A Night of Recognition: ARCIA Gala Dinner 2026
The ARCIA Gala Dinner returned to Melbourne on Wednesday, 14 October, with around 500 members, colleagues and friends coming together at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins for a fantastic night of networking, entertainment and recognition.
Held alongside Comms Connect Melbourne, the evening provided a great opportunity to catch up with industry peers and celebrate another successful year for ARCIA. As always the highlight of the night was the presentation of the 2026 ARCIA Excellence Awards, recognising the amazing talent, innovative products and outstanding projects being delivered across the critical communications sector.
With plenty of conversation, great company and entertainment from MC and comedian Lehmo, it was a memorable evening and a fitting way to round out ARCIA’s events for the year.
Thank you once again to everyone who attended and helped make the 2026 Gala Dinner such a success. Also a special thanks to our Partners for their continued support in making the night possible.
Relive the evening! Browse the full photo gallery to see the highlights. Download or share your favourite moments with your colleagues, and please use the attribution text: “Photo from ARCIA — 2026 ARCIA Gala Dinner and Awards.”
Save the date for the 2027 ARCIA Gala Dinner on 13 October 2027, and stay tuned for more events and training announcements before the end of the year.
2026 Excellence Awards
This year, we received a high number of nominations, and the quality continues to impress! Congratulations to all the finalists and winners — your work continues to lift the standard across the radio and critical communications sector.
The Excellence Awards were a highlight as we celebrated all who were nominated and the winners on the night:
Congratulations to the 2026 Excellence Awards winners:
- Life Member Award:
- Jamie Baker
- Small Business Award:
- Ruff Road Communications
- Exceptional Talent Award:
- Winner: Darien-Lee Holiday, ACE Communications
- Highly Commended: Maddison Craven, Tait Communications
- Outstanding Professional of the Year Award:
- David Deacon, Etherstack
- Major Project Award:
- CSE Crosscom – Timor-Leste Critical Communications Network
- Industry Innovation Award:
- Etherstack – LMR-MCX, 3GPP compliant IWF
- Local Manufacturing Award:
- Omnitronics – 960SIP
- Outstanding Critical Communications Project:
- Telstra – Maritime Safety Queensland Radio Upgrade
- Life Member Award:
See the Award winners and their photos here.
We’re already looking forward to seeing even more nominations next year, so when the call for entries opens again — don’t delay! It comes around faster than you think.
Jonathan Livingstone Award
In addition to the Excellence Awards that take place and are presented by ARCIA at the Gala Dinner, the long-running Jonathan Livingstone Seagull Award (JLS) is also presented. Initiated by Ian Hyde from Philips-TMC in 1977 , this year was the 50th presentation, recognising someone who has not only been successful on an individual level but has also contributed to the overall benefit of the communications industry.
This year’s winner, we are very proud to say, was Paul Davis, ARCIA’s very own CEO.
Read more about the 2026 JLS Award recipient.
Event Photos Are Now Live!
As always, the evening’s proceedings were captured by our photographer, with memories from the night available in our temporary online Flickr album: 2026 ARCIA Gala Dinner & Excellence Awards.
Download or share your favourite moments with your colleagues, and please use the attribution text: “Photo from ARCIA — 2026 ARCIA Gala Dinner and Awards.” The album will be available until 25 January 2027, so be sure to take a look and save your favourites before then.
