QUEENSLAND
7NEWS Young Achiever Awards QLD
2026 Finalists
Awards Australia Foundation Connecting Communities Award
Chelsea O'Connor of Nanango is a passionate rural youth advocate and current Chairperson of the South Burnett Regional Youth Council, working alongside young leaders, community organisations, and local government to create opportunities and give regional youth a seat at the table. An Associate Cattle Judge and mentor to younger students in cattle handling and judging through the Nanango Show Society, she was recognised as the 2024 South Burnett National Show Society Junior Rural Ambassador and the 2026 Nanango Lions Youth of the Year, where she went on to become the 2026 Regional Lions Youth of the Year. She has organised fundraisers for Dolly’s Dream Foundation, is a well known volunteer within her local community groups and is setting her sights on a dual degree in Agricultural Science and Agribusiness to continue championing regional Australia...
Ethan Cavanagh of Idalia is an 18-year-old philanthropist from Townsville whose community initiatives — built over eight years — have raised over $5,000, mobilised a broad network of businesses and community members, and delivered hundreds of essential items to people in need. What began as a decision at age 10 to forgo birthday gifts in favour of giving has grown into a structured model including SMILE (Share a Meal in a Loving Environment), Bags of Kindness, and Bags for Stars — his most recent campaign, which delivered 337 fully equipped school bags to children experiencing hardship, well exceeding his original target of 200. A three-time Townsville City Council Young Australian Citizen of the Year (2019, 2025, 2026) and recipient of the Secondary School Citizenship Award from the Order of Australia Association (Queensland Branch), Ethan is redefining what community giving can look like at any age.
Hamish Williamson from Brisbane is the Social Media and Digital Communications Coordinator at MATES in Construction, a national not-for-profit focused on suicide prevention in high-risk, male-dominated industries including construction, mining, energy and manufacturing. Hamish drives digital strategy and national campaigns including MATES Big Lap and Fly the Flag, which now engages over 100,000 workers across more than 900 sites nationally, and has supported the launch of the MATES volunteer app and the FIFO Hub, which attracts more than 1,100 users each month. By combining data-informed content strategy with grassroots site engagement, Hamish bridges the gap between national messaging and local communities, helping workers in remote and isolated environments feel connected to peer support, each other, and the broader MATES network.
Jade Nelson in Townsville region is the Founder and President of The Women's Society, a grassroots charity into a community of over 4,500 members across Townsville and North Queensland. From her own lived experience of domestic violence and experincing homelessness, Jade is committed to support women most at risk of isolation. Driven by the belief that loneliness — affecting one in three people — should never be faced alone, Jade has facilitated over 500 hours of connection, delivered more than 150 events, and raised over $35,000 for local women and families in need. Invited by the Minister for Women to contribute to Queensland's first Women's Economic Security Strategy consultation, and recognised as a Local Legend at the 2025 Community Achievement Awards, she is now building inclusive programs and digital solutions to extend The Women's Society's reach beyond geography.
Thadus CodeLabs is a social enterprise founded by high schoolers Neth and Chinmay on the belief that a child's access to digital education should not be determined by their postcode or internet connection. The pair designed and built Thadus — a fully offline, coding app that runs on standard laptops without internet access. In January 2026, in partnership with the youth charity Foundation of Goodness, the program reached 300 children across Sri Lanka's most rural communities via 21 Village Empowerment Centres. Thadus CodeLabs is now also deploying the app in South Africa through various partners, and was featured by ABC News.
Awards Australia Leadership Award
Emma Boyd of Upper Coomera is a 19-year-old engineering student at Griffith University who founded the Coomera Youth Advisory Council — the first YAC ever established for the Coomera electorate, which holds Queensland's largest youth population — giving young people aged 15–25 direct access to local councillors and state and federal MPs. Through her Student Ambassador Alliance, she connects young people across Northern Gold Coast schools to engage directly with decision-makers on community issues. One of only four young women nationally to receive the Women in STEM Scholarship from the Australian Computer Society Foundation, she has spoken at 30 schools to inspire more young women into engineering. She has also raised over $13,000 for the Cancer Council and $5,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in honour of her mother, and championed a 700-signature petition to protect koala habitat in Coomera East.
