The Western Australian Government is committed to raising the profile of innovation in WA and supporting the delivery of government initiatives to advance the growth of our innovation-based industries.
The WA IOTY program has showcased innovative and entrepreneurial individuals, businesses and creative minds since 2006. The program has benefited many of those who have participated, as well as the broader community of WA.
The program is a valuable initiative, which provides support to innovators and entrepreneurs across WA.
In accordance with the New Industries Fund, the objectives of the IOTY program are to:
- 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 Australian regions in innovation; and
- promote job creation and economic diversification in Western Australia.
You can follow the WA IOTY program using the hashtag #WAIOTY and on Twitter @WA_IOTY.
Apply for WA Innovator of the Year
Applications for the 2022 program are now closed. Finalists will be announced in August this year.
Please continue to monitor this page and follow @WA_IOTY on Twitter. You can also subscribe to the New Industries WA newsletter and/or the Minister for Innovation's media statements to keep up to date with future program news.
Meet the 2021 Winners and Finalists
Congratulations to last year's six award winners, including 2021 WA Innovator of the Year - Vision Pharma.
Eight finalists were chosen in both the Rio Tinto Emerging and Rio Tinto Growth categories in 2021. In addition to the eight program finalists, there was 12 finalists across the three Platinum Award categories: Business News 'Great for the State', Wesfarmers Wellbeing and Woodside Oil & Gas.
All category winners were announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 3 November, 2021.
To discover more about last year's winners and finalists, please visit the dedicated 2021 WA IOTY Winners and Finalists page.
Program Sponsors
Thank you to the 2022 Innovator of the Year program sponsors:
Primary Sponsor: Rio Tinto
Platinum Award Sponsors: Business News, Wesfarmers and Woodside Energy
Gold Sponsors: Biodesign Australia, CERI - The Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation, Griffith Hack and Wrays
Silver Sponsors: Murfett Legal, Moore Australia, PwC