Nominations open for Australian of the Year awards

These citizens nominated for their community contributions show us “the problems we seek to confront, the issues we want to highlight and the ideas we choose to pursue”, Mr Turnbull says.

Nominations for the 2019 Australian of the Year awards are now open and the National Australia Day Council says it’s not just the high-flyers who necessarily get the accolades.

The council is seeking nominations from around the nation for everyday people who are great at what they do, who contribute to Australian society and inspire those around them.

They could be quiet achievers, leaders in their field of work, household names or unknown heroes. They could well be your neighbours and their good deeds may go unheralded if you don’t act to put them forward.

It only takes one nomination for someone to be in the running for an Australian of the Year award but a nomination must be formally submitted.

There are four categories: Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero.

Nominations are open until midnight Tuesday, July 31.

Nominating is quick and easy. Simply complete the online nomination form at australianoftheyear.org.au. Call 1300 655 193 if you need assistance.

Once nominations close, finalists from each state and territory will be announced later in 2018. The national award winners will be announced on January 25, 2019 in Canberra.

Last year’s winners included maths teacher Eddie Woo, who started posting videos online in 2012 for a student who was sick with cancer and missing a lot of school; soccer star Samantha Kerr and scientists Michelle Simmons, whose team created the world’s first transistor made from a single atom, and Graham Farquhar, whose work focuses on world food security.

National Australia Day Council chairwoman Danielle Roche praised the four winners for “making a real difference to the lives of others”.