In an era where healthcare decisions can change lives, one Australian company is revolutionising how we preserve our voices, wishes, and stories for when they matter most. Evaheld's recent recognition as a finalist in the prestigious 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards highlights a growing movement in healthcare planning that combines technology with deeply human needs. For related paperwork and decision points, the wedding day letter to your child can help keep this part of the plan connected to the wider record.
The Recognition: More Than Just an Award
When the Telstra Best of Business Awards announced Evaheld as a finalist in their Championing Health category, it marked a significant milestone for a company that began with a simple yet powerful vision: ensuring that every Australian's healthcare wishes are documented, accessible, and respected when critical decisions must be made.
The Championing Health category specifically celebrates organisations making extraordinary contributions to health outcomes through innovation, accessibility, and community impact. For Evaheld, this recognition validates their mission to transform how Australians approach advance care planning and legacy preservation.
Celebrating Excellence: Congratulations to All Finalists
Evaheld extends heartfelt congratulations to all state finalists and nominees in the 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards. This prestigious recognition brings together Australia's most innovative businesses across multiple categories, each contributing uniquely to their communities and industries.
The diversity and excellence demonstrated by this year's finalists showcase the extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit driving positive change across Australia. Each finalist represents not just business success, but meaningful impact in addressing important challenges and opportunities in their respective fields.
Our Founder's Story: Why We Do What We Do
Evaheld was founded on a simple belief: every voice matters, and no story should be lost. After witnessing how families struggle when care wishes and personal legacies are left undocumented, the founders set out to combine technology, compassion, and accessibility so that Australians can record their wishes, preserve their voice, and protect connections to loved ones. For related paperwork and decision points, the redirecting post after death mail checklist can help keep this part of the plan connected to the wider record.
"The idea for Evaheld came from our own experiences with family health crises," shares Michelle Costa, Co-founder and CFO. "We saw the confusion, conflict, and regret that happens when someone's wishes aren't documented or accessible. We wanted to create a solution that would have helped our own families through those difficult times."
Costa's personal journey, which she shares openly in her video testimonial (Watch Michelle Costa share her story), reveals how witnessing healthcare challenges within her own family sparked the vision for what would become Evaheld. Her experience resonates with countless Australians who have faced similar situations.
The Problem Evaheld Solves
Think about this scenario: Your elderly parent is rushed to the hospital unconscious. Doctors need immediate decisions about treatment. Does anyone know their wishes? Are their advance directives accessible? How can medical professionals honor choices they're unaware of?
This exact situation happens thousands of times daily across Australia, often leading to:
- Treatment that contradicts a person's wishes
- Family conflict during already stressful situations
- Healthcare providers making decisions without crucial information
- Lost opportunities to honor someone's voice and preferences
Michelle Gomes, Co-founder and CEO of Evaheld, explains: "We created Evaheld because we saw firsthand how families struggle during health crises when care wishes aren't documented and accessible. These aren't just medical decisions—they're deeply personal expressions of how someone wants to live, even when they can't speak for themselves."
Real-Life Impact: When Preparation Meets Crisis
The value of Evaheld's approach becomes crystal clear through real stories. Consider this powerful example from their experience: When an aged care resident was admitted to hospital unexpectedly, her family avoided panic and delays because her treatment preferences and essential medical documents were stored securely in the Evaheld Legacy Vault. Clinicians had immediate access to her advance care directive, ensuring her voice was respected and her care aligned with her wishes.
This real-world situation demonstrates exactly what happens when proper advance care planning meets modern technology:
- Her medical team understood her treatment boundaries
- Family members avoided the burden of making uninformed decisions
- Her care aligned precisely with her documented wishes
- The focus remained on her comfort rather than administrative chaos
This represents just one of many situations where Evaheld's platform has transformed what could have been a traumatic experience into one where dignity and personal choice remained central.
The Evolution of Advance Care Planning
Traditional advance care planning has historically involved paper documents stored in filing cabinets or safes—often inaccessible during emergencies. Even when digitised, these critical documents frequently exist in isolation from the context and personal stories that give them meaning.
Evaheld recognised this fundamental disconnect and developed something different: a comprehensive approach that:
- Centralises essential documents in a secure digital environment
- Preserves personal stories that explain the reasoning behind healthcare choices
- Ensures accessibility to both loved ones and healthcare providers
- Connects medical directives with the broader context of someone's life and values
"It's not just about having a legal document," explains Michelle Costa, Co-founder and CFO. "It's about ensuring your voice continues to guide your care even when you can't speak, and that the essence of who you are isn't lost in a medical crisis."
The Evaheld Legacy Vault: Technology Meets Humanity
At the center of Evaheld's innovation is their flagship product: the Evaheld Legacy Vault. Unlike traditional document storage solutions, the Legacy Vault combines several crucial elements:
Advance Care Documentation:
- Storage for advance care directives
- Medical power of attorney documents
- Treatment preference records
- Emergency contact information
Legacy Preservation:
- Personal stories and messages
- Value statements explaining care choices
- Audio and video recordings
- Family history and traditions
Accessibility Features:
- Emergency access protocols for healthcare providers
- Customisable sharing permissions for family members
- Mobile-friendly interface for anytime access
- Notification systems for document updates
The platform's design reflects a deep understanding that healthcare decisions don't exist in isolation—they're connected to our values, relationships, and life experiences.
