongside Implementation Plan One 2024–2026, marking a significant milestone in the Department’s cultural reform journey.
This initiative is a key deliverable of the Aboriginal Cultural Capability Reform Program and strategically aligns with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy 2021–2029, and the Department of Communities Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Strategy 2022–2032.
Best practice in Health and Wellbeing
Central Great Southern Dental Health Project, Department of Health; Department of Communities; Department of Education; Minderoo Foundation
The Early Years Partnership Dental Health Project in Central Great Southern region of Western Australia exemplifies best practice in collaborative partnerships for health and wellbeing, particularly within rural and Aboriginal communities. Through this community-led place-based approach, the project offers an example of how dental services can be culturally safe and responsive to the needs of families, while also supporting long-term workforce development through student placements. The Dental Project has adopted and demonstrated best practice in community engagement, cultural safety, health innovation, and rural service delivery to establish a now sustainable collaborative service model.
13 nominations shortlisted across 11 categories
Communities had an impressive13 nominations shortlisted across 11 categories, showcasing the diverse projects, strategies and initiatives taking place across the organisation aimed at helping vulnerable Western Australians to live better lives.
Communities-funded service provider Parkerville Children and Youth Care took out the Silver Award for their homelessness prevention program for young people, Ruby’s WA, in the Best Practice in Innovation category.
Read more about this year’s winners at 2025 Achievement Awards - IPAA Western Australia.
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