ConnectAbility Australia has been named the winner of the 2026 Fleet News Group Fleet Technology Award, recognised for using fleet technology to solve a significant administrative challenge while delivering broader improvements in passenger safety, compliance and fleet management.
The organisation was one of three finalists alongside Blacktown City Council and the City of Port Phillip, with all three organisations assessed and scored by the Fleet News Group judging panel.
After the finalists were selected, the decision went to the fleet industry.
Fleet professionals across Australia and New Zealand were invited to read the finalist nomination case studies and vote for the organisation they believed demonstrated the strongest use of technology to improve fleet operations.
ConnectAbility Australia received the most votes and was named the 2026 Fleet Technology Award winner.
A technology project that started with a billing problem
ConnectAbility Australia employs more than 550 people and operates almost 50 vehicles supporting disability and allied health services across Newcastle, the Hunter, Central Coast and regional communities.
Its vehicles travel more than 600,000 kilometres each year, providing transport that enables participants to access employment, appointments, recreation and community activities.
The technology project began with a relatively straightforward problem: too much administration.
Employees transporting participants were recording passenger names, journeys and kilometres on handwritten forms. Those records then had to be interpreted, checked and manually processed before transport costs could be invoiced.
The process could take six to eight weeks and consumed the equivalent of approximately 0.8 of a full-time position.
ConnectAbility Australia worked with Leading Edge Innovations using the Geotab platform to digitise the process, linking vehicle journey information with drivers and participants.
The result was a dramatic reduction in administration. The organisation estimated that the workload associated with compiling company-vehicle transport information had fallen to approximately 10 per cent of its previous level, while billing could be completed as part of the normal month-end process.
From administration to passenger safety
What impressed the judges was how ConnectAbility Australia expanded the technology beyond the original business problem.
The judging panel described the project as a Geotab-enabled approach to safety, compliance and process digitisation, awarding ConnectAbility Australia 16 out of 20 during the finalist assessment.
Judges highlighted the way the organisation had solved a genuine business problem while simultaneously improving billing accuracy, compliance, vehicle oversight, driver accountability and participant safety.
One of the important themes from the nomination interview was that some participants have profound disabilities and may not always be able to communicate concerns about a journey or how a vehicle has been driven.
Telematics provides another layer of visibility.
ConnectAbility Australia can monitor speeding, harsh braking, acceleration, cornering and other higher-risk events, giving managers information they can use to identify patterns and provide targeted driver coaching.
Automated notifications following significant vehicle impacts also allow managers to respond sooner, check on employees and passengers, inspect the vehicle and commence the incident process.
Turning fleet data into action
The technology has also changed the way ConnectAbility Australia manages its drivers.
Rather than collecting information simply for reporting purposes, telematics data is being used to identify where additional training may be required.
Employees can undertake buddy shifts with experienced drivers, while face-to-face training can be conducted using the types of vehicles they actually operate — particularly important in a fleet containing larger vans, wheelchair-accessible vehicles and different vehicle configurations.
If data identifies a broader issue within a supported living location, training can be delivered to the whole team rather than treating the event as an isolated driver problem.
The organisation has also digitised vehicle inspections and accident reporting, using QR codes to give employees direct access to the appropriate forms.
Monthly dashboards provide managers with information covering safety, utilisation and fleet performance, while the platform can support servicing, battery alerts, emissions reporting, idling analysis and route reviews.
Technology serving the organisation, not the other way around
A recurring theme in the judges’ comments was that the project delivered benefits beyond traditional fleet management.
By reducing repetitive administration and automating reporting, ConnectAbility Australia has been able to redirect employee time towards its core purpose — supporting people with disabilities.
As CFO Leigh Tull explained during the finalist interview, reducing manual fleet processes allows the organisation to focus more resources on “customer service with all of our clients”.
That practical connection between technology and organisational purpose helped distinguish the nomination.
The Fleet Technology Award was designed to recognise organisations that use technology to achieve measurable improvements rather than simply adopting new systems. The three finalists demonstrated very different approaches, spanning telematics, systems integration, electrification, data and operational redesign.
For ConnectAbility Australia, the technology started as a way to make billing more efficient.
It became a tool for improving safety, accountability, compliance, utilisation and decision-making — while giving the organisation greater visibility over the journeys undertaken by some of the vulnerable people it supports.
After earning its place among the three finalists through the judging process, that combination of technology and practical outcomes also resonated with fleet professionals across Australia and New Zealand.
Their votes have made ConnectAbility Australia the 2026 Fleet News Group Fleet Technology Award winner.