Florence Liu of Brisbane is an 18-year-old co-founder of The Gratitude Initiative, a youth-led non-profit operating across four Queensland branches — Brisbane, Mackay, Rockhampton, and Cairns — that has distributed over 500 essential products to vulnerable Queenslanders and engages volunteers from more than 10 countries. Motivated to make volunteering accessible and appealing for teenagers, Florence built the organisation through cold-calling and grassroots outreach. Following her athletics career on the Junior Australian Volleyball team, she started a digital advocacy platform on athlete mental health which has reached nearly 500,000 views. She contributed to an academic publication with Griffith University researchers, and graduated with a 98.75 ATAR while leading her school as House Captain. She also provides free professional photography services to underfunded youth sport programs, and next year will be commencing her studies in the United States as a Division 1 rowing student-athlete.
Jessica Lane of the Sunshine Coast is the 2024 titleholder of Miss Earth and the first Australian ever to win the international crown, spending her year of service advocating for environmental protection across the United Nations in Washington, New York, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as in her home of Australia. An environmental journalist, she uses her television platform to highlight critical environmental issues and inspire action. Since becoming the first Australian international pageant winner since Jennifer Hawkins, Jessica has remained deeply committed to sustainability, leading two sold-out coral restoration expeditions in Indonesia and empowering 30 global reef advocates. She has inspired over 5,000 students worldwide, organised typhoon-relief beach clean-ups with over 300 volunteers, and hosted multiple fundraisers supporting vulnerable communities and children with disabilities. She is now working with the biodiversity council and QLD government for our oceans, and developing conservation programs in the Philippines and Costa Rica.
Mariam Nabizada is a secondary school student, youth advocate and global changemaker. My work is driven by a commitment to strengthening youth voice, representation, and inclusion across community and national spaces. I currently serve as the Federal Youth Member for Groom (2026) and was recognised as Young Citizen of the Year (2026) for my contributions to community leadership. I was the Country to Canberra (2025) winner, and I am also an AFS Global STEM Changemakers participant, engaging in international collaboration on innovation and sustainability. I co-founded The Maryam Women’s Incorporation, an NGO supporting women and community initiatives. Alongside this, I continue to contribute to youth leadership, media, and advisory spaces focused on wellbeing, safety, and empowerment.
Kennelly Constructions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Achievement Award
Felix Styman-Bailey is a proud Koinjmal man from Koinmerburra Country and the first Indigenous Student Leader elected at Padua College. He regularly reads the Acknowledgement of Country and has delivered a public National Sorry Day speech calling for reconciliation and truth-telling. Felix also performed a Welcome to Country at the St Lawrence Wetlands Weekend. He is a regular volunteer with Emmanuel City Mission and Rosies, a Queensland Ambulance Service scholarship recipient, winner of the RSL Prize for Citizenship, a recipient of the Griffith University Spark Award as well as various QATSIF awards. Felix also competes in rugby union, AFL, and rugby league, represents the Met North Rugby Union Team, captained the BJRU Presidents XV and was recognised in The Courier Mail for his sporting contributions. Felix aspires to be a Paramedic and strives to make a meaningful difference in our world to leave a lasting legacy.
Kane Munt of Springfield Lakes is a proud young leader from Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait Islands, whose work spans cultural mentorship, youth advocacy, and national Indigenous representation. As 2026 Culture Captain and leader of the First Nations dance group at St Peter Claver College, NRL Indigenous Youth Ambassador for 2025–2026, Kirrawe Ambassador, and volunteer with Nana Magic as a First Nations children's entertainer, Kane creates culturally safe spaces where young people feel seen, valued, and proud of their heritage. He has represented his community at the NRL All Stars Indigenous Round in New Zealand and spoken at the Māori Rugby League Youth Summit, and advocates for children in care through the Groundswell Younger People Advisory Group, consulting with organisations like QATSIPP to embed Elders in decision-making. His own journey of reconnecting with culture — including travelling to the Torres Strait — deeply informs the way he supports other young mob to find their identity and their path.
