Australian of the Year Awards

Do you know a Victorian who is making a difference in the community?

For more than 65 years, the Australian of the Year Awards have celebrated the achievements and contributions of extraordinary Australians to our communities and society.

Anyone can nominate a member of the public year-round for the Awards.

You can nominate an inspirational Australian in one of four categories:

Neale is a former Australian rules footballer and co-founder of FightMND. In 2025, Neale was awarded the Australian of the Year for Victoria and the national Australian of the Year.

Neale was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2013. He co-founded FightMND, a charity that has raised and invested over $115 million into medical research to find a cure for those living with MND.

Peter is a sports medicine leader and health campaigner. He founded the largest sports medicine centre in Australia: Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melbourne, and the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre.

Peter also established the not-for-profit SugarbyHalf, producing lessons for school children to reduce their added sugar intake.

Aishwarya is an AI and automation entrepreneur. She grew up during a civil war in Nepal and survived an arson attack at school.

Aishwarya taught herself computing and is the head of Syncrowin, building a world-first AI-powered automation system. She is passionate about making STEM more inclusive, especially for women.

Jasmine is a football advocate for girls and women and has been influential in increasing football participation rates across Australia.

In 2011, she launched the Darebin Falcons Women’s Sports Club junior girls’ soccer program with just one team. Since then, she has given more than 550 females the opportunity to play soccer.