VR Helicopter Maintenance Academy Honoured at the Australian Good Design Awards

The Australian Good Design Awards, one of the world’s longest-running international design award programs, has announced this year’s Australian Good Design Award Winners as part of the Official Good Design Awards Week – Rewarding, Defining, and Celebrating Good Design.

This year’s theme, “Design for Better”, underscores the vital role design plays in shaping a more balanced, inclusive, and sustainable world. From reimagining products and services to reshaping cities and systems, the Awards showcase how design has the power to drive positive change for people, planet, and prosperity.

Among the Winners was VR Helicopter Maintenance Academy – Inspiring the Next Generation of Aviation Engineers, recognised with a prestigious Australian Good Design Award Winner accolade in the Digital Design category. 

Project Title: VR Helicopter Maintenance Academy – Inspiring the Next Generation of Aviation Engineers

Designed in: Australia

Designed by: 

Catalyst XR

Commissioned by:

Australian Helicopter Industry Association (ahia)

Jury Comments:

“CatalystXR partnered with the Australian Helicopter Industry Association to create a VR training experience designed to inspire future aviation engineers. A good fit for purpose reason for using VR – this is fully sick! This project represents a great application of VR technology, and is a fun and educational combination of spatial play, just enough in situ interface design and real world accuracy where it counts e.g. the tools of maintenance, and nice to see the Australian flag in the hangar! Well done. Smart, innovative and impactful.”

Celebrating Good Design, Innovation and Impact

The 2025 Australian Good Design Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday 17 October, at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney, where more than 1,000 distinguished guests from design, architecture, engineering, and business sectors will come together to celebrate the transformational power of good design.

At the Ceremony, Winners will receive their official Good Design Tick Trophy. The Best in Class Winners, along with recipients of the Special Accolades, the Good Design Award for Sustainability, and the Australian Good Design Award of the Year – the nation’s highest design honour, will all be announced exclusively at the Awards Ceremony.

Record-Breaking Year for Design Excellence

Rachel Wye, Managing Director of Good Design Australia, reflects on the calibre of this year’s entries: “The standard of Award Winners in this year’s Australian Good Design Awards was the highest on record, with game-changing projects that push the envelope of good design, design innovation and design impact. These Awards clearly demonstrate the transformational power of design to create a better and more sustainable future.”

She added: “The projects honoured this year show how thoughtful design can drive meaningful change – from the way we live and work to how we care for our planet. The Australian Good Design Awards are proud to recognise these world-class examples of design excellence, which not only enhance human experience, but also make a profound contribution to creating a more balanced and sustainable world.”