Excellence in action
People-first leadership was celebrated at the 2025 Australian HR Awards.
Oral Health Victoria’s commitment to people and culture innovation was celebrated at the 2025 Australian HR Awards in Sydney on Friday 5 September.
The awards recognise human resources professionals at a national level and illustrate the important role that human resources play in driving organisational success.
The outstanding impact of OHV
Oral Health Victoria received an impressive four national excellence finalist nominations at the awards:
- Susan McKee – Australian HR Champion (CEO) of the Year
- Zemeel Saba – Excellence Awardee, Australian HR Director of the Year
- OHV – Excellence Awardee, Best Graduate Development Program
- OHV – Excellence Awardee, HR Team of the Year (≤1000 Employees)
Our Chief Executive Officer, Sue McKee, won the Australian HR Champion (CEO) of the Year award.
We were thrilled to see Sue receive national recognition for her transformative leadership, authentic communication, and commitment to building a thriving and inclusive culture at Oral Health Victoria.
Sue’s people-first leadership resulted in Oral Health Victoria’s expansion into system leadership networks, a stronger and more connected workforce, sector-leading scholarship programs and value-based healthcare advocacy.
Currently overseas, Sue shared her thoughts on the win.
“This award is incredibly meaningful because it recognises something that I care deeply about – creating a workplace where people can feel proud of the difference they make every day.
“While my name is on the trophy, this is very much a team win. Our leaders, HR team, and every single person across the organisation have played a role in building the culture we have today,” said Sue.
Leadering the way
Chief People and Culture Officer Zemeel Saba kindly accepted the award on behalf of Sue and also took part in a press interview to celebrate the win.
“I called Sue while she was in London to let her know she’d won. Sue was super chuffed!” said Zemeel.
Zemeel was joined at the awards event by members of the talented CPCO portfolio: Director Organisational Development and Learning Noeleen Carey, Manager Workforce Talent and Projects Jane Wilson, Inclusion and Experience Lead Bridie Williams, and Workforce Programs Coordinator Lilli Taylor.
The CPCO portfolio were commended for their numerous significant milestones across workforce strategy and employee engagement. They were recognised for their workforce initiatives as part of the OHV People Plan and commitment to repositioning OHV as a teaching and learning organisation, championing diversity and inclusion projects, and improving the employee experience.
The nominations are testament to the incredible work and lasting impact of our HR team who are passionate about making our workplace better – for our staff, consumers and community.
