An open door earns Real Dairy the Local Champion Award

In the suburb of Greenacre in Sydney’s west, with its richly diverse population and strong sense of community, Real Dairy has built something that defies easy categorisation. It’s a dairy processing business – but it’s also a place where people who’ve struggled for years without stable work find their footing, build confidence, and change the trajectory of their lives.

At the Third Annual Employer Awards, Real Dairy was named the winner of the Local Champion Award, recognising a small to medium employer that goes above and beyond to create meaningful employment opportunities in its local community.

Real Dairy’s approach to hiring is, in its own words, simple: if you have the capacity to do the job, you get the opportunity. No experience required. No criteria related to background, gender, employment gaps, or cultural origin. Since partnering with Asuria in October 2023, Real Dairy has provided employment to 79 Asuria participants, including 29 very long-term unemployed individuals.

Sharon, who leads Real Dairy’s inclusive hiring, extends opportunities to nearly every participant who attends a group interview. The number who have been declined can be counted on one hand. It’s a people-first philosophy that takes seriously the idea that most barriers to employment are constructed, not inherent.

For participants, the support doesn’t stop at hiring. Sharon ensures every new employee receives comprehensive on-the-job training from day one. For participants from CALD backgrounds, she strategically pairs newcomers with existing staff from similar cultural communities, easing the transition and contributing to strong long-term retention. She maintains an open-door policy and stays in regular contact with Asuria, creating a feedback loop that ensures challenges are caught early.

Real Dairy’s cultural inclusion extends beyond the workplace too. The company hosts monthly staff barbecues where employees share traditional foods from their heritage – a simple but powerful celebration of the diversity that defines both the business and the neighbourhood it calls home.

In 2025, Real Dairy placed 28 Asuria participants, including two First Nations participants and eight long-term unemployed individuals. A month in, retention sat at 63%. Three months on, that hadn't changed — a quiet but meaningful indicator pointing to genuine, sustained employment.

The judges praised Real Dairy’s decision to take “an open hiring approach, providing all participants who have the capacity to do a job with a job to do, with no criteria related to experience creating barriers to entry.” They highlighted the onboarding program that “pairs experienced staff with newcomers of similar ethnic backgrounds to ease transition,” and the monthly social events that “encourage cultural inclusion among its highly diverse workforce.”

Asuria CEO Nicole Grainger-Marsh said Real Dairy embodied what local leadership can achieve. “Real Dairy proves that you don’t need a complex framework or a large HR team to make a profound difference. You need an open door, a commitment to training, and a genuine belief that people deserve a chance. Sharon and her team have that in abundance, and the community around them is stronger for it.”