Nous Group is delighted to announce it has once again been recognised in Australia’s most prestigious design awards. The firm and the National Office for Child Safety (National Office) have been awarded a winner for their partnering work in the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards, in the social impact category.   

Nous and the National Office engaged with Australia’s diverse service providers responding to child sexual abuse, to turn nationally endorsed Minimum Practice Standards into everyday practice. The result was a suite of ready-to-use, scalable tools that can be adapted for a range of contexts and that make the Standards real in day-to-day practice.   

Nous Principal, Brenden Carriker, said the team was delighted to be recognised for their work with the National Office for Child Safety.   

“We are thrilled to be recognised in the Good Design Awards, and most importantly to participate in work that ensures more victims and survivors experience safe, culturally appropriate, trauma-informed support,” Brenden said.   

The Good Design Awards Jury said: “In partnership with the National Office for Child Safety, Nous co-designed resources to help services implement the Minimum Practice Standards for responding to child sexual abuse. These resources empower services nationwide to deliver safer, consistent, and effective support to victims and survivors. Well done to the team for this achievement. Inspirational work.”   

In delivering this project, Nous engaged extensively with more than 50 service providers across Australia as well as peak bodies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. This included exploratory workshops with the sector, collaborative design workshops and usability testing – resulting in 17 tailored resources that translates the Standards into daily routines, supervision, governance and communication tools.   

“Our approach was guided by placing the voices and experiences of service providers and survivors at the centre of the design process. Through genuine collaboration we developed resources that are truly responsive to the sector’s needs.   

“These open, editable resources mean even small, remote, or culturally specific providers can pick up, adapt, and use the tools immediately, freeing scarce time. When tools are easy to adopt, care gets better, faster,” Brenden said.   

The toolkit comprises good-practice policy guides and templates, a communications pack with posters, explainers and facilitation guides, reflective practice journals and a monitoring and evaluation guide (soon to be released). Each tool was meticulously crafted and refined through user testing to guarantee its effectiveness.  

The project’s outcomes are complemented by a Consultation Summary and a Communications and Implementation Plan, supporting the effective rollout of the materials and fostering a consistent, high-quality response across the country.  

The Good Design Awards have been Australia’s highest international design accolade for over six decades. Projects recognised with an Australian Good Design Award demonstrate excellence in professional design and innovation in Australia and beyond. This is the fourth time Nous Group has been recognised in the Awards, highlighting the firm’s commitment to excellence and positive influence.