WESTPAC FEMALE FOUNDER AWARDS

The Westpac Female Founder Awards are a national awards program designed to recognise excellence, amplify founder stories, and back women with the credibility and platform to keep growing. 

We’re looked for all types of female founders across Australia who are breaking the mould, disrupting the market, improving communities, and setting new standards of excellence. 

To celebrate reaching our $1 billion lending milestone to women in business, we’re taking the next steps to support the future growth and success of female founders right across Australia. 

Meet the winners

We surprised the inaugural Westpac Female Founder Award winners with the news in person. Watch the emotional reveal and meet the founders shaping the future of Australian business. 
 

These founders are solving real-world problems, creating jobs, challenging convention and proving what's possible when great ideas are backed by determination and hard work.  

Emily Pyke

Overall Founder of the Year

UndaTech: Former sailor in the Royal Australian Navy, developing fire-resistant protective apparel for women in Defence, emergency services and high-risk industries, addressing a long-overlooked safety and capability gap.
 

Cass Spies

Winner - Thrive

Twisted Healthy Treats: turned better-for-you frozen desserts into one of Australia's fastest-growing treat brands, manufactured in her own Sydney facility.

Jessica Armstrong

Joint Winner - Trailblazer

Fuca Skincare: created a low-tox skincare range for sensitive skin after her own cancer diagnosis, building a community for survivors along the way.

Leah Kaslar

Joint Winner - Trailblazer

Djookian: built a business delivering sustainable temporary power solutions to major industries while creating pathways for women and Indigenous Australians in the sector.

Melisha Sirisena

Winner - Great Good

Kids Hearing: drawing on her experience as a paediatric audiologist, she founded Kids Hearing to integrate hearing assessments directly into schools, supporting teachers, improving access to hearing care for students to identify concerns earlier, and guiding children, families and schools with the support needed to improve learning, development and wellbeing.

Meet the finalists

Our finalists in the Female Founder Awards represent a diverse cross-section of Australian business, across a range of industries including; healthcare, sustainability, financial wellbeing, education, manufacturing, technology and retail.

Thrive

The Thrive category recognises businesses that have stood the test of time, adapted and continued to grow.
 

• Abby Crawford, Australian Power Equipment: built a trusted business supplying power and infrastructure solutions to organisations across mining, infrastructure and renewable energy, helping customers tackle complex operational challenges.
• Cass Spies, Twisted Healthy Treats: turned better-for-you frozen desserts into one of Australia's fastest-growing treat brands, manufactured in her own Sydney facility.
• Kellee Eriksson, Little Human Linens: an emergency nurse and mother of four turning safe-sleep expertise into a trusted bedding brand for families.
• Melinda Farley, Kollektive: nearly two decades supplying baby and children's products; her patented Flexisuit onesie grows with the child, cutting cost and textile waste.
• Michelle Kvello, Lantern Partners: helps founders navigate growth, expansion and business sales, using a proprietary Financial Health Check to identify challenges and guide smarter decisions.

Trailblazer

The Trailblazer category celebrates founders who are already disrupting their industries in the early stages of business.
 

• Elysia Krstevski, Meke Baby: launched Australia's first portable milk warmer, now a full ecosystem of feeding solutions for busy parents.
• Emily Pyke, UndaTech: Former sailor in the Royal Australian Navy, developing fire-resistant protective apparel for women in Defence, emergency services and high-risk industries, addressing a long-overlooked safety and capability gap.
• Jessica Armstrong, Fuca Skincare: created a low-tox skincare range for sensitive skin after her own cancer diagnosis, building a community for survivors along the way.
• Katy O'Connell, CPR Clancy: over three decades as a nurse educator and CPR trainer, led her to design a more realistic interactive CPR training manikin to improve emergency outcomes.
• Leah Kaslar, Djookian: built a business delivering sustainable temporary power solutions to major industries while creating pathways for women and Indigenous Australians in the sector.

Greater Good

The Greater Good category celebrates founders building businesses that create meaningful social impact alongside commercial success.
 

• Kelly Johnson, Woodlane Pantry: transforming surplus produce into affordable, nutritious meals that support farmers, families and regional communities.
• Dr Louise Metcalf, Gheorg: drawing on three decades as a psychologist to create an AI-powered platform that helps children navigate anxiety, stress and neurodiversity challenges, making support more accessible for families.
• Lucy Kough, Tap the Gap: helping women grow their superannuation through everyday spending and education, making wealth-building simpler and addressing Australia's gender retirement savings gap through a behavioural lens.
• Melisha Sirisena, Kids Hearing: drawing on her experience as a paediatric audiologist, she founded Kids Hearing to integrate hearing assessments directly into schools, supporting teachers, improving access to hearing care for students to identify concerns earlier, and guiding children, families and schools with the support needed to improve learning, development and wellbeing.
• Ruby Riethmuller, Womn-Kind: creating the support system she wished she'd had growing up, helping girls and gender-diverse young people build confidence, connection and resilience through wellbeing and leadership programs.

The Award Categories

There are three award categories, with one outstanding finalist selected as the overall Founder of the Year​.
 

Overall Founder of the Year