Eight change makers from around the country are nominated to become Australian of the Year for 2024.
One is an environmental scientist working to inspire people to help stop climate change, two others are pioneers in melanoma treatment, and another is an advocate working to improve the treatment of victims of crime.
While the group is made up of a diverse mix of passions and work, they are united by each having been nominated by a member of their community who believed their contributions should be shared with all Australians.
National Australia Day Council CEO, Mark Fraser, said despite their specialties varying greatly, the nominees are all the kind of people who show us "what it is to be exemplary citizens".
He said all the nominees represent what inspires Australians, and what makes them proud.
Here is a quick look at who is up for the award.
Joanne Farrell is a champion for women and girls in the construction industry, and her goal to improve the gender balance of trade workforces has seen her work closely with government, peak industry bodies, training organisations, unions, and building contractors.
Ms Farrell founded the not-for-profit Build Like A Girl, which matches women with pre-apprenticeship and entry-level training and then mentors them to secure construction industry work, then helps the industry recruit, train and employ more women in a way that makes sense for them.
When accepting her award as the ACT's Australian of the Year, Ms Farrell said the construction industry was a reflection of broader society and could be changed in the same way.
"We need to stop talking and thinking the problem is so big that we're paralysed by that, and start doing, because we can change it," she said.
Professors Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long have saved thousands of lives through their immunotherapy approach to treating melanoma, which activates a patient's immune system.
Less than a decade ago advanced melanoma was fatal but the pair's treatment has made it a curable disease, and now the co-directors of the Melanoma Institute of Australia are also adapting their breakthrough treatment to treat Professors Scolyer's own brain cancer.
When accepting the joint award as NSW Australian of the Year, Professor Scolyer described himself as the "patient zero" for the experimental approach, which he and Professor Long hope could see a similar breakthrough to their melanoma treatment.
"We thought with our knowledge as clinicians and scientists, we need to apply this to see if we can make a difference, not just for me but for future brain cancer patients," he said.
Blair McFarland has spent decades working to stamp out petrol sniffing in Central Australia after moving there in 1986 and witnessing it first-hand become an epidemic in the late 1990s.
In 2002, he founded the Central Australian Youth Link Up Service (CAYLUS) to help with the issue, which was instrumental in orchestrating the rollout of a low aromatic fuel in Central Australia — working with grassroots communities, local government, the Northern Territory government, and the federal government.
While accepting his award as NT Australian of the Year, Mr McFarland said the approach focused on youth programs and rehab outstations – which did help — but stopping the problem at the source by restricting access to high-risk substances was crucial.
"Sniffing went down by 95 per cent pretty much overnight, it was like stopping a haemorrhage," Mr McFarland said.
Queensland Australian of the Year for 2024, Marco Renai, has been empowering at-risk young men for over a decade.
He had troubles at school as a teen, then later when volunteering in youth justice Mr Renai realised there were no programs for struggling young men, so he founded Men of Business (MOB) Academy, a senior secondary school focused on helping them engage with life and education.
In 2022 Mr Renai and his community raised $1 million to open the MOB Academy, which has now seen thousands of past graduates get involved with work pathways and social and emotional wellbeing programs.
"We're showing that unconditional love can be the centre of our new education system, and that when we create a place of belonging they're open to change," Mr Renai said.
Environmental scientist and activist Timothy Jarvis has devoted his life to finding pragmatic solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Mr Jarvis this year helped secure 475,000 square kilometres of marine sanctuary off World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island, and is a global ambassador and governor of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
He has also founded numerous charitable enterprises including the Forktree Project — to restore degraded farmland to grow rare native plants — and the 25Zero Project — a documentary series showcasing the rapid disappearance of glaciers.
When accepting his award as the SA Australian of the Year, he said it was up to each of us to make a difference, and quoted British human rights activist and environmental campaigner Dame Anita Roddick: "If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room," he said.
After experiencing crippling isolation moving from Melbourne to a beef farm in Tasmania with her husband and first baby, Stephanie Trethewey decided to help other mothers avoid the same.
The former TV journalist set up the national charity Motherland, connecting rural mothers raising children on the land, then created Australia's first online rural mothers group program – Motherland Village.
Less than two years later Ms Trethewey's online program has grown to 20 virtual villages supporting over 200 rural women, and in 2022 she won the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award for her trailblazing work.
