Past Awards

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

Born and raised in Darwin and descended from the Bardi people of the Kimberley, Professor Pat Dudgeon is Australia’s first Aboriginal psychologist and a national leader in Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention. As Director of the Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention at the University of Western Australia, she has been instrumental in embedding cultural, strengths-based and lived experience perspectives into policy and services. She led the landmark Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP), whose 2016 report Solutions That Work reframed national understanding of suicide prevention by centring Indigenous-led and culturally grounded responses. A founding chair of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, her work continues to shape research, policy and frontline practice across Australia.

Lived Experience

Major Hugo Toovey endured testicular and bowel cancer in his twenties, alongside depression and PTSD. Now 33, he has undergone more than a dozen major surgeries and continues to live with the long-term impacts of chronic illness. Drawing on his experience, he founded 25StayAlive, a charity encouraging young adults to take their physical and mental health seriously at a stage of life when it’s often overlooked. Through national media, keynote speaking, and partnerships with organisations such as Movember and Gotcha4Life, Hugo has become a leading advocate for young Australians, championing early intervention, meaningful connection and a practical approach to finding purpose and resilience through adversity.

Professional

Professor Brian Burdekin AO has been a driving force in human-rights-based mental-health reform in Australia and globally. As Australia’s first Federal Human Rights Commissioner, he led the landmark National Inquiry into Human Rights and Mental Illness (1990-93), which exposed systemic abuse and neglect and transformed national policy. He went on to advise the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and has helped establish national human-rights commissions in more than 70 countries. His lifelong advocacy has reframed mental illness as a human-rights issue, leading to major legislative and service reforms in Australia and influencing international conventions and practice.

Community Hero

Mental health clinical nurse manager Keith Donnelly is the founder of Keith’s Closet, a volunteer-led initiative that restores dignity and self-worth to people experiencing mental illness. Established in 2019 at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the program transforms unused hospital spaces into welcoming wardrobes stocked with donated clothing, shoes, toiletries and much more. Since then, it has expanded to hospitals across New South Wales, including St Vincent’s, Shellharbour, Lismore, and Forensic hospital, and supported more than 6,000 people through both hospital, community outreach. Keith’s work shows how compassion and creativity can drive meaningful change in mental-health care.