Building Trust in Healthcare Through Transparency
One of the most significant impacts of Evaheld's approach is how it strengthens trust between patients, families, and healthcare providers. When preferences are clearly documented and accessible, it:
- Reduces the emotional burden on family members making difficult decisions
- Provides healthcare professionals with confidence they're honoring patient wishes
- Minimises potential conflicts between family members with different opinions
- Creates space for more meaningful connections during health challenges
Dr. Sarah Thompson, a geriatric specialist who recommends Evaheld to her patients, notes: "Having clear, accessible advance care documents transforms how we deliver care. Instead of guessing or relying solely on family interpretations, we can truly honor the person's own voice."
The Founders' Vision: Personal Experience Drives Innovation
Evaheld wasn't born in a boardroom—it emerged from the lived experiences of its founders. Michelle Gomes and Michelle Costa witnessed firsthand the challenges families face when healthcare wishes remain undocumented or inaccessible.
"We created what we wished had existed for our own families," Gomes explains. "Every feature in our platform addresses a real pain point we experienced or observed in others during health crises."
This personal connection to their mission resonates with users and partners alike. It's also part of what caught the attention of the Telstra Best of Business Awards judges, who recognise that the most powerful innovations often come from deeply personal motivations.
Beyond Individuals: How Evaheld Partners with Healthcare Providers
While individuals and families form the heart of Evaheld's user base, the company has also developed strategic partnerships with:
- Aged care facilities seeking to improve resident-centered care
- Hospitals implementing better advance care planning protocols
- Community health organisations supporting vulnerable populations
- Palliative care providers enhancing end-of-life care quality
These partnerships extend Evaheld's impact beyond individual users to systemic improvements in how healthcare organisations approach advance care planning and patient autonomy.
Looking Forward: The Future of Digital Legacy Planning
As Evaheld continues to grow and innovate, they're exploring several promising directions:
- Integration with electronic health record systems
- Enhanced multimedia capabilities for legacy preservation
- Expanded educational resources about advance care planning
- International expansion to serve global communities
- Legacy planning as an organisational benefit
The Telstra Best of Business Awards recognition provides not just validation of their current work but momentum for these future initiatives.
The Bigger Picture: A Cultural Shift in Healthcare Planning
What makes Evaheld's work particularly significant is how it addresses a cultural reluctance to discuss healthcare preferences before crises occur. By creating accessible, engaging tools for advance care planning, they're helping shift these conversations from taboo to normal family discussion.
"We're seeing families use our platform not just for practical planning but as a catalyst for meaningful conversations about values, priorities, and what matters most," notes Costa. "These discussions strengthen connections and create peace of mind that extends far beyond the documents themselves."
A Celebration of Innovation Across Australia
The recognition of Evaheld alongside other outstanding finalists in the Telstra Best of Business Awards highlights the remarkable entrepreneurial ecosystem flourishing across Australia. Each finalist represents a unique approach to solving important challenges, and together they showcase the diversity and excellence of Australian innovation. For related paperwork and decision points, the uts startups interview with evaheld can help keep this part of the plan connected to the wider record.
To all finalists across every state and category: congratulations on your well-deserved recognition and thank you for your continued contributions to making Australia a better place through business excellence and innovation.
Join the Movement: How to Get Started
For anyone interested in securing their healthcare wishes and preserving their legacy, Evaheld offers several entry points:
- Individual and family subscriptions to the Legacy Vault
- Organisational partnerships for healthcare providers
- Educational workshops on advance care planning
- Free resources for starting these important conversations
As the company states: "Every voice matters, and no story should be lost." Their Telstra Best of Business Awards recognition amplifies this message and invites more Australians to ensure their healthcare wishes will be honored when it matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions about Evaheld and the Championing Health Recognition
What Telstra Business Awards recognition did Evaheld receive?
Evaheld was recognised as a 2025 state finalist in the Championing Health category of the Telstra Best of Business Awards. The recognition highlighted the company’s work connecting advance care planning, family preparedness and legacy preservation.
Why is the Championing Health recognition relevant to families?
The recognition draws attention to a practical family problem: important wishes, records and stories are often scattered or unavailable when health circumstances change. Better preparation can make conversations and handovers clearer for the people involved.
How does Evaheld support advance care planning?
Evaheld provides a structured place to organise personal values, care wishes, trusted contacts and supporting information. Formal directives and medical decisions still need to follow the applicable process and professional guidance in the user’s jurisdiction.
Does Evaheld replace a doctor, lawyer or financial adviser?
No. Evaheld helps people organise and communicate information, but it does not replace medical care, legal advice, financial advice or the formal execution requirements that apply to regulated documents.
What is an Evaheld Legacy Vault?
It is a private digital space for organising stories, messages, care wishes, essential records and selected information for trusted people. Users decide what to preserve and who should receive appropriate access.
Who can use Evaheld?
Individuals and families can use Evaheld for personal planning and legacy preservation. Organisations may also use partnership pathways to support clients, patients, members, carers or employees with structured preparedness resources.
How can healthcare and care organisations work with Evaheld?
Organisations can explore partnership models that complement their existing education, referral and care processes. Any implementation should define consent, privacy, professional boundaries and which information belongs in formal clinical or legal systems.
Why should health wishes and family stories be organised together?
They serve different purposes but often matter to the same trusted people during major life transitions. Keeping them organised with clear access boundaries can help families find practical information without losing the person’s values, voice and context.
Can information in an Evaheld vault be updated?
Yes. Plans, contacts, documents and personal preferences can change, so users should review their records after major health, family, legal or financial events and confirm that access settings remain appropriate.
How can someone get started with Evaheld?
Start with the information that would be hardest for family to find in an emergency or major transition. Add one trusted contact, organise the highest-priority records and expand the vault gradually as decisions and circumstances become clearer.
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