The winners of the fourth New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response, and Healthcare Awards will be presented on Thursday, 26 March 2026, at 2:00 pm. The ceremony will be held at the Westpac Reception and Event Space in Christchurch and will bring together leaders from across the road safety, emergency response, healthcare, and research sectors to honour individuals and organisations committed to saving lives and improving public road safety.

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger will open the ceremony with a civic welcome, acknowledging the Awards’ origins in Canterbury and their growth into a nationally recognised programme. What began as a regional initiative has now evolved into a national event bringing together sector leaders and community representatives from across New Zealand. This year’s ceremony also marks an important milestone, with the Awards recognising their first Australasian recipient and welcoming guests from across New Zealand and Australia. The civic welcome reflects Christchurch’s important role in hosting the Awards and recognising the city’s longstanding commitment to leadership in road safety, emergency response, and healthcare collaboration. The ceremony will also include a formal written message from the Director-General of Health and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health, Audrey Sonerson.

The New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare Awards recognise ordinary people doing exceptional work, day in and day out, across New Zealand. The Awards are designed specifically to acknowledge the efforts of those working in emergency services, hospital care, post-hospital care, primary healthcare, and road safety, as well as members of the community whose contributions may otherwise go unrecognised.

This year’s celebrations feature a special one-off award in the form of the Regional Road Safety Award, in which two separate parties will be the recipient of. This addition accompanies categories from the previous awards, highlighting the volume of high-level nominations demonstrating exceptional work across the nation.

The awards will be presented by John Barr, Chair of the New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response, and Healthcare Awards Executive Committee. Recipients will receive a medallion and certificate in recognition of their meritorious efforts. On the awards, Barr stated: “The annual Awards for New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare are an excellent way to recognise the people and organisations across New Zealand who are making country-wide and regionally important and significant contributes to improving the safety on our roads including in emergency situations when accidents occur.”

“The Awards are important for New Zealand as an effective way of recognising and celebrating these brilliant individuals and organisations that, without the Awards, would fly under the radar. It is critically important that we must recognise our ‘tall poppies’ wherever we find them. They are securing our future on the road.”

“The Awards Committee is delighted to note the increase in road safety nominations for this year’s awards, [and] we are delighted to celebrate and welcome our first Australasian Award recipient, with their representative travelling from Australia to attend the ceremony. We very much look forward to presenting the award to them in person.”

2025 National Award for Emergency Response and Healthcare Recipient:

The Twizel Medical Centre team are the recipients of this year’s National Award for Emergency Response and Healthcare, in recognition of their clinical leadership and coordinated emergency response to a high-impact multi-casualty bus collision near Lake Pukaki. This award recognises distinguished individuals, groups, or organisations within healthcare and emergency services who demonstrate excellence in the acute management and care of road crash patients.

On the 18th of July 2024 at approximately 8:30 AM, emergency services and local healthcare teams responded to a major incident where two busses carrying around 100 Chinese tourists crashed on an icy portion of State Highway 8 between Lake Tekapo and Twizel. Among the respondents included the Twizel Medical Centre PRIME (Primary Response in Medical Emergency) team. As a service, PRIME operates as part of New Zealand’s rural emergency care network and involves specially trained rural clinicians to ensure patients receive timely care when traditional ambulance services may be geographically limited.

Working together with ambulance and emergency services, the team provided triage and treated multiple injuries, including lacerations, shock and trauma. The effort was highlighted by clinician Paula Trembath (the recipient on behalf of the team), who ensured all patients across both buses were triaged, as well as treating those who arrived at the Twizel Medical Centre afterwards.

This was done amongst a myriad of trying conditions, such as the icy conditions and extremely thick fog which affected visibility severely in what was an already remote setting. Furthermore, the limited English of the tourists again hampered communication efforts.

In total, the PRIME team and Twizel Medical Centre treated 46 of the approximate 100 passengers, demonstrating the sheer importance and bravery of the response team.

“Through collaboration between primary care teams, ambulance services, and the wider health system, the PRIME program continues to enhance the safety and resilience of rural communities by bringing skilled emergency care closer to home,” Chairman of the High Country Health Ltd Board trading as Twizel Medical Centre, Simon Williamson said.

“It’s a real privilege to accept this award recognising the work of the Twizel Medical Centre PRIME emergency team. In rural communities like the Mackenzie basin, help can be a long way away and PRIME responders bridge that gap, bringing urgent care to people when minutes really matter. This recognition really reflects the commitment of PRIME responders everywhere who step up when their communities need them most.”

2025 National Award for Road Safety Recipient:

Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd and New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) are the joint recipients of this year’s National Award for Road Safety, recognising their outstanding implementation of the Safe System Assessment and Audit Training Programmes at the national and local government level. The award highlights the value industry professionals and organisations who bring dedication to improving road user safety through excellent practice, design or technical application in public education and prevention initiatives.

After nationally identifying a gap of their own application at the local government level, NZTA’s Road Safety Team engaged Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd working alongside NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi ‘NZTA’ Road Safety Team to delivered 21 structured programmes nationwide, training over 600 road auditors over the last five years.

Principal Engineer Kenn Beer said the success comes back to the “power of partnership” between themselves and the NZTA Road Safety Team, with both having a shared commitment to building capability.

“We are proud to have worked alongside the NZTA Road Safety Team to design and deliver training that strengthens technical understanding and helps practitioners apply Safe System principles in real world decisions. Our focus has always been practical, evidence-based training that reflects the everyday challenges faced by practitioners. This award highlights the importance of investing in people to achieve safe roads and streets.”