"Farming can be relentless … and motherhood is relentless so what Motherland has done is really reduce that social isolation," Ms Trethewey said when accepting her award as Tasmania's Australian of the Year for 2024.
Indigenous healthcare pioneer Janine Mohamed has spent the last five years as CEO of the Lowitja Institute, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led community health research organisation.
Before that, the Narungga Kaurna woman was CEO of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives.
For Ms Mohamed's dedicated efforts to fighting racism and improve health outcomes for Australia's Indigenous communities, she was named Victoria's Australian of the Year 2024.
"I think we have to understand what racism looks like and feels like and what it produces to be able to vision a different future," she said.
Mechelle Turvey was named WA's Australian of the Year 2024 for her advocacy work to prevent violence and improve the treatment of victims of crime.
Ms Turvey's advocacy work began after her son Cassius died from an alleged attack in Perth, repeatedly speaking of the importance of not allowing what happened to her son to stoke further tension and violence in the community.
Last year she began working with WA police to deliver training sessions on how to deal sensitively with victims of crime, in the hopes of harnessing the grief she experienced to teach officers the importance of showing understanding, empathy and support to those who had lost loved ones.
"I've titled [the training] Take Five, because that's all it takes: five seconds or five minutes to actually fully understand that you have a person in front of you," Ms Turvey said.
Senior Australian of the Year nominees
Loading...Ebenezer Banful is the ACT Senior Australian of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
Mr Banful arrived in Australia in 1983, and has since dedicated countless hours to promoting multiculturalism and giving a voice to Ghanaian values.
When accepting his ACT award Mr Banful said he felt great satisfaction in his work when he saw the difference not-for-profit organisations had made for new arrivals to Australia.
"Bringing people together in unity and diversity is a big challenge, we have tried and we are still on the road to do it," he said.
John Ward is the NSW Senior Australian of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
Dr Ward was nominated for his work to create age-friendly communities and reduce the social isolation of older people.
The 79-year-old, who co-founded the Hunter Ageing Alliance, said he hoped the award would help open up doors and make more people receptive to his ideas.
"I've always felt that if there is an issue that could be done better, you might as well do it better," he said.
Yalmay Yunupingu is the NT Senior Australian of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
The teacher and linguist was recognised for her contribution to bilingual education in north-east Arnhem Land.
Ms Yunupingu started her career by translating Dr Seuss books into Yolngu Matha at her local library, then went on to guide teaching at Yirrkala Bilingual School for four decades.
Since retiring, she has been teaching the next generation about traditional medicines and healing, and said it had been a long road to recognition.
"Sometimes you feel you're never going to get anywhere, that's how I felt. But slowly I was acknowledged for my work," she said.
Reverends Robyn and Lindsay Burch are the Queensland Senior Australians of the Year for 2024, and are in the running to be jointly named Senior Australian of the Year.
The pastoral couple were nominated for their work in founding the not-for-profit Havafeed Relief in 1994, feeding the hungry and homeless.
The organisation has now fed more than one million people, and is a regular community centre fixture.
Six days a week, visitors can enjoy a hot meal, pick up a hamper, connect with others or talk with a local support service if they need help.
Sister Meredith Evans is the SA Australian of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
The 75-year-old was nominated for her work helping vulnerable people including refugees, women experiencing homelessness, women exiting violent relationships and women leaving prison.
Ms Evans said her work was only made possible with the support of a community.
"I knew from an early stage of welcoming refugees into our Australian community that we couldn't do it just as one to one individuals, it needed a group of people to journey with people coming to a new country," she said.
Reverend James Colville is Tasmanian Senior Australia of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
He was nominated for his work creating a coffee shop – Colony 47 – offering assistance, acceptance and respect to those struggling with rejection.
This included many young people, older people, Indigenous Australians, the lonely, hungry and unemployed.
Fifty years on the not-for-profit continues to deliver programs for Tasmanians in need, with a particular focus on housing.
"If you tapped into [those people's] potential then they could achieve so much," Reverend Colville said.
Glenys Oogjes is the Victorian Senior of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
Ms Oogjes, one of the leaders of the 2004 Australian Animal Welfare Strategy, was nominated for her 40 years of service to animal rights advocacy.
