The Young Australian of the Year Awards commenced in 1979, and recognises those aged 16 to 30 who are considered exceptional young Australians. 1993 was the only year in which an award was not given.
Recipients Year ofaward Name Notes 1979 Julie Sochacki 1980 Peter Hill Paralympic swimmer and athlete 1981 Paul Radley Writer 1982 Mark Ella Indigenous former rugby union footballer 1983 Michael Waldock Volunteer coastguard 1984 Jon Sieben Swimmer 1985 Deahnne McIntyre Paralympic athlete and powerlifter 1986 Simone Young Conductor and teacher 1987 Bernadette Harvey Concert pianist and lecturer 1988 Duncan Armstrong Olympic swimmer 1989 Brenden Borellini Artist 1990 Cathy Freeman Olympic athlete 1991 Simon Fairweather Archer 1992 Kieren Perkins Olympic swimmer 1993 No award made: period of award changed from the previous year to the year ahead in 1994;i.e. Kieren Perkins was named Young Australian of the Year for 1992 in 1993 andAnna Bown was named Young Australian of the Year for 1994 in 1994 1994 Anna Bown Haematologist 1995 Poppy King Entrepreneur 1996 Rebecca Chambers Concert pianist 1997 Nova Peris-Kneebone Aboriginal athlete and former politician 1998 Tan Le Telecommunications entrepreneur 1999 Bryan Gaensler Astronomer 2000 Ian Thorpe Olympic swimmer 2001 James Fitzpatrick Paediatrician 2002 Scott Hocknull Palaeontologist 2003 Lleyton Hewitt Tennis player 2004 Hugh Evans Humanitarian 2005 Khoa Do Film director and screenwriter 2006 Trisha Broadbridge Sports administrator 2007 Tania Major Aboriginal activist 2008 Casey Stoner Motorcycle racer 2009 Jonty Bush Politician 2010 Mark Donaldson Soldier 2011 Jessica Watson Sailor 2012 Marita Cheng Entrepreneur 2013 Akram Azimi Sociologist and law graduate 2014 Jacqueline Freney Paralympic swimmer 2015 Drisana Levitzke-Gray Disability rights campaigner 2016 Nic Marchesi Lucas Patchett Mobile laundry founders2017Paul Vasileff Fashion designer2018Samantha Kerr Soccer player2019Danzal Baker Yolngu rapper, dancer and artist2020 Ashleigh Barty Tennis player2021 Isobel Marshall Social entrepreneur2022Dr Daniel Nour MD PhysicianParalympian and disability advocate Dylan Alcott named 2022 Australian of the Year, Charlotte Gore, ABC News Online, 2022-01-252023Awer Mabil Soccer player2024Emma McKeon Olympic swimmer2025 Dr Katrina Wruck Materials scientist and industrial chemist2026Nedd Brockmann Ultramarathon athlete
See also List of Australian of the Year Award recipients List of Senior Australian of the Year Award recipients List of Australian Local Hero Award recipients
References