Canstar's 2026 Innovation Excellence Award Winners

Canstar’s 2026 Innovation Excellence Award Winners

Canstar’s expert Research team and judging panel reveal the products and services reshaping how Australians manage their money, their homes, and their everyday lives.

Release: 16 April, 2026

2026 Innovation Excellence Award Winners

About this year’s Awards

Each year, Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards put a spotlight on products and services that aren’t just new, but move the needle for Australian consumers. This year, our Research team reviewed 60 submissions from 41 brands across financial services, energy, telecommunications, and appliances. Each entry was assessed against two pillars — how unique and disruptive it is and how meaningfully it improves consumers’ day-to-day lives — before being put before our judging panel for final selection.

The result is 13 award-winning innovations across financial services, energy and telco, and appliances. Different categories, different consumer needs, but a shared standard for what makes an innovation worth recognising.

Financial Services, Energy & Telecommunications

Across this year’s 36 submissions from 26 brands in financial services, energy, and telco, the strongest innovations had something in common: they didn’t ask consumers to do more. They quietly did more for them.

“This year’s winners stood out not just for what they built, but for what they removed — hiding complexity, reducing friction, and stepping in to do the hard work so the customer doesn’t have to.” – Keely Robinson, Ratings Manager.

Looking across all 36 submissions — not just the winners — our Research team identified five clear trends in how Australian brands are approaching innovation this year:

• All-in-one digital hubs. Tools and services that once lived in separate apps are being consolidated into single platforms, letting consumers complete tasks end-to-end without bouncing between logins, providers, or workflows.
• Conversational service. Static forms and dense FAQ pages are giving way to natural-language interfaces. Consumers are increasingly able to ask questions and get things done in plain English, rather than navigating menus designed for the business rather than the user.
• Translating complexity into clarity. Large, technical datasets — the kind once locked away inside insurers, banks, or energy retailers — are being reshaped into insights consumers can actually act on.
• AI as an operations engine. Agentic AI has moved beyond front-end novelty. This year, several winning innovations use AI to automate back-office processes and orchestration entirely, with humans stepping in only where judgement is genuinely required.
• Democratising access. Proprietary data, risk models, and analytical tools that were once the preserve of professionals are being opened up to everyday consumers — breaking down information monopolies and giving people the same picture the experts have.

2026 Award Winners — Financial Services

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

Allianz Australia

Automation of food spoilage claims

Allianz’s AI-driven claims solution tackles a painful pinch point households face after a crisis. By automating high-volume, low-complexity claims, such as food spoilage following natural disasters, multiple AI agents handle ‘heavy-lifting’ tasks like coverage checks and fraud screening, with a human stepping in for the final payout decision. The judges recognised its ability to compress what is traditionally a slow, manual process into something far faster — getting customers paid out and back on their feet sooner after major events.

Commonwealth Bank 

Everyday Investing

Everyday Investing opens managed fund investing to a far broader range of Australians, letting customers begin investing with as little as $2. The micro-investing feature replaces the traditional friction of complex account setups with a simple, app-based experience, backed by a competitive fee structure. The judges recognised it for collapsing a minimum-investment threshold that has historically kept managed funds out of reach for everyday investors — without stripping the product back to a starter version.

Latrobe Health Services 

Accident Advantage

Built into eligible Latrobe Health hospital policies, Accident Advantage lets members on lower levels of cover receive top-tier protection at the moment it matters, without paying top-tier premiums year-round. The feature automatically lifts members up to Gold-level clinical cover if they’re hospitalised following an unexpected accident, waiving both waiting periods and the hospital excess at the same time, subject to policy terms and eligibility criteria. The judges recognised it as thoughtful product design — one that closes a worst-case-scenario gap without forcing members to over-insure as a precaution.

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Suncorp  

Suncorp Haven

Suncorp Haven is a free digital platform giving households property-specific climate risk insights and resilience recommendations, using insurer-grade data. By making this data publicly available — not just to policyholders — Suncorp is helping homeowners understand their exposure and make informed decisions on how to protect their properties. The judges recognised it as a notable choice by an insurer to publish risk modelling that the industry has historically treated as a competitive asset — putting the same view of a property’s exposure that underwriters see in front of homeowners.

