Welcome to

The Pearcey Foundation

The Pearcey Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998 in memory of a great Australian ICT pioneer Dr Trevor Pearcey. The Foundation operates broadly across the Australian Information Computing and Telecommunication (ICT) technologies sector, from celebrating achievements through national and state awards, to being involved in debate and public policy on critical national issues such as productivity, the digital economy and national infrastructure.

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AUSTRALIA 4.0
ICT enabling Net Zero

Australia 4.0 is a constructive space for all stakeholders to discuss the challenges, opportunities and solutions for the transition of Australia to a Net Zero energy system.

Session Recordings and Reports:

2023
2024
2025

A series of hybrid national events:

First session focused on "Creating an Open Data Architecture" and was hosted by CSIRO in Sydney on September 3^rd 2024.

Second session October 2^nd 2024 focused on "Energy & Digital Skills" and was hosted by Engineers Australia in Canberra.

Third session October 29^th 2024 focused on "Energy Information Decoded: AI enabled Energy modelling for Consumer Agency" and was hosted by Cremorne Digital Hub and RACE for 2030 CRC in Melbourne.

Fourth session February 14^th, 2025 focused on "Powering the Future: Standards for Batteries and the Grid" and was hosted by Standards Australia in Sydney.

Fifth session April 4^th, 2025 focused on "Data infrastructure, bandwidth and security for localised CER energy ponds" and was hosted by Electrification & Energy Systems Network of the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub and University of Wollongong in Wollongong.

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Download the Australia 4.0 Communiqué .................. and White Paper

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This is our 27^th year of awards, focussed exclusively on outstanding individuals drawn from across our vast geography.

We present 12 awards each year, and have done so for a long time - recognising over 245 Australian ICT luminaries and entrepreneurs, as highlighted on this website.

Nominate now for Pearcey Awards

State	Award Date	In Conjuction with
WA	18 July 2025	WAITTA Incite Awards
Vic	3 Sep 2025	Pearcey Oration
SA	Sep 2025
Tas	Oct 2025
Qld	6 Oct 2025
NSW	Oct 2025	Australia 4.0 Summit
ACT	Nov 2025	Pearcey National Event

Heritage Projects - many activities including publication of 1^st authoritative history of Australian computing, national oral history of Australian ICT, and an IEEE milestone for CSIRAC.

Latest News

Jun 23, 2025

Grandmother of the Web

Mary Lee Woods enjoyed a short career in Australia at Mount Stromlo. Her son, Tim Berners-Lee, is known as the “Father of the Web”. Mary accepted the name “Grandmother of the Web’. She should be celebrated for her own career in programming.

Author:
Barbara Ainsworth
Curator, Monash Museum of Computing History
Faculty of Information Technology
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

UNSW Quantum Professor presented Hall of Fame

Prof Andrew Dzurak was elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame in November 2024. Unfortunately, Andrew was overseas at the time of the presentation and so the Chair of the Pearcey Foundation presented the certificate in person on Friday 14 February at the Diraq lab at UNSW Campus in Kensington, NSW.

Dr Ian Oppermann Appointments

Congratulations to Dr Ian Opperman on his appointment as the Chair of the Federal Government committee for Data Standards for Digital ID and Consumer Data Right. Ian is Chair of our Australia 4.0 Committee and was our 2024 Pearcey Orator.

Awards

The Pearcey Foundation's annual awards recognise and celebrate outstanding individuals in Australian ICT.

National Awards • State Awards • Nominations

The Heritage Project

The Pearcey Foundation intends to extend the Heritage Project well beyond Phase One (the book) – with the aim to become ‘the’ central repository – hosting a ‘virtual museum’ of Australia’s computing artefacts, documents and oral histories from key players.

The Project

Kind Words

Australians have all too often seen themselves as observers rather than participants in the digital revolution, but that does not do justice to our history. The Pearcey Foundation plays a very important role in highlighting the real contributions Australians have made in the past, and in so doing will help inspire the next generation of Australian digital innovators.

Charlie Day
Former CEO, Innovation and Science Australia

The Pearcey Foundation’s project to document Australia’s achievements in the computer age is a critically important endeavour. A central repository, that documents the central role of our universities and CSIRO and the individual contributions of academics and entrepreneurs, will be an essential resource for future policy makers and for students, research workers and entrepreneurs.

Alex Zelinsky AO
Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Newcastle

Australians are a nation of storytellers. Stories make us laugh and they make us cry, they remind us who we are and they inspire us, and let us celebrate our successes and failures. Australia has much to celebrate when it comes to the digital age, from pioneering work in computer science through to innovative cloud services. The Pearcey Foundation Heritage Project will be an inspiration to future generations of Australians.

Founder
Australian Ocean Lab and Former Engineering Director, Google Australia

Initiatives

The Pearcey Foundation is actively involved in many initiatives to help promote and accelerate the Australian ICT industry.

Thought Leadership • Australia 3.0 • Australia 4.0 • ICT Heritage • Pearcey Institute