On 25 January, community members who are making a difference and inspiring others will be recognised at the annual Australian of the Year Awards.
The Australian of the Year nominees include agriculture pioneers, a cultural leader, a child protection expert, and founders of organisations dedicated to health, the environment, education, kindness and inclusivity.
At the awards ceremony in Canberra, the Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year, and Local Hero will also be announced.
Here are some of the finalists.
Australian of the Year nominees
The Northern Territory's nominee Grant Ngulmiya Nundhirribala is an internationally recognised musician and cultural leader in Numbulwar community, Arnhem land.
He has inspired his people to excel in performing traditional music and dance and make an income from expressing their culture in a place where employment is scarce.
Nundhirribala has been an international ambassador for his music, language and culture. He has collaborated with the Budapest Art Orchestra, worked in Japan with north Indian classical artists, and collaborated with artists in Bali and Barcelona.
He has also led the renowned Red Flag Dancers for decades, was a driving force behind the Numburindi Festival in Numbulwar and regularly performs at the Garma Festival.
Professor Leah Bromfield, South Australia's nominee, is a child protection expert, and has devoted her life to establishing practical, evidence-based solutions to child abuse and neglect. She is one of the most trusted researchers in the field.
Bromfield, director and chair of child protection at the Australian Centre for Child Protection, informed the development of a new framework in South Australia and was on the team that advocated for — and got — the first National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children.
Her work has led to world-first insights, contributed to changes in understanding and responding to child abuse and neglect, and guided the development of a new child protection vision for South Australia.
Victoria's nominee, Neale Daniher, is a former AFL player and coach and has won praise and accolades throughout his career for his actions and achievements on and off the field.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND), and has become a tireless campaigner in the fight to find a cure and raise awareness. He co-founded the charity FightMND, which has now raised and invested over $115 million into finding a cure.
Daniher has battled the debilitating effects of MND in the public eye and has now lived with the disease for 10 years, defying the life expectancy of 27 months.
Other Australian of the Year nominees include MissingSchool co-founder Megan Gilmour, Kindness Factory founder Kath Koschel, Sea Forest founder Sam Elsom, Australian Spatial Analytics co-founder Geoffrey Smith, and agriculture pioneers Dianne and Ian Haggerty.
Young Australian of the Year nominees
Victoria's nominee for Young Australian of the Year, Aishwarya Kansakar, was raised amidst Nepal's civil war and taught herself computing. Today, she is a globally renowned artificial intelligence (AI) and automation entrepreneur, not-for-profit executive, STEM education innovator and automation engineer.
She heads Syncrowin, building a world-first AI-powered automation system, and as Wome 4 STEM's CEO, she leads 300 volunteers, impacting 70 schools and 66,000 women's STEM careers.
In 2024, Kansakar spearheaded a groundbreaking STEM teaching model backed by $3.2 million in funding and today, the model is nominated for the prestigious Yidan Prize.
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus is Tasmania's Young Australian of the Year. Source: AAP / Franck Robichon/ EPA
She became a household name at Tokyo Olympics, winning gold in the 200m and 400m freestyle, silver in the 800m freestyle, and bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she won gold in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay, and silver in the 200m and 800m freestyle. She also holds several world records.
Her ultimate goal is to enable young women and girls to stay in sport longer and reduce the rates of girls dropping out of sport. She has called for more money and resources to be directed into research on female athletes and the female body in elite sport.
NSW nominee Maddison O'Gradey-Lee knows what it's like to struggle with mental health.
"I grew up as a really anxious child, and it was something that was never really spoken about; to be honest, I actually thought my mum had made anxiety up to make me feel better because I’d never heard anybody else talk about it," she told SBS News.
"I just grew up feeling really isolated."
She was inspired to open up more conversations about mental health, and aims to improve how wellbeing is understood for First Nations youth through her PhD research.