Westpac  

Business Money Tools

Business Money Tools surfaces real-time insights and proactive alerts for small business owners right inside the Westpac app. Rather than waiting for a monthly reconciliation to catch a duplicate payment or a cash flow squeeze, owners are prompted as issues emerge. The judges recognised it for shifting the banking app from a passive place businesses go to check on themselves into an active layer that flags issues as they happen.

SafeBlock

SafeBlock is a digital panic button inside the Westpac app that lets customers instantly block cards and outgoing payments at the first sign of fraud. With a single tap, this can apply across all of a customer’s banking products. Crucially, incoming deposits and scheduled payments continue to flow, so customers can lock down their exposure without disrupting essential financial activity. The judges recognised it as a highly impactful feature, enabling consumers to act with speed and decisiveness without collateral damage.

2026 Award Winners — Energy & Telecommunications

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

“Our 2026 awards recognise the providers cutting through the complexity of solar and internet, two markets where customers can often feel overwhelmed and overlooked. These winning brands excel at simplifying stressful processes and providing specialist support when it’s needed most.” — Tara Donnelly, Managing Editor, Utilities and Finance.

Activ8me

Beyond the Call Initiative

For Aussies in regional and remote parts of the country, accessing reliable internet can be difficult, and when things go wrong with the connection, troubleshooting can be a complicated process. Activ8me’s Beyond the Call customer support program takes over NBN fault troubleshooting on behalf of rural and remote customers with NBN Sky Muster connections. Instead of asking users in low-connectivity areas to troubleshoot their connection issues  — which can involve travelling to find a signal — a dedicated internal team handles issues end-to-end. The judges noted its impact for traditionally underserved regional and remote communities, where a loss of connection is much harder to resolve.

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Kleenheat

Spark

Operated by natural gas provider Kleenheat, Spark is a digital platform that helps Western Australians compare and purchase solar and battery systems through tailored recommendations based on each customer’s home energy needs. It aims to replace the often confusing solar quoting process, providing fast pricing and payback estimates online from trusted installers. The judges recognised it for tackling the quoting process, which can be one of the biggest pain points in residential solar.

Appliances

Across this year’s 24 appliance submissions from 15 brands, three distinct trends shaped the category:

• Multi-functional, all-in-one designs. Appliances that consolidate multiple tasks into one device continue to gain ground, helping households reduce clutter and get more use out of a single product.
• Automated maintenance and self-cleaning. Once a premium novelty, self-cleaning and automated upkeep are now becoming a baseline expectation in higher-end appliances — supporting longer product lifespans and more hands-free operation.
• Artificial intelligence as standard. AI is now included across much of the category as a default feature, though in a handful of products it’s being used to make a genuine difference rather than serving as a marketing line.

“Innovative appliances have reshaped the modern Australian home, but today, it’s no longer just big leaps in innovation that win consumers over. It’s the thoughtful, finely tuned features that deliver real, measurable, impact and define true excellence.

The 2026 Canstar Innovation Excellence winners are examples of how small, purposeful enhancements can drive greater efficiency and, more importantly, remove real-world friction.

These awards recognise brands that aren’t simply iterating, but actively redefining what Australians should expect from the appliances they rely on every day.” — Eden Radford, Canstar spokesperson.

2026 Award Winners — Appliances

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

Anker Innovations

Eufy S4 Max POE NVR Security System

Once considered an expensive luxury, home security systems are now a common sight in houses across Australia. However, while the initial setup might be fairly affordable, many systems come with a sting: ongoing monthly subscription fees just to store and access your own footage in the cloud. The eufy S4 Max POE NVR offers an alternative. It uses a local AI agent to process data directly on the device rather than sending it to the cloud. It also delivers high-end 4K recording and a 360-degree view, putting privacy and performance front-and-centre. The judges recognised it for combining premium video performance with a privacy-friendly, cost-conscious option in a market increasingly dominated by ‘pay-to-play’ models.

