Space engineer Katherine Bennell-Pegg has been named as the 2026 Australian of the Year.
The astronaut and Adelaide local was awarded the top honour on January 25.
“As a kid, I used to lie on the dry grass in my backyard and gaze up at the stars in awe,” she said during her acceptance speech.
“That imperative to look to the sky and wonder, to innovate and explore, is an ancient one on this continent.
“Australia’s First Nations peoples’ deep connection to sky country reminds us that looking up has always been part of who we are. I’m humbled to be recognised amongst the absolutely incredible Australians in the room tonight, and beyond.”
She made history as the first Australian to qualify as an astronaut under Australia’s space program.
In 2024, she graduated from Germany’s European Astronaut Centre with Basic Astronaut Training, becoming the first international candidate to do so.
Throughout her career as a space engineer, she has advanced multiple space missions and technologies.
She has also shared her passion and more about Australia’s space program at schools and with industry leaders to inspire others.
During her speech, she also paid tribute to the Bondi shooting victims.
“We remember the victims of the Bondi attack, and I honour those whose courage shone in the darkest moments,” she continued.
“During astronaut training, we learned about the overview effect, the cognitive shift that comes from looking back at the Earth from orbit.
“You can’t see borders from up there, just a fragile shared home and a powerful truth – we’re all in this together. Because space is not about escaping the earth, but about helping us see it more clearly.”
She also encouraged others to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“For Australia to be able to influence and to contribute to addressing the global issues of the next years, the next century, we need every curious mind engaged, regardless of gender, of background or of postcode.”
Professor Henry Brodaty AO was named the Senior Australian of the Year for his dementia prevention research. Nedd Brockman, who has famously raised millions to combat homelessness, was named the Young Australian of the Year.
Whadjuk-Yued Noongar man Frank Mitchell is the 2026 Local Hero for his work helping Indigenous people access employment.
Who was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2026?
Eight Australians from each state and territory were nominated for the top gong.
Read about them below.
Katherine Bennell-Pegg
South Australia
Katherine made history as the first Australian to qualify as an astronaut under Australia’s space program.
As a space engineer, she has advanced several space missions and technologies, and hopes to inspire others to pursue Australia’s space program.
In 2024, she graduated from Germany’s European Astronaut Centre with Basic Astronaut Training and is the first international candidate to do so.
Carrie Bickmore OAM
Victoria
Former host of The Project Carrie Bickmore was chosen as Victoria’s Australian of the Year, because of her fundraising efforts for brain cancer research, after losing her first husband Greg Lange in 2010.
Since she launched Beanies 4 Brain Cancer in 2015, more than $27 million has been raised.
In 2021, she founded The Brain Cancer Centre, which brings together researchers to find a cure and focuses on research projects and first-of-their-kind clinical trials. Since then, it has secured an additional $45 million in research funding.
“It’s really bittersweet to be honest, because I wouldn’t be here unless my late husband had died,” she said in her speech when she was named as the Victorian of the Year in November.
“And so, while I graciously accept the award, if I could go back and make that little 21-year-old young Carrie not have to watch her boyfriend have a seizure in bed and then endure a nine-year battle with brain cancer, I would do that.”
Dr Alison Thompson OAM
NSW
Dr Alison Thompson founded Third Wave Volunteers, which deploys first responders to disaster zones across the globe to provide medical aid.
Her passion to help others began in 2011 after the September 11 attacks, when she rushed to the New York World Trade Centre with her first aid kit, and stayed for nine months.
She has since deployed more than 30,000 volunteers to Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, where they have provided medical aid to more than 18 million people.
Following the devastating 2004 tsunami, she established the first Tsunami Early-Warning Centre and education museum, which continues to excel.
Dr Jorian Kippax
Tasmania
Dr Jorian Kippax is known for saving the lives of people in difficult circumstances.
In 2024, he was part of a specialist team of rescuers tasked with freeing Valdas Bieliauskas, who was trapped in the freezing rapids on Tasmania’s Franklin River.
He guided his team to free the Lithuanian rafter, where they operated to amputate his leg underwater, which saved his life.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda awarded him the country’s Life Saving Cross.
Dr Daniela Vecchio
Western Australia
Dr Daniela Vecchio is a digital addiction and gaming disorder specialist and the head of its services at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
In 2022, she led the establishment of Australia’s first publicly funded gaming disorder clinic.
It provides early detection and intervention to help young people with their addiction to video games and social media.
She is also the director of the Australian Gaming and Screens Alliance and has assisted with health, education, and police services nationally.
On an international scale, she has collaborated with experts in Korea, Dubai, and Germany.
Professor Rose McGready
ACT
For the last 30 years, Professor Rose McGready has provided health services to displaced people in the border region between Thailand and Myanmar.
When she saw that refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar struggled to seek medical support, she established training for local staff that focused on expectant mothers during the critical period of childbirth.
Her research has also led to the development of treatments to tackle maternal malaria, which have been adopted by the World Health Organisation as the global standard. It has helped treat millions of women globally.
Dr Rolf Gomes
QLD
Dr Rolf Gomes launched the first Heart of Australia trucks, to give people in rural communities the opportunity to offer early diagnostic services.
Now, the Heart Trucks offer regular specialist clinics across more than 30 rural towns nationally, and have treated more than 20,000 patients.
By 2027, more trucks are expected to be added to the roster, adding new diagnostic services and early intervention screenings, including for lung cancer.
Dr Felix Ho ASM
Northern Territory
As a medical practitioner, Dr Felix Hois is dedicated to helping communities across the Northern Territory.
Since the age of 13, he has been a passionate St John Australia ambulance responder and volunteer, and helped build its St John Youth Program.
This has led him to help overseas as an Intensive Care Paramedic in Timor-Leste, on a United Nations mission.
He then took on a national leadership role at the charity in 2020, helping lead more than 3,000 young first responders. With this, he has also developed training for St John cadets and young volunteers.
Who is the 2025 Australian of the Year?
Former AFL player and FightMND co-founder Neale Daniher AO was named as the 2025 Australian of the Year.
He co-founded the FightMND charity to find a cure for motor neurone disease after his 2013 diagnosis.
Since then, the charity has raised and invested more than $115 million.
