Brands, services, platforms and people
About the awards

Recognition with rules.

What The HE Sector Awards is, the mandate it answers to, and — just as deliberately — what it is not.

A bright ceremonial stage with warm bronze-gold light
The mandate

“The awards program must remain evidence-based, transparent and independently judged.”

The founding principle of The HE Sector Awards

Purpose

A platform built to honour the sector.

The HE Sector Awards is a national and international awards platform recognising excellence, leadership, innovation and impact across higher education. It exists for providers, leaders, academics, researchers, staff and students.

It is part of the HE Sector family within the CAQA Groups ecosystem — alongside The HE Sector, the family’s publication, and the HE Sector Directory. Category and criteria design draws on the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021, the benchmark the sector already answers to.

Audience

Who the awards are for.

Providers, leaders, academics, researchers, staff and students — the whole ecosystem of higher education, institutional and individual, national and international.

Explore the institutional and individual category frameworks, or see how judging is kept independent.

Scope boundaries

What The HE Sector Awards does not provide.

Clear boundaries protect the value of the recognition. These belong elsewhere in the family — or nowhere at all.

  • General higher education news. Sector news and analysis belong to The HE Sector, the family's publication.
  • Commercial directory listings. Provider and specialist listings belong to the HE Sector Directory.
  • Regulatory consulting. TEQSA, HESF and registration advisory is the work of AHEG, the family's higher education consultancy.
  • Course development. The awards platform recognises courses; it does not build them.
  • Provider rankings sold as awards. No ranking products dressed up as honours.
  • Guaranteed awards or paid winner status. Recognition here cannot be bought. Sponsorship never influences results.

Sector news lives with The HE Sector. Listings live with the HE Sector Directory. Consulting lives with AHEG. All are reachable through the CAQA Groups family launcher at the top of this page.

Higher education status

The HE Sector Awards is an independent, evidence-based recognition program. It is not a higher education provider, university, institute or regulator, and does not confer academic qualifications, registration or accreditation. Winning, entering or being shortlisted for an award does not amount to registration, accreditation or a regulatory approval of any kind.

Part of the CAQA Groups family — a Career Calling International initiative (ABN 53 162 651 238). This affiliation is a corporate/marketing relationship only and does not make CAQA, The HE Sector Awards or any related brand a registered higher education provider, university, institute or regulator.

CAQA Staff

The people behind the family

The CAQA Groups team works across compliance, learning design, business systems, languages and client service.

Leadership

Michelle Newman

Michelle Newman

Managing Director
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Michelle NewmanSenior VET executive with 30+ years of sector leadership across Australia and internationally. Leads business operations, consultants and resource instructional designers across CAQA Groups and Career Calling International. ISO auditor and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Anna Haranas

Anna Haranas

Former General Manager, LLND Expert & Quality Assurance Consultant
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Anna HaranasCAQA's language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy (LLND) expert. 35+ years of cross-industry leadership, certified across six ISO management system standards, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Develops the LLND kits and review tools used across the sector.
Sukh Sandhu

Sukh Sandhu

Executive Director
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Sukh SandhuOne of Australia's most experienced voices in VET, higher education, compliance, governance and risk. 30+ years across RTOs, TAFEs and universities, thousands of audits, former Business Systems Project Official for the national VET regulator, Forbes Business Council member, UN Representative and Speaker, ISO auditor, 10x Master's and LLM.
Stuart Newman

Stuart Newman

Director of Strategic Growth & Partnerships
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Stuart NewmanThe national face of CAQA's partnerships. 30+ years of senior customer and operations leadership across utilities, hospitality, retail and real estate, building relationships with RTOs, TAFEs, universities and government agencies nationwide.
Raj Kiran Kaur

Raj Kiran Kaur

Chief Operating and Financial Officer (COFO)
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Raj Kiran KaurLeads CAQA's operations and financial management, ensuring every engagement is resourced, governed and delivered to plan across the CAQA Groups.
Nadia Spain

Nadia Spain

Senior Principal Consultant
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Nadia SpainSenior principal consultant bridging regulatory requirements and high-quality delivery across VET and higher education, translating ASQA and TEQSA standards into practical, student-centred quality systems.
Rishabh Arora

Rishabh Arora

Senior Compliance Officer & Team Leader
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Rishabh AroraWorks the full compliance lifecycle: gap analysis, internal audits, policy development, TAS review and ASQA/TEQSA audit readiness.
Harneet Randhawa

Harneet Randhawa

Administration Manager
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Harneet RandhawaAdministration manager at Career Calling International, coordinating day to day client service.
Gurshaan Sandhu

Gurshaan Sandhu

Senior Administrative Officer
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Gurshaan SandhuAdministrative officer supporting engagements across Career Calling International.
Aman Plaha

Aman Plaha

Senior Manager, Information Systems
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Aman PlahaArchitects CAQA's information systems: infrastructure, security and the platforms behind our client work.
Rukman Sangha

Rukman Sangha

Manager, CAQA Systems
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Rukman SanghaCoordinates CAQA Systems: the platforms and processes behind every engagement.
Arit Mangal

Arit Mangal

Quality Assurance and Compliance Expert
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Arit MangalQuality assurance and compliance specialist across audits, rectifications and the 2025 Standards.
Chanpreet Singh

Chanpreet Singh

CAQA and CAQA Resources Manager
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Chanpreet SinghManages CAQA and CAQA Resources operations, keeping Australia's largest resource library running.
Harpreet Randhawa

Harpreet Randhawa

Manager, International Business Relations, CAQA International
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Harpreet RandhawaManages CAQA's international business relations and cross-border education partnerships.

