On January 25, the Australian of the Year Awards 2023 honoured people young and old who embodied what it means to be Australian. Since its inception in 1960, the Australian of the Year Awards has provided a forum for the recognition of outstanding achievement across the nation.
Over the years the criteria for the awards has shifted significantly. Initially the focus was on international acclaim and awarding the person who had ‘brought the greatest honour to Australia’. Now, the criteria focuses on excellence in a field and being an inspirational role model for the Australian community. The 2022 winner was athlete and disability advocate Dylan Alcott.
As well as the Australian of the Year, the Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero were announced at the awards ceremony in Canberra.
There were 32 finalists across the four categories who were nominated by members of their community and recognised for their contributions.
The respective winners in each category were
Australian of the Year:
Taryn Brumfitt, a body image activist who directed a documentary about women’s body loathing and her path to accepting her own skin, has been named the 2023 Australian of the Year. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement at a ceremony at the National Arboretum Canberra on Wednesday night. Brumfitt, 45, heads the Body Image Movement in Adelaide, an organisation focused on body positivity and acceptance, and directed the 2016 documentary Embrace, which has been seen by millions on Netflix. Brumfitt has also written four best-selling books, and her most recent documentary, Embrace Kids, was released in September and aims to teach children to nourish and appreciate what their bodies can do.
“Taryn has inspired millions of women around the world to be more comfortable in their own skin,” the chair of the National Australia Day Council, Danielle Roche, said.
Brumfitt takes over as Australian of the Year from the tennis champion, Paralympian and disability advocate Dylan Alcott. Alcott was named Australian of the Year just before the Australian Open final where he retired from his sporting career.
Young Australian of the Year
The Australian Socceroo, Awer Mabil, was named the 2023 Young Australian of the Year.
The Adelaide-based 27-year-old grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp after his family fled civil war in Sudan and came to Australia when he was 10. A year after Mabil first played for the Socceroos, his sister died in a car accident in 2019. Mabil co-founded the Barefoot to Boots not-for-profit organisation aiming to improve health, education and gender equality for refugees.
The sports star was unable to attend the awards due to football commitments in Europe. His mother and uncle accepted his award on his behalf.
Senior Australian of the Year:
The 2023 Senior Australian of the Year is the Kungarakan elder and human rights campaigner Prof Tom Calma. Calma, 69, is currently the co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and chancellor of the University of Canberra. Calma was the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission between 2004 and 2010. His 2005 report calling for governments to commit to achieving equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health and life expectancy formed the foundation of the Close the Gap campaign.
Calma also co-led the co-design of the voice to parliament initiative.
Local Hero of the Year:
The 2023 Australia’s local hero was named as Amar Singh, the founder of Turbans 4 Australia, a group that every week packages and distributes up to 450 food and grocery packages to people experiencing food insecurity in western Sydney. The group also provided hay to farmers during drought, as well as supplies to Lismore flood victims and bushfire victims on the south coast of New South Wales.
Other Australian of the Year Nominees were:
- Former Socceroo and human rights activist Craig Forster is the NSW nominee. He earned international acclaim during his tenure as Socceroo’s captain and since retiring as a player has become a prominent analyst and commentator .Foster’s human rights activism has taken centre stage in recent years. He was involved in advocating for the release of refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in 2019.
- Queensland finalist William Barton is a proud Kalkadunga man, and a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, didgeridoo player and renowned classical composer. He was invited to perform with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at 17, has received numerous prestigious music awards including Best World Music Album at the 2022 ARIAs, and was the 2019 artist in residence at Melbourne Recital Centre.
- Proud Mayili man Samuel Bush-Blanasi is the Northern Territory’s finalist. Bush-Blanasi has worked for decades to empower Indigenous Australians through native title claims and constitutional reform. He is Chair and Deputy Chair of the Northern Land Council.
- From Victoria, paediatrician and co-found of Health Awareness Society of Australia Dr. Angrai Khillan is the nominee. He works with the Health Awareness Society of Australia to dispel taboos, myths and misinformation about health and deliver reliable information around topics like vaccines in numerous languages.
- Western Australian advocate for end of life care Professor Samar Auon is also in the running. She advocates for person-centred approaches to end of life care and is an international leader in in the advocacy of public health approaches to palliative care.
- From the ACT, Olympia Yarger is an insect farming pioneer and climate action activist. Yarger has developed an innovative waste management system that uses maggots to process food waste and reduce greenhouse gases.
- Tasmanian John Kamara is the co-founder of Culturally Diverse Alliance of. Originally from Sierra Leone, Kamara now works with migrants, refugees and people from culturally diverse communities.
Other Young Australian of the Year nominees were:
- From Tasmania, Humanitarian and marathon runner Meriem Daoui
- From the Northern Territory, First Nations community leader Jahdai Vigona
- From Victoria, Advocate for Indigenous health care in prisons Darcy McGauley-Bartlett
- From Western Australia, athlete and olympian Nagmeldin (Peter) Bol
- From NSW, sustainability champion Lottie Dalziel
- From the ACT, performer and songwriter Kofi Owusu-Ansah
- From Queensland, community organiser Talei Elu
Other Senior Australian of the Year nominees were:
- From South Australia, Indigenous health advocate Sandra Miller
- From the Northern Territory, suicide prevention campaigner Bernard Tipiloura
- From Victoria, pediatrician and founding director of the Centre for Community Child Health Professor Frank Oberklaid
- From Western Australia, community advocate Theresa Kwok
- OFrom NSW, palliative care pioneer and advocate Teresa Plane
- From Queensland, child protection campaigner Claude Lyle Harvey OAM
- From Tasmania, prisoner advocate and frontline COVID-19 worker Dr Frances Donaldson
Other nominees for the Local Hero award were:
- From South Australia, co-founder of Lost Pets of South Australia Christine Robertson
- From the Northern Territory, social worker Sacha King
- From Victoria, founder of Mums of the Hills Belinda Young
- From Western Australia, co-founder of Town Team Movement James Murphy
- From the ACT, scientist and co-founder of SiTara’s Story Dr Shamaruh Mirza
- From Queensland, founder of A Brave Life Melissa Redsell
- From Tasmania, volunteer ambulance officer Keith Parker
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