In 2020, O'Gradey-Lee co-founded the Orygen Global Youth Mental Health Fellowship, and facilitated one of the largest global conversations on mental health. The program has now reached over 21,000 people and trained 76 youth advocates across 42 countries.
Other nominees are artist and advocate for neurodivergent people Daniel Bartholomaeus, community service leader Nilesh Dilushan, scientist Dr Katrina Wruck, South Australian Youth Forum founder Amber Brock-Fabel.
Senior Australian of the Year nominees
NSW nominee Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has spent decades bringing science to life through radio, television, podcasts, writing, and other media. He worked as a children's doctor but left the profession after witnessing a child die from whooping cough, which coincided with a rise in disinformation about science and vaccines.
Kruszelnicki was inspired to pursue a career in science communications and was a presenter on the ABC TV science show Quantum, co-hosted the science TV series Sleek Geeks and hosted a weekly one-hour science talkback show on youth radio station Triple J.
He has written 40 books on science and built a machine to pick up electrical signals from the human retina for Fred Hollows, an ophthalmologist who worked to improve eye health in developing countries.
Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett is Western Australia's nominee and co-founded Wheelchairs for Kids in 1996 to provide wheelchairs and occupational therapy expertise for children in developing countries.
The organisation has now gifted more than 60,000 custom-built wheelchairs to children in over 80 countries and is one of WA's largest volunteer-led charities.
Speaking to SBS News, he said he knew the children were "very grateful".
"It's very rewarding to see a little kid who's been on the ground for a long time, and all of a sudden they've got a wheelchair and they can get to school and play with their friends," he said.
Charles Jackson is South Australia's Senior Australian of the Year. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
In 1978, he became the first Aboriginal Justice of the Peace in Australia and is a knowledge holder for Flinders Ranges Nation, working towards Wilpena Pound — a natural amphitheatre of mountains — becoming a world heritage site.
Local Hero nominees
Queensland's Local Hero nominee Claire Smith is a fierce protector of native Australian wildlife. She is the founder of Wildlife Rescue Sunshine Coast, the first dedicated, volunteer-run, 24-hour wildlife rescue service in the state.
Smith has spent decades working in conservation and advocacy, educates the community about wildlife management, and has engaged in all levels of government to advise on policy decisions and how they impact native species.
She raised over $600,000 to assist those caring for injured animals after the 2019 , and raised funds to establish Queensland's first dedicated kangaroo hospital and purchase two wildlife ambulances.
Dr Jacinta Vu, Western Australia's nominee, uses her specialty skills in dentistry and oral health to give back to others. In 2018, while she was president of the Women in Dentistry Society, the organisation created Healing Smiles to assist women escaping domestic violence with their oral and dental health.
The Healing Smiles initiative provides trauma-informed care that recognises the importance of good dental health in restoring victims' dignity, self-esteem and confidence.
In the Australian Capital Territory, joint nominees Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello are uplifting and empowering vulnerable people in their community through their business, Cafe Stepping Stone.
Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello are ACT's Local Heroes for their work with their social enterprise cafe. Source: Supplied / NADC / Salty Dingo
They support workers to gain skills and experience through employment pathways, training, qualifications and community connection.
Sobia and Irfan Hashmi have transformed healthcare in South Australia's rural and remote communities.
Women in Sobia's family traditionally did not work, but when they hit challenging times after migrating from Pakistan, her husband asked her to sit the exams to qualify as a pharmacist in Australia.
"That was probably the turning point in my life," Sobia told SBS News.
Together, they have established six pharmacies and employed staff who collectively speak 21 languages, supporting their diverse communities and providing culturally sensitive healthcare. They also mentor pharmacists from overseas, and their online webinars helped 4,000 pharmacists qualify in the last year.
When are the Australian of the Year Awards?
The Australian of the Year Awards ceremony will be held on 25 January at 7.30pm AEDT.
The ceremony will be broadcast on the ABC and ABC iview.
— Additional reporting by Christopher Tan, Peta Doherty and Angelica Waite
