2026 National Transport Conference

EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMPETITION WINNERS

Congratulations to the 8 emerging professionals who have won a 3-Day Conference pass to attend the National Transport Conference in Meanjin, Brisbane.

Find out more about why they are looking to attend the Conference this year and the importance of this win.

DEEPTHY JOSE
CLARITY CONSULTING | NSW

As a Graduate Consultant at Clarity Consulting specialising in operational modelling, I am passionate about using data to help shape better transport outcomes for communities.

"Shaping the Future, Moving the Now" strongly aligns with my interests in transport planning, modelling, and creating sustainable, connected cities. I am particularly excited to hear from our speakers whose perspectives on people-focused cities and public spaces closely relate to challenges facing our industry. I hope to gain fresh insights into priorities such as safety, accessibility, resilience, mode shift, and future-ready transport networks.

As someone who genuinely enjoys meeting people and learning from different perspectives, I am especially looking forward to the networking opportunities. This would be my first national transport conference, making it an important milestone in my professional journey.

I am excited to connect with industry professionals, learn from their experiences, and apply those insights to the projects and communities I support.

EVAN (Qiang) TAN
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS | QLD

I would love the opportunity to attend the National Transport Conference because I am at the beginning of my engineering career and want to learn from leaders who are shaping the future of transport across Australia.

Since joining Transport and Main Roads in Cairns, I have been fortunate to work on road safety, bridge design, procurement, construction and regional transport projects. I have also seen firsthand the unique challenges faced by remote communities throughout regional Queensland, including areas at the northernmost tip of Australia where reliable transport infrastructure is critical for connectivity, safety and economic development.

Winning this ticket would allow me to broaden my perspective beyond my current projects and better understand the innovations, policies and technologies influencing transport nationally. It would also provide valuable opportunities to connect with experienced professionals and bring new ideas back to support safer, more resilient and better-connected regional communities across Far North Queensland.

KITAR KUE
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS | QLD

The National Transport Conference is a congregation of Australia's leading industry experts and transport professionals. It would be an amazing opportunity to attend to learn, connect and discuss all things transport! Coming from a regional city where the engineering is behind on adopting transport technologies and modelling software, I would love to explore the emerging trends, research and project learnings from larger cities and take the learnings back to fellow colleagues on how we could improve as a region.

As a TMR engineer, I believe that it is imperative to be supportive and informed as transport is evolving where the identity of 'road user' is changing, especially with the popularity of electric motorised vehicles and as the definition of smarter and safer transport evolves. If given this opportunity, I would like to see the regions to open up to new ideas to improve efficiencies on the road network where possible.

JOSHUA O'BRIEN
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS | QLD

I want to attend the National Transport Conference this year because I don’t know when else I’d get such an opportunity to learn from, and engage with, the professional cohort from my industry here in Australia. Between the Conference Plus+ activities, the presentations, the workshops, and the social events, I want to make the most of every opportunity this year.

Having heard fantastic things from my peers on the most recent conferences over in Perth and Adelaide, I have been waiting anxiously for the NTC to return to my hometown Brisbane.

Winning this ticket is important to me both as a recognition that I deserve to attend this event, and as a bulwark against financial considerations which make me uncertain I should. Brisbane, despite its flaws, means a lot to me, so being supported to attend, and getting to share my city with my peers, would be an incredible occasion.

LILY GREEN
AMBER ORGANISATION | VIC

I am new to the TPA world and have recently begun actively engaging with the association, including moderating a TPA webinar with Amber Organisation. This experience has sparked a strong interest in further building my knowledge and expanding my professional network within the transport industry nationally. I would greatly value the opportunity to attend the National Transport Conference.

While I am currently actively involved in Victorian planning discussions through my participation on the VPELA Young Professionals Committee, I am keen to broaden my understanding of transport challenges and opportunities at a national level.

ISABEL BARTON
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS | QLD

Attending the National Transport Conference would be an amazing opportunity. Reading through the schedule, I am particularly interested in discussions on Shared Micromobility, Practical Green Travel Plans, Decarbonising Transport, Pedestrian Movement Modelling, and Robot-Friendly Streets.

With one final year of university study left, I am currently looking towards my future career and how I can make an impact in my community. The opportunity to network and discuss the topics listed above will greatly impact my understanding of the future of transport in Australia and globally and what my role may look like in that future.

Transport is an obvious bottleneck towards building sustainable, healthy and accessible community services, facilities and homes. I hope that attendance in this conference will clarify what my skillset in mechatronics might bring to the future of the transport sector and how it might contribute to new forms of transportation and transport analysis.

JOSHUA CREAMER
PENRITH CITY COUNCIL | NSW

As an emerging professional, attending the National Transport Conference represents a crucial opportunity to bridge my practical engineering experience with national strategic thinking in transport. In my current role in local government, I see firsthand how transportation shapes communities and how strategic decision-making directly improves the everyday quality of life for Australians.

I am deeply passionate about the future of regional mobility with my current Honours research on Transport-Oriented Development (TOD) across regional rail corridors. Winning this pass would allow me to learn directly from industry leaders and gain the insights into future innovation needed to improve our built environment.

Ultimately, the knowledge and connections gained at this conference will help me in my future growth and goal to design infrastructure that better serves both Greater Western Sydney and broader regional networks as my public sector career advances.

KATIE BARNSHAW
INFRASTRUCTURE VICTORIA | VIC

I would love to attend the National Transport Conference to continue to learn from industry professionals and make new connections. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the Perth conference in 2024 as a student and I found this incredibly valuable for expanding my horizons and it inspired me to continue to pursue the transport field.

Now that I am one year into the workforce, I would love the opportunity to attend again to ask lots of questions, meet people and learn from experts. Additionally, I have never visited Brisbane before and I am eager to see how the city uses high-frequency buses to move significant numbers of people efficiently. I believe my state of Victoria has a lot to improve on with regards to bus services, and I am keen to learn from experts and see the system for myself.