Lisa Fatnowna of Cairns North is a cultural leader and mentor within Aspire Community whose work has empowered Indigenous young women and girls across Far North Queensland and into remote communities in Western Cape York for over a decade. As a key leader in programs including Play Our Way, Edor Dreaming, and Future in Motion in Pormpuraaw, Lisa has championed Traditional Indigenous Games to make participation affordable, culturally relevant, and accessible for communities where sporting opportunities are limited. She led the 2025 celebration of 10 years of Aspire to be Deadly — a program that has engaged over 6,000 participants and sustained a 90% increase in school attendance — and coordinated a multi-partner 20-week active recreation program recognised at the Queensland Reconciliation Awards. Drawing on her own journey as an International Model with IMG and Hockey Australia Under 21 Country representative, Lisa inspires young people to see possibility beyond hardship.
Reese Orcher of The Gap is a proud Gamilaroi/Kunja rugby union leader who has captained the Australian Schoolgirls Rugby 7s team, the QLD Reds Next Gen 7s team, the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development team for three consecutive years, and the first-ever First Nations Women's Caslick Cup team, — achievements that have made her a trail-blazer for Indigenous and non-Indigenous girls across Queensland. Now in the elite QLD Reds 7s program through the Queensland Academy of Sport with ambitions for the Olympics. Reese is the first in her family to attend university after being awarded a Pearl Duncan scholarship to become a HPE teacher She holds a paid role as Women's Pathway Development Officer at GPS rugby club, the first position of its kind, and is now in schools and communities encouraging young girls to take up the game. She carried all of this alongside caring for her younger siblings during her mother's cancer treatment in her Year 12 year.
Scarlett-Jean Cheetham of Cairns is a proud 11 year old First Nations young leader from Djiru and Djabugay Country, with Torres Strait Islander heritage from Boigu and Badu Islands who, since the age of six, has chosen to give to others rather than receive. Using birthdays, Christmas gifts, and her own initiative, she has donated 20 Easter gift packs to children at a women’s shelter, 15 complete school packs to School Savvy, 101 Christmas gifts to the Cairns Hospital Paediatrics Ward. She has also provided 25 care packs for mothers and babies through Mookai Rosie, delivered large food hampers to Hambledon House, delivered annual Christmas Day meals to people experiencing homelessness, raised $4,000 through bake sales for reef protection, and most recently raised $2,915 toward a $5,000 goal for the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. Scarlett-Jean volunteers with James Cook University’s Seagrass Restoration Program, participated in Reef Recovery Days by constructing MARS Stars for coral restoration, and has had a manta ray named in her honour by Project Manta. She has appeared on Channel 7’s The Morning Show, received a Queensland Parliament Community Recognition Award, and launched her own social enterprise, SJC Collective, with the aim of helping fund future First Nations marine science scholarships.
Konica Minolta Career Achievement Award
Bjarne Spelleken, 26, is proof that vocational education can change the direction of a life. After leaving school early, she rebuilt her future through training and work, rising within five years from junior trainee to Student Recruitment and Partnership Manager and a member of Aurora Training Institute’s Senior Strategy Team. She now leads growth and business development for a $15 million vocational education enterprise across Queensland and New South Wales, consistently delivering record-breaking sales performance. As an Aboriginal woman and emerging leader, Bjarne brings lived experience to her work with young people, schools, employers, and community partners. Her impact spans student recruitment, business development, school and industry partnerships, team leadership, and major student initiatives. She has transformed her own experience of disruption into disciplined, results-driven leadership that drives growth while creating genuine pathways for others to succeed.
Caitlyn Hayes of Park Ridge isa dual trade-qualified Diesel Fitter and Automotive Electrician working as a Field Service Technician in the heavy mobile equipment sector on FIFO rosters to the Pilbara — making her one of a rare group of women with specialist qualifications across both mechanical and electrical systems for complex mining equipment. Named among the Top 100 Women in Construction and Trades in 2021 and recipient of the Empowered Women in Trades Tradie Trailblazer Award in 2025, she mentors apprentices through Manufacturing Skills Queensland and her own workplace, and is currently completing a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Her social media platform @diesel.n.sparks uses authentic digital storytelling to break down outdated perceptions of women in trades, inspire future apprentices, and create industry collaboration opportunities — building a visible pathway into the sector for young women who didn't know one existed.
