	{"id":117941,"date":"2025-07-27T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=117941"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:32:18","slug":"nominations-close-soon-for-australian-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/nominations-close-soon-for-australian-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Nominations close soon for Australian of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NOMINATIONS close soon to recognise unsung community heroes, inspiring achievers, and life-changing mentors for their contributions\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n<p>Time is running out to give recognition by nominating who you think should be considered for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards.<\/p>\n<p>A person can only be considered for an Australian of the Year Award if a member of the public submits a nomination on their behalf.<\/p>\n<p>Your single nomination could see them join 128 state and territory selected representatives and, ultimately, be honoured in one of four categories:<\/p>\n<p>Australian of the Year<\/p>\n<p>Senior Australian of the Year (65+)<\/p>\n<p>Young Australian of the Year (16-30), and<\/p>\n<p>Australia&#8217;s Local Hero.<\/p>\n<p>National Australia Day Council chair John Foreman said the role of the public was crucial in finding award recipients each year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every day, we all see people doing something special or we hear about people who are making a real impact \u2013 it&#8217;s these people we all see and hear about that we want the public to nominate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Australian of the Year Awards recognise 128 people across all state and territories each year and from them, we select the Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia&#8217;s Local Hero.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Extraordinary Australians are all around us but if we don&#8217;t know about them, they can&#8217;t be recognised. When you see them or hear about them, nominate them so we can consider them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nominating is easy:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One nomination is enough &#8211; the awards are judged on merit so multiple submissions are not required<\/p>\n<p>You don&#8217;t need to know them personally &#8211; simply outline what they do or how they have contributed<\/p>\n<p>No permission needed &#8211; nominate first, the awards program will handle the rest, and<\/p>\n<p>Stay anonymous if you prefer &#8211; the awards program respects a nominator&#8217;s preference for privacy.<\/p>\n<p>Nominations close at midnight on Thursday, July 31.<\/p>\n<p>For more information or to nominate, head to <a href=\"http:\/\/australianoftheyear.org.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">australianoftheyear.org.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NOMINATIONS close soon to recognise unsung community heroes, inspiring achievers, and life-changing mentors for their contributions\u00a0this year. Time is running out to give recognition by nominating who you think should be considered for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards. A person can only be considered for an Australian of the Year Award if a [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/nominations-close-soon-for-australian-of-the-year\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":117942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-117941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nominations close soon for Australian of the Year - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nominate your community heroes for the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards! 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