Accepting the award, Australian journalist Peter Greste warned the government's anti-terror legislation may put the nation in danger of heading down the same path as Egypt.
The Al Jazeera correspondent was awarded the 2015 Human Rights Medal in Sydney on Thursday and used the opportunity to address the impact of national security laws on press freedom and freedom of speech.
He specifically cited section 35P of the ASIO Act, which makes it an offence for any person to disclose information about special intelligence operations (SIOs) conducted by the head security service.
Mr Greste was released from a Cairo prison in February 2015 after spending 400 days detained over accusations that he, and two of his colleagues, misrepresented Egypt's political crisis and colluded with the black-listed Muslim Brotherhood.
Under the ASIO law, Australian journalists could face up to ten years in jail for exposing SIOs.
"The kind of thinking that put us in prison in Egypt - using national security as an excuse to lock up a bunch of journalists because they were reporting from across the political spectrum - is the road we are in danger of moving down in our own country," Mr Greste told the 500-strong crowd.
He said the foreign fighters bill and data retention laws should also be cause for concern.
"Each in their own way has a very tangible impact on the work that journalists do," he said.
However he insisted he wasn't suggesting Australia was "heading towards any kind of police state".
Mr Greste credited his win at the Australian Human Rights Commission's (AHRC) awards to putting "flesh and blood" on the notions of freedom and thanked his family, who worked tirelessly to remove him from prison, for their efforts.
"If I have stages and platforms to speak on, it is because my family built them," he said.
Muslim women's leader Maha Krayem Abdo, Mental Health Commissioner Professor Pat Dudgeon, former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes and Australian Marriage Equality's national director Rodney Croome were also nominated for the Human Rights Medal.
"This is an extraordinary honour and I feel incredibly humbled to be standing here before you today," Mr Greste said at the ceremony, which aligns with International Human Rights Day.
News of the award's recipient was welcomed by many human rights advocates and campaigners.
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