Jessica Bichsel from Ipswich, is the 2025 Queensland Apprentice of the Year and a qualified carpenter whose career combines traditional construction with film, television, and theatre set building — including sets for Netflix and Stan productions and the 2022 Logie Awards. Discovering the trades unexpectedly after losing her job during COVID, she became the first apprentice and first female apprentice at Skill Set Building, then went on to receive the Outstanding Women in Trades Award in 2024 and be named a finalist for the Australian Training Awards. A co-host of the construction podcast Let's Talk Tradies, she has collaborated with TradeMutt and Shewear, appeared on the cover of Trading Places Magazine, and participated in a Department of Training and Education roadshow and the annaul AWIC roadshow representing the apprentice perspective to RTOs, business, and government. She self-nominates for everything she achieves — and encourages other young women to do the same.
Joshua Fidrmuc in Cairns, is the CEO and founder of Dial A Vet, Australia's fastest-growing veterinary telehealth platform, which he launched while working full-time at Deloitte after a career in the Australian Army and senior banking roles at ANZ. Identifying that pet owners consistently struggled to access trusted veterinary advice when they needed it most, he built the platform from the ground up without external funding, growing it to reach over 600,000 pet owners each month and deliver hundreds of consultations daily through a team of over 90 licensed veterinarians and veterinary nurses operating globally. Winner of the Finder 2025 Innovation Award as an Innovation Champion among major fintech competitors, Dial A Vet has secured partnerships with Ancestry.com, TikTok, and Virgin Money, and is mentored by Bradley Horowitz, ex-VP of Google. Josh also sponsors the RSPCA Million Paws Walk as part of his broader commitment to animal welfare.
Jure Portelli from the Whitsundays is a 17-year-old motorsporttrailblazer who has progressed from karting to racing cars Nationally and Internationally with a speed and trajectory that has captured the attention of the FIA, Ferrari, and Honda. 2023 Jure was Selected for the Ferrari Driving Academy's prestigious Rising Star Program in Europe — one of only eight girls worldwide chosen to test Formula 4 cars — she has since competed in Japan at Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit, finished eighth overall in the Fuji Championship Round to become the first Australian to reach the podium in the female Kyojo class. From there Jure was selected for the Honda Racing School Suzuka Step 1 Program. Following from that success Jure was formally enrolled in the Honda Advance Formula Class which will see out the rest of 2026 being mentored and nurtured by the Honda while competing in Formula racing cars against the 7 other male drivers from around the world. To fund her racing, she innovated a sponsorship model offering businesses advertising space on her race suit with international exposure, and partnered with a Car Simulator Racing Company to introduce trackside simulation at events across Queensland. Jure's goal is to become a Honda Factory Driver and continue to climb the racing ladder to reach Japan's highest Motorsport level and race the Super Formula.
MEGT Early Career Skills Champion Award
Ari Jorgensen is an 18-year-old carpentry apprentice with McNab who began his trade career after excelling in McNab’s 2024 Pathways Work Experience Program. He was offered a school-based apprenticeship in 2025 while completing Year 12 at Craigslea State High School. Since then, Ari has worked on more than ten projects spanning the commercial, industrial and multi-residential sectors. With skills well beyond his years, a strong work ethic, eagerness to learn and a positive can-do attitude, Ari is a true skills champion, and a standout future leader in the industry.
Hudson Mathiesen of Murrumba Downs is an apprentice refrigeration mechanic who began his HVAC/R training at just 15 — younger than most people entering the trade — and has since been selected as one of the Top 20 Technicians Under 25 nationally by Climate Control News from hundreds of nominees. He has never missed a day of work, regularly puts in 16-hour days without complaint, and maintains an active curiosity about every aspect of the systems he works on — not just how they function, but why. He runs his own weekend jobs for air conditioning cleans and servicing, has been approached by multiple companies including Testo to provide detailed product reviews, and is the face of the Kirby Beijer Refrigeration Apprenticeship Fund, with his photo now displayed in Kirby stores across Australia. His long-term goal is to own his own refrigeration business and commercialise innovative tools he is already designing for the trade.