The CEO of Animals Australia said while there was "a long way to go", she was proud of the work she and her colleagues have done.
"We're on the track and we know that in the community no one wants to harm animals," she said.
Charles Bass is the WA Senior Australian of the Year for 2024 and is in the running to be named Senior Australian of the Year.
Mr Bass was nominated for his work as a mentor for hundreds of start-ups after founding the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation (CERI) in 2015.
After a long career in the mining industry, he wanted to help Western Australia diversify its economy to be less reliant on the resources sector, providing budding entrepreneurs with mentorship and support to bring their ideas to fruition.
A notable philanthropist, Mr Bass also created the Bass Family Foundation in 2006 to help provide disadvantaged children with a quality education.
Young Australian of the Year nominees
Loading...Caitlin Figueiredo is the ACT Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
Ms Figueiredo was nominated for her work getting younger people a seat at the political table.
She began her work to bring young people's voices into parliament in 2015 through a national youth advisory council, and also co-founded Girls Take Over Parliament – a political leadership group empowering the next generation of female politicians.
"I think now more than ever it is so important that we unite, that we harness the power and the leadership of young Australians, together with those who know how to get things done, to create the nation that we all want," Ms Figueiredo said.
Nikhil Autar is the NSW Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
The researcher was nominated for his work as founder of Bheem Health, which provides low-cost medical devices for sick and vulnerable people.
At age 17 Mr Autar was diagnosed with leukaemia and underwent chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants and open-heart surgery. The now 30-year-old is studying medicine.
He also created Knia Maps to plot accessibility at major Sydney hospitals, universities, public venues and transport after he was unable to find the information he needed for a placement at Blacktown Hospital.
Peter Susanto is the NT Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
In 2022, at just 15, he started on his way to a career in medicine with a Bachelor of Clinical Science at Charles Darwin University.
He was also the first Territorian to represent Australia in the International Brain Bee Olympiad, a competition about the brain and neuroscience, and came third in the world.
Since 2015 he and his sister, Eva, have sold Indonesian snacks at Nightcliff foreshore to raise money for charities, including The Fred Hollows Foundation and Indonesian orphanages, and he also volunteers with several community groups.
Emma McKeon is the Queensland Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
The Olympic swimmer was nominated for her impressive career as the most successful Australian Olympian of all time.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games she won six medals from six races, and at the 2020 Summer Olympics she won seven medals — only the second woman in history to do so.
McKeon has also broken Commonwealth Games, Olympic and World records, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2022.
Tiahni Adamson is the SA Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
Ms Adamson was nominated for her work on sustainability, Indigenous education programs and climate change.
The wildlife conservation biologist and proud descendent of Kaurareg Nations is the lead community engagement officer at climate change solutions company CH4Global, where she champions Indigenous knowledge in their projects.
When accepting the SA award she paid homage to Aboriginal communities of Palm Island, Coffin Bay and Port Augusta where she lived, saying leaders there taught her "to care about Country, to care about sustainability, to look after what we stand on".
Gija woman Naarah is the Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
Naarah was nominated for her positive impact through her acting and music, and her use of social media to spark important conversations about First Nations identity, culture and representation.
The actor, singer, and Indigenous activist said she wants children to grow up seeing an entertainment industry full of diversity, because "you can't be what you can't see".
"It's an absolute honour right now to be … to the best of my knowledge the first Aboriginal person at the Royal Academy of Music," she said while accepting her award virtually from London.
Bhakta Bahadur Bhattarai, also known as Durga, is Victoria's Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
Durga was nominated for his work celebrating and supporting Albury-Wodonga's multicultural community to combat feelings of loneliness and isolation.
He established the Albury Wodonga Multicultural Community Events Inc in 2014, celebrating multiculturalism in the northern Victorian regional city and also providing support for locals during hard times, such as supplying masks and emergency food relief during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Durga said he was inspired to start the organisation by his own experiences of intense isolation after finishing high school during his studies to be a pharmacy assistant and registered nurse.
Kate Kirwin is the WA Young Australian of the Year for 2024, and is in the running to be named Young Australian of the Year.
Ms Kirwin was nominated for her work teaching women coding skills, helping them enter technical careers and building a like-minded community.
She founded She Codes Australia in 2015 to help close the gender gap in tech, where only 30 per cent of employees are women.
