Aon has claimed both Queensland broker awards at the 2026 NIBA Gala Lunch, with Alison Morrissey named Broker of the Year and Emily Booth named Young Broker of the Year. The result, announced July 15 at The Star in Brisbane before 530 industry professionals, extends a pattern established one week earlier – when Aon swept the equivalent NSW/ACT titles – making the firm the only brokerage to have won both individual broker categories across two consecutive states in this year’s NIBA awards cycle.
Under NIBA’s award terms, previous state or national winners are not eligible to re-enter, meaning each successive Aon win required a different individual. In NSW/ACT on July 8, Deb Gibson won the Broker of the Year and Laith Parissi took the Young Broker of the Year. Seven days later, two separate Aon brokers repeated the result in Queensland. Aon holds an estimated 13% of Australia’s intermediated general insurance GWP, placing it third nationally behind Steadfast Group at 34% and Marsh at 20%. A single-firm Queensland sweep has historical precedent – Crucial Insurance and Risk Advisors took both Queensland titles in 2021. The cross-state back-to-back result in a single awards cycle is less established. Queensland accounts for 22% of Australia’s national broking workforce, the third-largest state for the profession behind NSW at 28% and Victoria at 26%.
The state-level performance has not translated to national titles in recent years. Across the six national award cycles from 2020 to 2025, neither the Broker of the Year nor the Young Broker of the Year title was won by an Aon broker, with the awards going to individuals from Gallagher, Bell Partners Insurance, Finsura, WTW, Arthur J. Gallagher, Crucial Insurance, Phoenix Insurance Brokers, and Marsh across that period. The remaining state results – Victoria/Tasmania and South Australia/Northern Territory – have not yet been announced at the time of publication, meaning the full national field is still taking shape.
Morrissey beat finalists Kelli Dabelstein of Northern Insurance Solutions and Katrina Halliday of Your Insurance Broker for the senior title, partnered by CGU – IAG’s intermediated insurance business selling commercial products through brokers. Madi Ward, principal of CX Technology & Broker Platforms at CGU, said: “On behalf of the CGU team, congratulations to Alison on winning this year’s Qld Broker of the Year award. Her dedication to client advocacy sets a high standard for the profession, and we commend her on this achievement.”
Booth won the Young Broker of the Year ahead of Amy Smith of Ausure Cairns Insurance Brokers and Matt Wheelahan of Cornerstone Risk Group. The award is partnered by Vero, which offers its products exclusively through insurance brokers and authorised agents. Both award partners compete for broker business in the same intermediated channel, giving their sponsorship of broker recognition awards a commercial dimension alongside its professional function. Kate Turner, Vero’s executive manager of commercial insurance for Queensland, said: “Emily brings strong leadership and a genuine passion for the profession to everything she does. Her innovative thinking and commitment to going the extra mile for her clients set her apart from the field. Brokers like Emily are exactly why we keep investing in young talent across our industry.”
The Young Broker result carries weight beyond the individual outcome. NIBA’s June 2026 report Data to Direction: Insights from the General Insurance Broking Profession found that brokers aged 18 to 29 represent the same share of the profession as those aged 60 and over – both at 11% – with the two largest cohorts being brokers aged 40 to 49 at 31% and 30 to 39 at 28%, and a workforce median age of 44. With 85% of brokerages surveyed reporting growth or opportunistic growth strategies, demand for entry-level talent is structural as much as cyclical.
The award drew a record 96 nominations nationally in 2026 – the highest in the program’s 37-year history, according to Vero head of distribution Anthony Pagano. NIBA CEO Richard Klipin said: “Every finalist in this category has shown real commitment to professionalism and to giving back to their community, and Emily’s win is a testament to how young brokers are well on their way to become future leaders.”
In response to the pipeline data, NIBA will introduce a young professionals program at the October convention – the first dedicated early-career track in the event’s history – with a masterclass facilitated by past Young Broker of the Year winners, and a networking event pairing early-career brokers with more senior industry figures.
Both Morrissey and Booth advance to the national competition at the 2026 NIBA Convention, running under the “Future Ready” theme at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast from October 18 to 20. NIBA president Nick Cook, in separate remarks on the Queensland Broker of the Year, said the awards program “is an important platform to recognise the exceptional talent that is leading our profession towards being future ready” – language that aligns with, though was made independently of, the convention theme. On the Young Broker category, Cook said NIBA is “proud to spotlight the depth of talent coming through the ranks in our profession.” They will compete against state winners from NSW/ACT, Victoria/Tasmania, Western Australia, and South Australia/Northern Territory, with the national titles to be announced at the convention’s gala dinner.
