TheAustralian of the Year Award is given annually onAustralia Day. The announcement of the award has become a major public event in Australia, and is televised nationwide. The award "offers an insight into Australian identity, reflecting the nation's evolving relationship with world, the role of sport in Australian culture, the impact of multiculturalism, and the special status of Australia's Indigenous people".[1] The award is unique in that it is sponsored by a national government and commands broad public support.
The following is a list of the recipients of theAustralian of the Year award.[2][3]
The post-nominals listed for each individual are as they were on the day they were named the Australian of the Year.
| Year of award | Name | Post nominals | Born | Died | Comments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | SirMacfarlane Burnet | OM | 1899 | 1985 | Virologist; 1960Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient | |
| 1961 | Joan Sutherland | CBE | 1926 | 2010 | Opera singer | |
| 1962 | Jock Sturrock | 1915 | 1997 | Yachtsman | ||
| 1963 | SirJohn Eccles | 1903 | 1997 | Neurophysiologist; 1963Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient | ||
| 1964 | Dawn Fraser | 1937 | Swimmer; gold medal winner at 1956, 1960 and 1964Summer Olympic Games | |||
| 1965 | Robert Helpmann | CBE | 1909 | 1986 | Actor; ballet dancer; director | |
| 1966 | Jack Brabham | OBE | 1926 | 2014 | Racing driver;Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966 | |
| 1967 | The Seekers | N/A | Music group | |||
| 1968 | Lionel Rose | MBE | 1948 | 2011 | Boxer; firstIndigenous Australian to win a world boxing title (1968) | |
| 1969 | Lord Casey | GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC | 1890 | 1976 | Politician, diplomat,Governor-General of Australia (1965–1969) | |
| 1970 | Cardinal SirNorman Gilroy | KBE | 1896 | 1977 | Clergyman; first Australian-bornCardinal of theRoman Catholic Church | |
| 1971 | Evonne Goolagong | 1951 | Tennis player | |||
| 1972 | Shane Gould | 1956 | Swimmer; winner of three gold medals, a silver and bronze in1972 Summer Olympics | |||
| 1973 | Patrick White | 1912 | 1990 | Author; 1973Nobel Prize for Literature recipient | ||
| 1974 | SirBernard Heinze | 1894 | 1982 | Conductor | ||
| 1975 | John Cornforth | CBE | 1917 | 2013 | Scientist; 1975Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient | |
| MAJGENAlan Stretton | AO, CBE | 1922 | 2012 | Australian Army officer; managedCyclone Tracy cleanup | ||
| 1976 | LTCOL SirEdward "Weary" Dunlop | CMG, OBE | 1907 | 1993 | Military surgeon;World War IIprisoner of war | |
| 1977 | Raigh Roe | CBE | 1922 | 2014 | President of the Country Women's Association | |
| SirMurray Tyrrell | KCVO, CBE | 1913 | 1994 | Official secretary to six governors-general | ||
| 1978 | Alan Bond | 1938 | 2015 | Businessman | ||
| Galarrwuy Yunupingu | 1948 | 2023 | Indigenous land rights activist | [4] | ||
| 1979 | Neville Bonner | 1922 | 1999 | First Aboriginal person elected to theParliament of Australia | ||
| Harry Butler | OBE | 1930 | 2015 | Naturalist | ||
| 1980 | Manning Clark | AC | 1915 | 1991 | Historian | |
| 1981 | SirJohn Crawford | 1910 | 1984 | Economist | ||
| 1982 | SirEdward Williams | KCMG, KBE, QC | 1921 | 1999 | Judge of theSupreme Court of Queensland; chairman of the1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games Foundation | |
| 1983 | Robert de Castella | MBE | 1957 | Marathon runner | ||
| 1984 | Lowitja O'Donoghue | CBE | 1932 | 2024 | Aboriginal health worker; inaugural chairperson of theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990–1996) | |
| 1985 | Paul Hogan | 1939 | Actor | |||
