A road safety expert and co-author of a recent report, Road Safety Insights for Future Generations, has been named as the winner of the Ray Fisher Award for Technical Excellence at a Transport Australia event held in Melbourne yesterday.
GHD Road and Mobility Solutions business group leader Aimee Wescombe became the first Tasmanian to take home the award named in honour of former Roads Australia (now Transport Australia) president Ray Fisher to recognise and individual for “technical excellence and outstanding impact on the transport industry”.
The Award announcement was made at the 2026 Transforming Transport Summit and John Shaw Dinner held at Crown Melbourne on May 7, along with the announcement of three more awards.
Transport Australia announced all of the winners this morning on LinkedIn, including Dr Gillian Miles AM as the recipient of the 2026 John Shaw Medal recognising “significant and lasting contribution to the transport sector”.
Miles’ long career includes roles as the CEO of the City of Greater Geelong, Head of Transport Victoria and six years as CEO of the National Transport Commission. Currently she works with the Boards of Infrastructure Australia, National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board, and Chisholm TAFE.
In January this year she was named as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division for significant service to the transport and infrastructure sectors.
BG&E engineer Stuart Cook was announced as the winner of the Fellowship Alumni Award, and Arcadis civil engineer Claudia Elfra won the Emerging Leaders Award.
For Wescombe, who is an active member of Engineers Australia, the Australian College of Road Safety, and Transport Australia, and a regular contributor to technical forums, industry panels, and research initiatives in the road safety arena, the win is a chance to shine the spotlight on safety.
“Road safety is ultimately about people, and I’m driven by the opportunity to shift our approach from reacting to crashes to proactively managing risk and preventing harm before it occurs,” Wescombe says.
“Looking ahead, I’m committed to advancing data-driven, innovative solutions and strengthening collaboration across sectors to deliver safer outcomes for all road users, particularly in regional communities.
“Being actively involved in organisations like Transport Australia and the Australasian College of Road Safety is incredibly important to me.
“These forums create space for sharing knowledge, challenging thinking, and building the partnerships needed to tackle complex transport challenges.
“They also play a vital role in supporting the next generation of professionals who will continue to shape a safer, more sustainable future.”
In a statement announcing the win GHD says “Aimee has worked extensively with state and local governments, research institutions, and industry partners to shift the focus toward proactive risk management, identifying and mitigating risks before crashes occur.
“She has led state-wide safety investment strategies and risk-based investment planning across Australia, advocating for innovative, data-driven approaches such as Compass IoT vehicle data analysis to improve road safety risk assessment.”
The three areas identified in the Road Safety Insights for Future Generations report Wescombe co-authored that could deliver the biggest impact on road safety were speed management, funding access and allocation and political leadership and community support.