See Canstar’s Best-Rated Home Security System Brand 

Roborock

Saros Z70

Robot vacuums have surged in popularity across Australian homes in recent years, evolving from futuristic gadgets into essential time-savers. The Roborock Saros Z70 takes this a step further by solving a common headache: the need to tidy up before the vacuum even starts. It features a unique ‘OmniGrip’ five-axis mechanical arm that can pick up and move small obstacles like socks, toys, or sandals out of its path—a first for the Australian market. Alongside this innovation, it packs the premium power customers expect, including 22,000 Pa suction, AI mapping, and automated mopping. While many new models make small improvements, the judges praised the Saros Z70 for truly pushing the category forward with a practical solution to a messy problem.

See Canstar’s Best-Rated Robot Vacuum

Samsung

Wireless One Connect Box

Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box is a win for those wanting a clean, minimalist home setup. It’s an external hub that sends high-quality audio and video to your TV without the need for a physical data cable. This is particularly good if you have a ‘floating’ TV mounted on the wall, as it lets you connect all your devices—like consoles or set-top boxes—without messy cords dangling down and ruining the aesthetic. The judges recognised Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box for being the first to bring both 8K televisions and a wireless 8K transmission solution to market, meaning it delivers a crystal-clear picture while future-proofing consumers for the next generation of 8K content to hit their screens. 

See Canstar’s Best-Rated Television Brand

Russell Hobbs

Supreme VacuSteam Handheld Steamer

The Russell Hobbs Supreme VacuSteam Handheld Steamer makes smoothing out wrinkles easier by solving a common, annoying problem. It uses VacuSteam technology, which gently sucks the fabric against a heated plate to keep it tight while you work. This innovative design removes the need to manually pull on your clothes to get them flat, which also helps protect your fingers from accidental steam burns. The judges recognised Russell Hobbs for being the first to introduce this feature for handheld steamers and were impressed by its ability to make a common chore safer and faster.

See Canstar’s Best-Rated Garment Steamers

Weber

Searwood Pellet Barbecue Range

The Searwood Pellet Barbecue Range is a versatile all-in-one outdoor cooker that solves a common problem for BBQ fans. While most pellet grills are great for low-and-slow smoking, they struggle to get hot enough to sear a steak–this barbeque does both. DirectFlame full-grill searing provides temperature-controlled, evenly distributed heat, while the Rapid React PID controller and Wi-Fi connectivity keep temperatures steady, whether you’re smoking, roasting, and grilling. The judges recognised it for resolving a long-standing trade-off in outdoor cooking, where consumers had to choose between a smoker and a gas grill, giving them the best of both worlds in one unit.

See Canstar’s Best-Rated Barbeque Brand

How the winners were selected

Canstar’s Innovation Excellence Awards are judged by our expert Research team against a structured methodology built around two pillars:

Degree of innovation (40%) — how unique and disruptive a product is within its market, and the extent to which it offers something genuinely new to consumers.

Impact (60%) — how many consumers stand to benefit, how accessible the product is, and how meaningfully it improves day-to-day life.

Each submission is scored on both pillars and weighted to produce a final result. The methodology is the same one Canstar applies across more than a thousand products and providers each year, refined by a Research team that spends every working day inside the data of Australia’s financial services, energy, telco, and appliance markets.

Read the full methodology →

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About: Keely Robinson, Ratings Manager

Bachelor of Business (Finance and Marketing) with Distinction, QUT

As the Ratings Manager in Canstar’s Research department, Keely leads a team responsible for developing ratings methodologies and delivering Canstar’s flagship Star Ratings and Awards. With a strong focus on making financial products understandable and comparable for Australian consumers, Keely and her team assist consumers in navigating the intricacies of financial products in the market.

Keely joined Canstar as a Research Analyst and has progressed into her current position, where she is responsible for the delivery of ratings across the wealth, insurance, banking, and utilities portfolios. Keely is dedicated to continuously enhancing Canstar’s methodologies to ensure our Star Ratings reflect the current market. She strives to simplify complex data, offer valuable insights, and empower consumers to make well-informed decisions regarding their personal finances. Keely also leads and contributes to strategic business initiatives to ensure continuous improvement of Canstar’s methodologies, ratings calculations and quality of underlying data.

You can follow Keely on LinkedIn, and Canstar on X and Facebook.