Ms Kirwin has sourced more than $1 million from government and industry to support women in STEM.
Australia's Local Hero nominees
Loading...Ngunnawal leader Selina Walker is the ACT Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
A founding member of Yerrabi Yurwang Child and Family Aboriginal Corporation, Ms Walker was nominated for her work to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children and families, particularly those in out-of-home care.
Since 2018, she has promoted reconciliation as co-chair of the ACT Reconciliation Council, and also advocates for Indigenous people within the justice system as a member of the ACT Victims of Crime and Justice Committee.
Ms Walker is the granddaughter of Aunty Agnes Shea, a former ACT Chief Minister's Senior Citizen of the Year who died in 2023, and has continued her grandmother's legacy of influencing and driving change with her unwavering efforts.
Angus Olsen is the NSW Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
Mr Olsen was nominated for his work creating artworks and books to help children better understand their cancer treatment after the former Disney artist's daughter Jane was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer at age two.
Jane got better but Mr Olsen continued to draw and has now produced 20 books for children with cancer, drawing between making coffees at his cafe in the Blue Mountains.
"I make a coffee, I draw a line, I make a coffee, I draw a line and eventually I've got something that can help children around the world," he said.
Witiyana Marika is the NT Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
The Rirratjingu (Yolngu) elder was nominated, amongst other achievements, for his strong commitment to sharing Indigenous culture and truth-telling.
Mr Marika is best known as one of the founding members of famous rock band, Yothu Yindi, Mr Marika's work reflects.
He was also a cultural adviser, co-producer and actor in the film Higher Ground, which portrays massacres and frontier violence in the Northern Territory.
David Elliott is the Queensland Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
He was nominated for his surprise discovery of a dinosaur fossil during a routine sheep muster in 1999, which caused palaeontologists to flock to outback Queensland, making it a now-famous dinosaur hotspot.
Mr Elliott went on to found the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History on the property as a not-for-profit charity in 2002, where it built an impressive collection of fossils.
Later it was moved onto donated land, and today it houses Australia's most significant collection of fossils from the country's largest dinosaurs, and serves as a centre for Australian paleontological research and discovery.
Rachael Zaltron is the SA Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
Ms Zaltron was nominated for her work providing age-appropriate emergency clothing, toiletries and other necessary supplies to more than 86,000 vulnerable and neglected South Australian children.
She founded Backpacks 4 SA Kids after she and another family began collecting donations in her carport for children back in 2013, now the organisation has its own warehouse and volunteers helping vulnerable children across SA.
"I want the kids to know they're worth it, I don't want to hear another 17-year-old kid tell me that no one has ever told them they believe in them or that they were proud of them or that they were loved," she said.
Clair Harris is the Tasmanian Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
Ms Harris was nominated for her efforts to make sure no child goes without, starting charity Tassie Mums at her kitchen table in Hobart in 2018 to help families with essentials.
Tassie Mums now assists more than 1,800 children each year with clothing bundles, nappy packs, activity packs, prams and car seats.
"I'm blown away by the community support … I don't want to have any child in poverty and I think as a community we can really make an impact," she said.
Betul Tuna is the Victorian Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
Ms Tuna was nominated in recognition of her dedication in life to helping communities during emergencies both here and abroad and making her district a safe, supportive place.
In the past few years she has helped coordinate emergency responses for the Shepparton community affected by the 2022 floods, and the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, and has co-founded culturally safe spaces for regional Victorians to express themselves and create connections.
Ms Tuna also coordinated a state-funded program that aims to prevent violence against women in migrant and refugee communities, and created a campaign against female genital mutilation.
Nick Hudson is the WA Local Hero for 2024, and is in the running to be named Australia's Local Hero.
The mental health advocate founded The Push-Up Challenge in 2017 with friends to keep fit and raise funds for mental health initiatives, and after experiencing depression himself in the wake of open-heart surgery he expanded the challenge to become an annual public event.
In 2023 alone, over 200,000 participants completed 315 million push-ups, making them fitter, raising $14.6 million for mental health and helping to break the stigma surrounding talking about mental health.
"Physical health gets a lot of chat, we all do our bit to exercise, to go to the gym, go for walks – what I want to do is have more people being proactive about their mental health," Mr Hudson said.