Tonight (25 January), the 2023 Australian of the Year Awards will recognise people from all walks of life who
As well as the Australian of the Year, the Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia's Local Hero will be announced at an awards ceremony in Canberra.
Each of the 32 finalists across the four categories was a winner in their respective state or territory after being nominated by members of their community and recognised for their contributions.
The 2022 winner was athlete, philanthropist, media commentator and
Here are the 2023 finalists in each category.
Australian of the Year finalists
NSW nominee Craig Foster first became a household name during his time as captain of the Socceroos, but his human rights activism has taken centre stage in recent years.
The 29-times-capped footballer started his post-playing career as a commentator and analyst, during which he won multiple awards and spent 18 years at SBS.
Former Socceroos captain and human rights advocate Craig Foster is an Australian of the Year finalist. Source: AAP
In 2022, he donated his fee for being part of SBS's World Cup coverage to the families of migrant workers who died in Qatar.
"I do think ... that it's important to be involved to raise these issues, and to ensure that the football and the human rights come together in this World Cup," he told SBS at the time.
Foster has publicly promoted multiculturalism, anti-racism, and refugee support organisations.
In 2021 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.
In Tasmania, John Kamara is a leader supporting migrants, refugees and people from culturally diverse communities, inspired by his own experience escaping war-torn Sierra Leone 19 years ago.
He co-founded the Culturally Diverse Alliance of Tasmania to support education and promote social cohesion, as well as the first-ever African Communities Council of Tasmania.
Along with his wife, he also established Kamara’s Heart Foundation, a charity to help children in Sierra Leone.
(left to right) Christine Robertson, Taryn Brumfitt and Sandra Miller were all recipients at South Australia's Australian of the Year awards. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
Her 2016 documentary Embrace was seen by millions of people in 190 countries, and she followed it up with Embrace Kids in 2022.
She has collaborated with body image expert Dr Zali Yager to create a companion parenting book, along with Embrace Hub, a research-based resource designed to foster body positivity.
Ms Brumfitt has written four bestselling books, is an internationally credited keynote speaker, and has had her work recognised by the United Nations Women.
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist and producer William Barton is the Queensland nominee for Australian of the Year. Source: AAP / MORGAN HANCOCK
He was invited to perform with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at 17, has performed around the world, released five albums on the ABC Classics label and was the 2019 artist in residence at Melbourne Recital Centre.
Barton has won numerous awards, including Best Original Score for a Mainstage Production at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards, Best Classical Album at the 2012 ARIAs, and Best World Music Album at the 2022 ARIAs for his collaboration with Joseph Tawadros.
He holds honorary doctorates from Griffith University and the University of Sydney, and is an associate professor at Australian National University.
Northern Land Council Chair Samuel Bush-Blanasi from the Northern Territory and ACT insect farming pioneer Olympia Yarger are also finalists, along with Western Australian researcher and advocate for end-of-life care Professor Samar Aoun and paediatrician and co-founder of Health Awareness Society of Australia Dr Angraj Khillan from Victoria.
Young Australian of the Year finalists
Western Australia's Young Australian of the Year, Nagmeldin 'Peter' Bol is originally from Sudan and arrived in Australia from Egypt with his family when he was eight years old.
Now a two-time Olympian, he holds the current national 800m record, and in 2021 was the first Australian runner in 53 years to make it into an Olympic 800m final.
He is a coach, mentor and keynote speaker, and aims to help others achieve their dreams. His philanthropic efforts were recently recognised with the 2022 Peter Norman Humanitarian Award.
But Bol's nomination has come under a cloud, after it was revealed last week that he had failed a drug test for a performance-enhancing substance.
The 28-year-old denied ever using the drug, and is awaiting the analysis of a B Sample which he hopes will clear his name.
"I am innocent and have not taken this substance as I am accused," Bol posted on Twitter.
"I ask that everyone in Australia believe me."
NSW Young Australian of the Year winner Lottie Dalziel is dedicated to creating a greener future for Australia.
Ms Dalziel founded the online sustainability resource Banish in 2018, and runs the Banish Recycling and Disposal Program.
She was a finalist in the Sydney City NSW Business Chamber Awards in 2018 and 2019, was named one of Contiki's 35 Under 35 Changemakers in 2019, and was named Sydney's Young Business Leader of the Year by Business NSW in 2021.
Sustainability advocate Lottie Dalziel was named NSW Young Australian of the Year. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
She has worked with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to educate young people about voting, has arranged for women to receive free sanitary items, baby supplies and health products, and organises beach clean-ups.
