SixPivot places in the top five of the 2026 AFR AI Awards for AI for Social Impact
- Lauren Rutter
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
SixPivot named a finalist in the 2026 AFR AI Awards for AI for Social Impact
The AFR List has become something of a milestone marker for us.
In 2020, we first appeared in the AFR Best Places to Work in Technology top ten. We've been there every year since, for six consecutive years, including 2024 when we took out Best Place to Work Overall, Best Place to Work in Tech, and Best Place to Work Small Organisation.
On the innovation side, in 2024 we were recognised in the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Technology Companies list for our work on Social Protect. In 2025, we climbed to #2 on that same list, this time for Audrri, a waste management auditing platform built with Resource Hub's Lacey Webb that had nothing to do with AI, and everything to do with solving a real problem well. It cut report generation time by 50%, more than doubled profit margins, and proved that the most impactful innovation often happens in industries nobody's talking about.
This year, we're proud to add another chapter: a top five placing in the 2026 Financial Review AI Awards in the AI for Social Impact category, this time, for work where AI is exactly the right tool for the job.
The project is Bamboo, built in partnership with James Cook University, and the recognition matters to us for the same reason Audrri did, not because of the award, but because of what it represents.
What is Project Bamboo?
Project Bamboo is a perinatal peer-support matching platform that uses AI to connect new mothers with peer-support volunteers during one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
The matching algorithm goes well beyond availability. It considers background, culture, lived experience, and personal preferences, because the right connection isn't just about who's free. It's about who's genuinely equipped to help.
For a new mother who's isolated, overwhelmed, or struggling, the distinction matters enormously. The technology exists to make the right match more likely, and Bamboo puts it to work.
SixPivot built the platform pro bono, consistent with our founding belief that expertise applied in service of meaningful work is some of the best work we do.
What does this recognition mean?
Faith Rees, Founder and CEO of SixPivot:
"Being recognised on the AFR AI Awards list is meaningful because it validates the use of AI for good and to solve real problems for real people. As a relatively small Australian technology company, we are competing alongside organisations with significantly larger teams and budgets, yet our focus has always been on delivering practical outcomes that make a difference.
For our team, it's recognition of the thoughtful, ethical and human-centred approach they bring to every project. For our customers, it reinforces that the solutions we're building are creating genuine impact."
Why did we enter?
"We entered the Financial Review AI Awards because we believe Australia needs more examples of AI being successfully applied in production environments to create measurable value. There is a lot of discussion about the potential of AI, but less visibility into organisations that are using it to improve productivity, enhance customer experiences, support communities, and enable better decision-making.
The awards provide an opportunity to amplify the work of James Cook University and Project Bamboo."
— Faith Rees, Founder and CEO, SixPivot
The thread that connects the work
Three years of AFR recognition, across three different projects, utilising three very different technologies.
In 2024 it was Social Protect. In 2025 it was Audrri, recognised for a solution which didn't use AI at all. In 2026 we've placed in the top five for one that does. The technology may change every time, but the principle doesn't.
And it's not just the innovation list. Since 2020, SixPivot has appeared in the AFR Best Places to Work in Technology top ten every single year, including 2024, when we took out Best Place to Work Overall, Best Place to Work in Tech, and Best Place to Work Small Organisation. Six consecutive years of recognition for how we work, not just what we build.
We don't share this to collect accolades though; we share it because the two things are connected. The quality of work we deliver for clients - the thoughtfulness, the rigour, and the commitment to outcomes over outputs - comes directly from the culture we've built. You can't separate them.
In our experience, the strongest submissions and solutions are those that clearly demonstrate the problem being solved, the people impacted, and the measurable outcomes achieved. Not the sophistication of the stack, not the novelty of the approach. The impact.
That's the standard we hold ourselves to at SixPivot, and it's what we'll keep building towards, whether the right answer involves AI or not.