Madeline Cross of Gleneagle is an 18-year-old apprentice aircraft engine technician at StandardAero Brisbane who has been working toward this moment since age 12. After completing work experience with the Women in Air Force program at RAAF Base Amberley at 15, enrolling in a Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance while still at school, and travelling 70 km each way to study, Madeline became an apprentice while still completing Year 12 — starting shifts at 5am before returning to school for exams. She now specialises in the repair and overhaul of PT6A engines for customers including the Royal Flying Doctor Service, serves as a Health and Safety Representative, and contributes to continuous improvement initiatives across the workshop. Awarded the Sir Peter Landsborough Award for creating positive change and the Vocational Education Award, she is also an active advocate for women in aviation — speaking at industry events and mentoring young women considering the field.
Morgan Parris is a New Zealand–born transmission linesperson apprentice now based in Queensland with Zinfra — one of only a handful of women across Australia pursuing this highly technical and physically demanding trade — who entered the industry following careers as a commercial deep-sea fisherman in New Zealand and a rigger across mining, wind farm and major energy projects throughout Australia. Working a three weeks on, one week off roster across New South Wales and Queensland, she has rapidly developed capability in tower construction, stringing, insulator replacements and maintenance, consistently demonstrating initiative and a strong commitment to learning in a complex field. Selected to speak on the panel at the Rise and Build launch in Wagga Wagga and featured in national media campaigns, Morgan is recognised for reshaping perceptions of what women are capable of in the industry and is passionate about encouraging more women and young girls to consider a future in trades and energy.
Kel Schuster of Bundaberg is a jeweller and gemmologist who completed the highest-achieving result in Australia for the Gemological Association of Australia's graduating class of 2025 — the Geoffrey Tombs Award — after two years of self-funded, largely self-paced study dedicated 14 hours per week around full-time work, including two exam results above 100% in year one. She achieved this while recovering from severe anorexia nervosa that hospitalised her during her final year, navigating housing instability after her rented home was sold without notice, and managing ongoing anxiety and depression. Now enrolled in advanced diamond grading qualifications and planning to become a registered valuer through NCJV — one of approximately 40 active across Australia, with the nearest to Bundaberg currently over 1.5 hours away — she is building a specialised expertise that will directly serve her regional community. She was also recognised with the Best Overall Design award and Apprentice of the Year runner-up at her jewellery apprenticeship in 2023.
Queensland Family and Child Commission Contribution to Community or Family Safety Award
Charlotte Fung of Calamvale is a special education music teacher, long-term volunteer, and community fundraiser who has raised over $14,200 for Variety — the Children's Charity through concerts, raffles, charity yoga, sausage sizzles, and luncheons — enabling grants and experiences that improve the safety, mobility, and quality of life of children who are sick, disadvantaged, or living with disability. A Queensland Conservatorium graduate on full academic scholarship with a Master of Teaching, she has volunteered since 2021 at Variety's Braille Music Camp, Kids Sport Camp, and Special Children's Christmas Party, as well as with Bush to Beach and parkrun. Through her platform Creative Connections, she uses music, circus, and performing arts to bring community together in support of children's causes. She donated her long hair to Variety's Hair with Heart program and is studying Braille transcription and pursuing Auslan interpreter training to expand how she can support children in her care.
Dakota McSpadden of Fortitude Valley is a lived-experience advocate whose own journey through homelessness, out-of-home care, and complex encounters with Queensland's health and child safety systems now informs practice improvements at every level of those systems. She has spoken at Prince Charles Hospital to multidisciplinary staff during Child Protection Week about how service fragmentation escalated risk in her own life, given an ABC News interview ahead of the Queensland Commission of Inquiry into child safety and residential care, presented at the EPCS conference on transitioning from care, and is a member of both the EPCS Oversight and Implementation Review Group and UQ's Self-Placing Research Project Governance Group — ensuring research is ethical, youth-centred, and practically useful. She has co-facilitated CSO training and been selected for Department workshops on extended post-care support. Her advocacy consistently centres trauma-informed care as standard practice, lived-experience workers in the system, and early intervention that keeps families together.