Strategy Director Safety at NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Fabian Marsh stated the award truly celebrates the team’s commitment to advancing road safety capability nationwide as well as highlighting the passion and dedication of all those involved.

“This collaborative effort between the NZTA Road Safety Team and Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd stands out as a model of innovation, leadership, and excellence in building national road safety expertise,” he said.

“This training programme has been developed to provide comprehensive technical content through an innovative and flexible online platform, ensuring accessible, high-quality learning experiences for central and local government staff, as well as transport consultants.”

The programme additionally included live interactive sessions, structured site assessments, 360-degree field simulation on-site field work and one-on-one coaching, aspects which played an important role empowering it to have influenced over 10,000 infrastructure programmes nationally.

By embedding safe system capability directly into professional practice and influencing decision making across councils and agencies, Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd has made a direct and ongoing contribution to reducing deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads.

2025 Regional Award for Road Safety Recipient:

South Canterbury Road Safety Team are one of the recipients for the one-off Regional Award for Road Safety in this year’s celebrations for their collaborative, educational and partnership driven program to promote road safety across the region of South Canterbury. This award has been established for this year’s Awards to highlight the strength and impact of road safety programmes specifically in regional areas.

Timaru District Council’s General Manager: Land Transport Suzy Ratahi said she’s delighted that the team has been celebrated for their work. She added the recognition is a “great way to acknowledge the collective effort going into making our roads safer and reinforces the importance of continuing to invest in initiatives that help prevent avoidable road trauma.”

The South Canterbury Road Safety Team’s programme aims to shift cultures and mindsets surrounding driving and avoidable road trauma. The team’s strategic plan uses local crash data, behavioural risk theory and targeted engagement with priority groups (youth, tradespeople, rural communities and mobility scooter users) to create safer behaviours on the road. Additionally, the Communities at Risk Register is utilised to identify risks, engage with the community and collaborate with partners across the region to help create a safer road environment.

Ratahi added: “Over the past two years we’ve focused on continuous improvement, piloting new programmes and strengthening collaboration across agencies to ensure our efforts respond directly to the issues being seen locally, despite the de-prioritisation of locally delivered road safety promotion within the National Land Transport Programme.”

“While the recognition focuses on the education programme, the impact we’re seeing is the result of strong partnerships across South Canterbury, particularly with colleagues working in engineering and enforcement. We’ve also been encouraged to see strong community support, including private organisations stepping forward to help fund local road safety initiatives.”

2025 Regional Award for Road Safety Recipient:

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora (through the work of the National Public Health Service – Te Waipounamu) are the recipients of the 2025 Regional Award for Road Safety in honour of their outstanding WAVE (Wellbeing and Vitality in Education) initiative across South Canterbury. This award, as previously stated, has been created as a special one-off regional category to acknowledge the significant contribution being made through Health NZ’s public health leadership and the collaborative work undertaken with regional partners to strengthen road safety awareness and prevention efforts.

The WAVE Initiative originally launched in 2007 as a health and education wellbeing programme for children and young people in South Canterbury, with programmes including school travel plans, active travel and walking-to-school activities, being introduced in 2010 following a successful school travel plan pilot from 2007-2009 led by Jane Sullivan (National Public Service Health Promotion Advisor) and recipient on behalf of Health NZ, spearheaded collaborative efforts between schools and agencies to educate road safety.

National Public Health Service Regional Director Vince Barry described the award as an honour, stating “the importance of engaging with communities, using evidence and evaluation to show improvements and inform future initiatives is central to health promotion practice and the National Public Health Service is honoured to see Jane receive this award acknowledging that.”

Barry described how Sullivan’s leadership “highlights the potential of public health to contribute to improving road safety and health outcomes”. He added how her work has created a “safer environment for tamariki in South Canterbury.”

This recognition reflects outstanding regional leadership in advancing road safety across South Canterbury through public health leadership, community engagement, education initiatives, and strong cross-sector collaboration. The work of the National Public Health Service – Te Waipounamu, demonstrates a sustained commitment to increasing awareness of road trauma risks, supporting safer road user behaviour, and strengthening community-based initiatives that contribute to the prevention of road trauma within the region.

Background

The Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust, trading as the National Road Trauma Centre, launched the inaugural New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare Awards in 2021. These Awards are a nationalisation of the previous Canterbury Road Trauma Awards. The Awards were founded by road crash survivor Sarah Dean, Founder of the Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust, trading as National Road Trauma Centre.

The New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare Awards Executive Committee have an agreement with the New Zealand Honours Unit, Cabinet Office, that any significant or deserving nomination deemed by the Executive Committee to meet the criteria for recognition by the New Zealand Royal Honours System, including the New Zealand Government Bravery Awards, the Applicant will be notified by the Executive Committee by way of letter.

The members of the New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare Awards Executive Committee Members are Professor Mike Ardagh, Emergency Medicine Specialist, University of Otago, and Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand; Mark Bailey, Health Partner, Acute Services, Accident Compensation Corporation; John Barr, Chair, New Zealand Road Safety, Emergency Response and Healthcare Awards Executive Committee; Inspector John Fagan, Road Policing Manager, Northland, New Zealand Police; Ken Franklin, Chief Executive Officer, HEMS New Zealand Limited; Peter Gallagher, Risk Reduction and Investigations Manager, Fire and Emergency New Zealand; Professor Gary Hooper, Head of Department, Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Otago (Christchurch); Fabian Marsh, Strategy Director Safety, New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi; Scott Morris, Technical National Operations Manager, Hato Hone St John; Emeritus Professor Alan Nicholson, Road Safety Specialist, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury; Irene Tse, Technical Lead, Road Safety Engineering, Network Management, Auckland Transport.

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