Consultants

Iqbal Hossain

Iqbal Hossain

Administrative Officer
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Iqbal HossainAdministrative operations, document control, data quality and reporting, working remotely with the Australian team.
Jissimran Sandhu

Jissimran Sandhu

Administrative Officer
Jissimran SandhuAdministrative officer supporting day-to-day operations and client service across Career Calling International.
Vijay Patel

Vijay Patel

Senior Manager, Online Media Solutions / CAQA Digital
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Vijay PatelLeads digital media, web presence and creative production across CAQA Digital and Online Media Solutions.
Dewan Gurung

Dewan Gurung

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Dewan GurungInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Rebecca Reynolds

Rebecca Reynolds

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Rebecca ReynoldsInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Heera Moga

Heera Moga

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Heera MogaInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Amit Sharma

Amit Sharma

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Amit SharmaInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Ahsan Iqbal

Ahsan Iqbal

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Ahsan IqbalInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Purushottam Niraula

Purushottam Niraula

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Purushottam NiraulaInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Marilou Bagon

Marilou Bagon

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Marilou BagonInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Caitlin O'Connel

Caitlin O'Connel

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Caitlin O'ConnelInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Ranu James

Ranu James

Instructional Designer, Resource Writer and Cultural Practitioner
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Ranu JamesInstructional designer, resource writer and cultural practitioner, bringing cultural safety and authenticity to learning resources.
Nicole Talarico

Nicole Talarico

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Nicole TalaricoInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Suzanne Martin

Suzanne Martin

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Suzanne MartinInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Gourav Sharma

Gourav Sharma

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Gourav SharmaInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Ashish Pathania

Ashish Pathania

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Ashish PathaniaInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Steve Sutherland-Tomey

Steve Sutherland-Tomey

Instructional Designer and Resource Writer
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Steve Sutherland-TomeyInstructional designer and resource writer, developing the training and assessment resources used by providers across Australia.
Mandeep Chahil

Mandeep Chahil

Independent Contractor and Instructional Designer
Mandeep ChahilIndependent contractor and instructional designer supporting the CAQA resource library.
Jasmeet Chahal

Jasmeet Chahal

RPL Coordinator
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Jasmeet ChahalCoordinates recognition of prior learning programs and evidence frameworks.
Ashish Silwal

Ashish Silwal

Website and Software Designer and Developer, Career Calling International and Online Media Solutions
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Ashish SilwalDesigns and develops websites and software across Career Calling International and OMS.
Abishek Timsina

Abishek Timsina

Business and Data Analyst
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Abishek TimsinaBusiness and data analyst, turning provider data into information managers can act on.
Patrick Satapara (Pratik)

Patrick Satapara (Pratik)

Senior Business Systems Project Officer / Business Analyst
Patrick Satapara (Pratik)Designs and delivers the business systems behind compliant, efficient training organisations: from data and reporting frameworks to process automation and regulatory alignment.
Pooja Tejashbhai Siddhapura

Pooja Tejashbhai Siddhapura

Business Systems Project Officer
Pooja Tejashbhai SiddhapuraBusiness systems project officer supporting client implementations and reporting.
Sujain Goyal

Sujain Goyal

CAQA Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality Coordinator
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Sujain GoyalCoordinates CAQA's artificial intelligence and virtual reality initiatives, from AI governance to immersive learning.
Mani Bath

Mani Bath

CAQA Cybersecurity Expert
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Mani BathCyber security specialist, protecting providers' student data, systems and continuity.
Sujita Mahajan

Sujita Mahajan

Graphic Designer, Online Media Solutions and CAQA Digital
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Sujita MahajanGraphic designer across Online Media Solutions and CAQA Digital.
Sahiba

Sahiba

Administrative Officer, Data Analysis and Reporting
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SahibaAdministrative officer specialising in data analysis and reporting.
Sibtain Jan

Sibtain Jan

Administrative Officer, Data Analysis and Reporting
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Sibtain JanAdministrative officer specialising in data analysis and reporting.
Nia Kessler

Nia Kessler

Coordinator, Commonwealth School of Languages (CSOL)
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Nia KesslerCoordinates the Commonwealth School of Languages (CSOL).
Avneet Bhinder

Avneet Bhinder

Receptionist and Customer Service Officer
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Avneet BhinderFirst point of contact for reception and customer service across the CAQA Groups.