The Master Builders Association held its annual Newcastle excellence in building awards earlier this month.

Corrina will now head to the National Master Builders Awards in Adelaide in November after taking home the women in building award.

The award represents outstanding workmanship within the construction industry.

The award is the pinnacle of a five year career that has seen Corrina change previously male-dominated thinking about the industry.

She says the changes to work sites where women are involved cannot be underestimated.

"The guys now have a mindset that women are on the work site and that we are an asset," she said.

"Having a woman as part of your team is good news. 

"Any tradie - electrician, plasterer, plumber - that walks onto a site where I'm involved knows it is a clean site.

"The team of tradies we have assembled also work well together and they also know that each trade helps the one following.

"This helps with a smooth-running work site. It means we have fewer accidents and downtime and also means that the job is completed within a certain time frame.

"I also think I add to the team environment because we all learn in different ways. So I may be able to help an apprentice because I can explain something in a different way to (business partner and husband) Darren."

The couple operate BruCorp Building with Darren "very encouraging about me coming into the partnership and onto the work site", she said.

"While I started out doing the office and paperwork, in the downtime I was out on the work site helping out.

"So the tradies saw me onsite, standing frames, using the drop saw, up and down ladders, nailing grips, handing up roof trusses and using the nail gun.

"We are now at a point now where we can both be on a work site and the tradies will walk past Darren to ask me a question."

Darren says it only took tradies about six months to work out Corrina was part of the team.

"They soon realised she was the real deal," he said.

"Everyone on our work sites knows that we have standards to maintain and by working well together we get a better outcome for the client."

Corrina says her only regret is not starting an apprenticeship, even as a mature age.

"While I didn't go down that path, any young or mature aged woman with a passion for building should just have a go at it. Have a crack,” she says.

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it. You would be an asset to any building site or business."

Another Port Macquarie success story at the awards was Joyce Constructions' Mitch Joyce.

His company took home the engineering achievement award; SafeWork NSW excellence in work health and safety award - small business housing builder and in the commercial category, interior and shop fitouts under $600,000.

"It was unexpected," Mitch said of the awards.

"The engineering award was one that was made specifically for our work on a Watonga (building) project with the judges saying we deserved an award for the work.

"We consider ourselves a small team in the realm of commercial work with our competitors' jobs up around the $80 million projects."

Mitch praised his team of 10 dedicated staff and the regular sub-contractors they employe to complete jobs.

He says the awards are recognition of a genuine team effort "because it is not how good you are, it is how good your team is".

"These awards would not be possible with a good team," he added.

Joyce Constructions started five or six years ago with Mitch and a carpenter.

Port Macquarie Master Builders Association members who won awards at the Newcastle awards included:

Lianda Constructions, housing, best use of timber; Joyce Constructions, housing, engineering achievmeent award; and the WH&S award; Corrina Bruen, housing, women in building awards.

In the commercial category, extensions, renovations  and refurbishments $5 million - $10 million – AW Edwards; public buildings under $1.5 million – Lianda Constructions; interior and shop fitouts under $600,000 – Joyce Constructions; and commercial projects under $3 million – Lianda Constructions.