The national award is due recognition for the port authority, which has grown and transformed exponentially over the past five years across its trade, workforce, asset management, sustainability and innovation.
Southern Ports Chief Executive Officer Keith Wilks said he was proud to see the Western Australian regional port authority recognised on a national stage.
"We may not be the biggest port authority or facilitate the most trade across the country, but we certainly have grown and transformed our role and contribution to the sector, the regions we operate in, and the state's economy," said Mr Wilks.
"We've completely transformed ourselves with a package of strategic, innovative projects and reforms – many implemented concurrently – that have not only achieved outstanding results across all measures, but positioned us for an even brighter future."
"Last year alone we broke 16 trade records across our three ports, which together facilitated $49 billion in trade."
"When you compare our organisation to five years ago, we're almost unrecognisable – our workforce has grown by 55 per cent, our training investment in our people has increased threefold, and we now operate the largest and third largest lithium export ports in the world."
"We're also undertaking an ambitious $62 million capital works program across our ports, the largest in our history, and a $12m technology program targeting full digitisation by 2025."
Southern Ports scooped the pool at the prestigious awards ceremony in Sydney last night (15 November). In addition to taking out Port of the Year, two of Southern Ports' key personnel were awarded with High Commendations.
Chief People and Sustainability Officer Monica Birkner recognised for her leadership and achievements in the Women in Maritime and Shipping category, and Marine Pilot Callum MacAdie in the Young Achiever Award, recognising his dedication and career as one of the youngest marine pilots across Australia.
Southern Ports was also a finalist in the Environmental Award for its work to continuously improve environmental practices at its Port of Esperance.
Southern Ports is a Government-owned trading enterprise and one of five port authorities in Western Australia. It manages the ports of Albany, Bunbury and Esperance, with more than 37 million tonnes of trade facilitated last year and a focus on building strong regional ports and strong regions.