Hayley Drazic of Varsity Lakes is the Head of Operations at What Were You Wearing (WWYW) Australia — contributing 20 to 30 voluntary hours every week while also running her own NDIS business — who has built the operational infrastructure, volunteer capacity, and community reach that allow the organisation to deliver meaningful outcomes for victim-survivors of domestic, family, and sexual violence. She led the delivery of No More Rallies across Brisbane and the Gold Coast in 2025, mobilising over 15,000 people and opening a direct line of communication with the Minister for Women. She organised a Flash Day fundraiser raising over $8,000 to support victim-survivors, leads a team of 50+ staff and volunteers, and has helped run festival safe spaces providing on-the-ground crisis support and harm prevention for young people at risk. Her leadership has moved WWYW from a grassroots voice to an organisation with policy influence, operational scale, and deep community trust.
Ruhaan Kulshreshtha is the founder of Happy Hobby Hour Junior (HHHJ), a youth-led social enterprise and community initiative he started during COVID-19 lockdowns with his friends after noticing young people were spending excessive time online without guidance on healthy digital habits. Through live video sessions, youth discussions, and the BBUST (Bye Bye Unneeded Screen Time) campaign, Ruhaan, with the help of his mum, has inspired 500+ young people in conversations about online safety, balanced technology use, and screen-smart creative alternatives. HHHJ has raised over $10,000 for community causes, including a $5,000 donation to the Children's Hospital Foundation, has won the 2024 Pine Rivers Small Business Award in the Social Enterprise category, and been recognised by the Queensland Department of Education for its contributions to youth learning and community engagement. Now in Grade 10, Ruhaan grows and nurtures the initiative - volunteering in his spare time - alongside school, with his long-term goal to inspire 50 million young people globally by 2032 to use technology positively and safely.
Sara Scott-Hitchcock of South Brisbane is a Child and Young Person Advocate at Foundations Care who entered care at 12, experienced stigma, instability, multiple placements, and homelessness by 17, and has since completed a Diploma and is finishing a Bachelor of Human Services while working full-time in a frontline advocacy role. She delivered a plenary session at the 2025 National Foster and Kinship Care Conference, challenging the sector to rethink how children in care are heard, represented, and lived experience at Adopt Change, CREATE Foundation, and the 4th Annual National Housing and Homelessness Forum, and contributed to CREATE’s #SnapThatStigma campaign to shift public perception around care-experienced young people. Through her work at Foundations Care, she advocates for young people transitioning from care, ensures their voices are heard in decision-making, provides trauma-informed support, and contributes to youth engagement approaches that strengthen how organisations listen to and act on young people’s voices.
Queensland Family and Child Commission Contribution to Community or Family Safety Award for First Nations
Blake Iles of Rockhampton is a proud Iman, Darumbal, and Ghungalu man whose lived experience growing up within the child safety system, disconnected from culture, now drives every aspect of his work with young people facing the same journey. After rediscovering his own culture, Blake delivers cultural workshops across Central Queensland and through international cultural exchanges, provides cultural consultancy, performs in corroborees, and mentors young people — including those in out-of-home care — through one-on-one support designed to create shame-free spaces where culture can be explored and identity strengthened. Through a government-funded youth program he designed and facilitated, he delivered yarning circles, didgeridoo lessons, boomerang throwing, and life skills sessions to Aboriginal students aged 14–17 nearing graduation. The outcomes speak for themselves: reduced shame, increased cultural pride, improved school attendance, and stronger connections between organisations, community members, and Elders.
