Swietelsky Rail Australia (SRA) has been awarded the Wellbeing in Rail Award at the 2025 Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Rail Industry Awards.
The award recognises SRA’s comprehensive, people-first approach to wellbeing and its visible leadership on gender equity across the sector.
For SRA, employee wellbeing is not a separate program in the peripheral, instead it is built into how the company leads, plans and makes decisions.
SRA’s Employee Wellbeing Framework brings together leadership, embedded policies and a supportive culture to ensure people have what they need to do their best work and to feel safe, respected and included.
Grounded in SRA’s values, family, integrity, respect and excellence, the framework blends practical support with structured, proactive check-ins and education.
Initiatives such as ‘Balance Breaks’, a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program, and the CHECK5 Wellbeing and Performance System help identify needs early and connect people with targeted support.
Together, these elements turn policy into practice and make wellbeing a shared responsibility of leaders and teams.
Anne Connors, Managing Director for SRA, said this award belongs to the whole company.
“It reflects the care we have for one another, and the everyday choices our leaders and teams make to ensure wellbeing is visible, supported and real,” said Connors.
On the same day as the awards, SRA contributed to the official launch of the ARA Rail Gender Equity Charter.
Connors joined the panel alongside Raphaelle Guerineau from Siemens, Matthew Longland from Sydney Trains and Chair Rebecca Want from GHD.
The discussion focused on turning commitments into lived experience, with three consistent themes, including policies that support (not hinder) each other, visible leadership and culture where equity is lived reality.
Being recognised with the Wellbeing in Rail Award and contributing to the Charter launch on the same day is meaningful for the SRA team.
“It was a proud day, not just to be recognised, but to stand alongside peers and commit to the work ahead,” said Connors.
“Our role now is to keep closing the gap between policy and practice, so safety, fairness and inclusion are part of everyone’s every day.”
SRA’s message is clear, wellbeing and equity are essential to safe, high-performing rail operations.
By aligning leadership, policy and culture and by collaborating across the industry, SRA is helping set the standard for workplaces where commitments are visible, trusted and used.