Ms Elu was recently named as the youngest member of the First Nations Consultative Committee and co-chair.
In Victoria, Gunaikurnai man Darcy McGauley-Bartlett advocates for Indigenous health care in prisons, and has helped change policy to ensure fewer Indigenous Australians enter prison.
He has worked as an Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer for Victoria Police, implemented Victoria's first Aboriginal Youth Cautioning Program, and now works with Justice Health for Corrections Victoria.
He played a pivotal role establishing Victoria's first Aboriginal Custodial Health team to improve Indigenous health care in prisons, and played a key role supporting prisoners' health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Darcy McGauley-Bartlett is Victoria's Young Australian of the Year, and has been recognised for his work advocating for Indigenous health care in prison. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
Socceroo and Barefoot to Boots co-founder Awer Mabil is South Australia's nominee, while Ghanaian-Australian poet, songwriter and rapper Kofi Owusu-Ansah - who also performs under the name Genesis Owusu - is the ACT nominee.
Senior Australian of the Year finalists
Tiwi Island elder and Northern Territory nominee Bernard Tipiloura has dedicated over 20 years to campaigning for suicide prevention.
He began his work to strengthen cultural identity and connection to country, visiting schools each week to build pride in young people. He was a key contributor to the Healing Foundation's Stories from Community, analysing the fall in local suicide rates.
Mr Tipiloura donated a kidney at 60, volunteered with the Red Cross until he was 80, and is an anti-smoking campaigner.
Western Australia nominee Theresa Kwok is dedicating to supporting diverse communities and advocating for migrants.
After arriving in Australia 35 years ago, she began supporting older migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and eventually became CEO of Perth’s Chung Wah Community and Aged Care organisation.
Over the years, she has reshaped how aged care services are delivered, created more equitable access to services and raised awareness for the unique needs of CALD communities.
Theresa Kwok was named Western Australia's Senior Australian of the Year for her work helping older migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
Ms Miller is a proud Wirangu woman from the Ceduna area, and trained as a social worker before beginning work with the department of Community Welfare in Adelaide, where she pushed to change policies that were harmful to Aboriginal children, and helped develop policies across key portfolios.
She has represented her community in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance and at the United Nations, has had leadership roles in in Aboriginal health and legal rights groups and holds multiple board and executive appointments.
Children's health advocate Professor Frank Oberklaid is Victoria's nominee, while human rights and social justice advocate Professor Tom Calma is representing the ACT.
Child protection campaigner Claude Lyle Harvey is Queensland's finalist, while NSW palliative care pioneer Teresa Plane is also up for the award, along with frontline COVID-19 worker and prisoner advocate Dr Frances Donaldson from Tasmania.
Local Hero Award finalists
After noticing mental health support services in the Northern Territory did not match the needs, social worker Sacha King decided to set up the charity Two Two One. The organisation is dedicated to delivering resources and training to bridge gaps in mental health services and education.
She creates safe spaces for young people in Darwin, coordinates events for Mental Health Week, brings women from different backgrounds together at the 'GO Night' and helps offer disadvantaged youth a sporting outlet through the City Launch series.
In Tasmania, Keith Parker is motivated by helping people. He joined the military as a private soldier 44 years ago, and later became a specialist in explosive ordnance. He has served overseas multiple times and worked with the United Nations on several occasions.
In addition to his military work, since 2011 Keith has contributed more than 1,500 hours a year as a Volunteer Ambulance Officer (VAO) for Ambulance Tasmania in Sheffield. He progressed to the highest rank and now assists in training new recruits, covers vacant night shifts and operates solo as a first responder if no paramedics are available.
Dr Shamaruh Mirza is the ACT state recipient of the 2023 Local Hero award for her work supporting culturally and linguistically diverse women discuss stigmatised topics. Source: Supplied / NADC/Salty Dingo
She founded volunteer-run not-for-profit SiTara’s Story as a place where women could connect and discuss topics such as mental health, disability, domestic violence, self-care and skill development. Over the years it has evolved to include workshops, talk shops, seminars and creative competitions and in 2021 the organisation won the ACT Mental Health Month award.
Chipblitz program creator Christine Robertson from South Australia, A Brave Life founder Melissa Redsell from Queensland, and Mums of the Hill founder Belinda Young from Victoria are also finalists.
Social entrepreneur James 'Jimmy' Murphy, is Western Australia's nominee, while Turbans 4 Australia founder Amar Singh is representing NSW.
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