| 1986 | Dick Smith | 1944 | Entrepreneur | |||
| 1987 | John Farnham | 1949 | Singer, entertainer | |||
| 1988 | Kay Cottee | 1954 | First femalesailor to perform asingle-handed, non-stopcircumnavigation of the world (1988) | |||
| 1989 | Allan Border | AO | 1955 | Australian cricket team captain | ||
| 1990 | Fred Hollows | 1921 | 1993 | Ophthalmologist; founder ofThe Fred Hollows Foundation | ||
| 1991 | Peter Hollingworth | AO, OBE | 1935 | Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane; head,Brotherhood of St. Lawrence;governor-general | ||
| 1992 | Mandawuy Yunupingu | 1956 | 2013 | Singer,Yothu Yindi | ||
| 1993 | No award made: period of award changed from the previous year to the year ahead in 1994; i.e. Mandawuy Yunupingu was named Australian of the Year for 1992 in 1993 and Ian Kiernan was named Australian of the Year for 1994 in 1994 | |||||
| 1994 | Ian Kiernan | OAM | 1940 | 2018 | Environmentalist; founder ofClean Up Australia andClean Up the World | |
| 1995 | Arthur Boyd | AC, OBE | 1920 | 1999 | Artist | |
| 1996 | John Yu | AM | 1934 | Paediatrician, CEO of theRoyal Alexandra Hospital for Children | ||
| 1997 | Peter Doherty | AC | 1940 | Veterinarian; immunologist; 1996Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient | ||
| 1998 | Cathy Freeman | OAM | 1973 | Athlete; alsoYoung Australian of the Year in 1990 | ||
| 1999 | Mark Taylor | AO | 1964 | Australian cricket team captain | ||
| 2000 | SirGustav Nossal | AC, CBE | 1931 | Biologist | ||
| 2001 | LTGENPeter Cosgrove | AC, MC | 1947 |
| ||
| 2002 | Pat Rafter | 1972 | Tennis player | |||
| 2003 | Fiona Stanley | AC | 1946 | Epidemiologist | ||
| 2004 | Steve Waugh | AO | 1965 | Australian cricket team captain and humanitarian | ||
| 2005 | Fiona Wood | AM | 1958 | Plastic surgeon; worked with victims of the2002 Bali bombings | ||
| 2006 | Ian Frazer | 1953 | Immunologist | |||
| 2007 | Tim Flannery | 1956 | Scientist;global warming activist | |||
| 2008 | Lee Kernaghan | OAM | 1964 | Singer | ||
| 2009 | Mick Dodson | AM | 1950 | Indigenous leader | ||
| 2010 | Patrick McGorry | AO | 1953 | Psychiatrist | [5] | |
| 2011 | Simon McKeon | AO | 1955 | Philanthropist businessman | [6] | |
| 2012 | Geoffrey Rush | AC | 1951 | Actor and film producer | [7] | |
| 2013 | Ita Buttrose | AO, OBE | 1942 | Journalist and businesswoman, founding editor ofCleo | [8] | |
| 2014 | Adam Goodes | 1980 | Australian rules footballer and Indigenous community leader | |||
| 2015 | Rosie Batty | 1962 | Domestic violence campaigner | [9] | ||
| 2016 | LTGENDavid Morrison | AO | 1956 | Commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion | [10] | |
| 2017 | Alan Mackay-Sim | 1951 | 2023 | Biomedical scientist treating spinal cord injuries | ||
| 2018 | Michelle Simmons | 1967 | Scientia professor ofquantum physics in thefaculty of science at theUniversity of New South Wales | |||
| 2019 | Craig Challen | SC, OAM | Cave divers who participated in theTham Luang cave rescue | [11] | ||
| Richard Harris | SC, OAM | |||||
| 2020 | DrJames Muecke | AM | 1963 | Eye surgeon and founder of Sight for All | [12][13] | |
| 2021 | Grace Tame | 1994 | Advocate for survivors of sexual assault | |||
| 2022 | Dylan Alcott | AO | 1990 | Paralympic athlete, advocate for disability | ||
| 2023 | Taryn Brumfitt | 1978 | Positive body image advocate and founder of the Body Image Movement | [14] | ||
| 2024 | Georgina Long | AO | 1970 | Melanoma researchers | [15] | |
| Richard Scolyer | AO | 1966 | ||||
| 2025 | Neale Daniher | AO | 1961 | Former Australian rules footballer and coach; charity co-founder, advocate formotor neurone disease research | [16] | |
