WA Wastewater Surveillance Program wins IPAA WA Achievement Award

A game-changing wastewater surveillance program that’s providing real-time insight to support public health decisions has claimed two gongs at the 2026 Institute of Public Administration Australia WA Achievement Awards.

Delivered in partnership with WA Country Health Service, the Western Australia Wastewater Surveillance Program won the Category 1 Award for Best Practice in Collaboration across Government Agencies.

It also took out the Category 1 Silver Award for Best Practice in Innovation.

WA was the first jurisdiction in Australia to develop and implement wastewater-based genomic sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 variants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This enabled the detection of emerging strains – such as Omicron sub-lineages – before widespread clinical confirmation.

The WA Wastewater Surveillance Program has since expanded to include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other re-emerging pathogens and emerging pathogens such as poliovirus, measles, Japanese encephalitis virus, and monkeypox virus.

This innovative surveillance method – which has been implemented across WA including regional and remote areas – can detect as few as one case in populations of hundreds and thousands.

The program is a collaboration between WA Country Health Service, the WA Department of Health, PathWest, Water Corporation WA, and North Metropolitan Health Service’s Boorloo Public Health Unit.

WA Country Health Service Director Public Health Medicine Dr Marisa Gilles said it was an example of outstanding interagency teamwork.

“This is just the beginning and demonstrates what can be achieved when organisations work in collaboration across sites,” Dr Gilles said.

The WA Achievement Awards are the premier awards for the public service in WA, recognising individual and organisational excellence in all tiers of public service.