THE Department of Justice has won the community communication category of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (WA chapter) 2005 awards for excellence. The award was for the department’s work in securing the support of Bentley residents for a minimum-security prison in their community. The community communication program undertaken by the department not only invited the local community to participate at every stage, but residents named the prison, decided on the style of boundary fencing and even the location of access roads. The WW Mitchell student of the year award went to Charlotte Deague, while Pip Elms from the Department of Education and Training won the new practitioner of the year award. In 2003, mining giant Rio Tinto implemented a uniform set of health standards across its global operations. These standards recognised exposure to risks such as heat, dust and noise, posed a major threat to employee health and business sustainability. The fact that Pilbara Iron was responsible for fast tracking the introduction of the health standards of 4,000 employees and 1,000 contractors in 14 locations across Perth and remote WA convinced judges to allocate a high commendation. BHP Billiton Iron Ore received a commendation in the event management category for organising the UWA Perth International Arts Festival’s tour to the Pilbara. BHPBIO initiated a partnership with the festival after a survey identified opportunities for the communities to be involved in arts, culture and heritage. Commendations in the long-term communication category were awarded to Mills Wilson Communication Consultant, for the Office of Crime Prevention’s burglar beware program, and Roberts Thorn Consulting for work on the Midland Redevelopment Authority.