Josiah Little of Upper Coomera is a proud Bandjin and Djakunda Aboriginal man and Advanced Health Worker at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service who became Australia's first male dual Registered Aboriginal Health Practitioner and Credentialed Diabetes Educator — blazing a trail through a field that typically requires a bachelor's degree and has historically excluded First Nations men from reaching this level. His work spans men's health clinics, social and emotional wellbeing yarns, health promotion, patient advocacy, outreach trips, and food security initiatives — all grounded in a holistic approach that addresses the social and cultural determinants of health alongside clinical need. He has championed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth health workforce pathways through media engagement with 7 News, James Cook University, TAFE Queensland, Diabetes Australia, and state health departments, actively building aspiration and confidence in young people considering health careers. His visibility as a senior Aboriginal male health professional is itself a protective factor for the young people who see him. Josiah has contributed his musical abilities across Australia appearing on ABC I-View’s the piano and contributing to community initiatives bring joy to communities he encounters.
Kane Munt of Springfield Lakes is a proud young leader from Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait Islands, whose commitment to cultural safety and youth empowerment spans mentorship, advocacy, and international representation. As NRL Indigenous Youth Ambassador 2025–2026, he spoke at the Māori Rugby League Youth Summit in New Zealand at the NRL All Stars Indigenous Round, sharing his story with playing squads and youth participants. He is actively involved in mental health initiatives, leading a successful fundraiser for the Paddle to Battle depression, leads the First Nations dance group at St Peter Claver College as 2026 Culture Captain, volunteers as a First Nations children's entertainer with Nana Magic, and serves as a Kirrawe Ambassador supporting at-risk youth. He advocates for culturally safe foster and residential care systems through the Groundswell Younger People Advisory Group, and in October 2025 successfully advocated for himself and two brothers to travel to the Torres Strait — an experience that connected him with Country, kin, and Elders, empowering him to champion the rights to connection at the 2026 QFCC Youth Summit.
Monique Ah-Sam of Acacia Ridge is an Employment Coach and community advocate working with vulnerable young people aged 14–25 — many of whom are navigating homelessness, family breakdown, substance use, justice system involvement, and limited access to education or employment — who brings particular focus to cultural safety and identity-affirming practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. Through mentoring, advocacy, and structured support, she helps young people reconnect with education, access employment pathways, and develop the confidence and life skills to build more stable futures. Her culturally grounded workshops and youth activities strengthen belonging and resilience as protective factors. Alongside her paid role, she is developing Najesta Creations — a creative initiative delivering art and cultural workshops for disadvantaged young people — and is studying a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, focused on prevention, early intervention, and culturally informed justice practice.
Taeg Twist is a proud Birri Gubba Birriah and Ngāti Whātua 2Spirit from Waibene in the Zenadth Kes. A multidisciplinary creative, advocate, and emerging leader, their work bridges First Nations LGBTQIA2S+ health, storytelling, and systems change. Taeg represented First Nations youth as a delegate to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, oversaw more than $1 million in youth wellbeing funding through Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, and led the co-design of an Integrated Social and Emotional Wellbeing Tool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA2S+ communities, alongside contributing to the Transcend Queensland Connected Communities Project. Their leadership spans the Orygen National Youth Advisory Council, advisory work to the board of Gondwana Choirs, the Youth Advisory Group for the Sir David Martin Foundation, and consulting with Desert Pea Media. Currently performing as Gail McRae in the Queensland Theatre Company production of The Sapphires, Taeg continues to use performance, advocacy, and community leadership to create culturally powerful spaces where First Nations young people can see themselves reflected, celebrated, and heard.
The University of Queensland Create Change Award
Brothers Support Network was founded by Max Gow in Queensland after a career-ending rugby injury led him to reflect on identity, purpose, and connection. That began on Australia Day 2022 with one participant and one Brother has grown into a community supporting more than 120 young men across Queensland. In 2024, the team delivered over 30,000 hours of support. In 2025, the organisation became a registered NDIS provider, launched its Supported Independent Living (SIL) division, and opened its first SIL home. Built on mateship, passion, growth mindset, and humility, Brothers Support Network now has over 60 Brothers delivering support grounded in genuine connection. The organisation has received a Global Recognition Award and has been a finalist in multiple national awards.
Jade Nelson in Townsville region is the Founder and President of The Women's Society, a grassroots charity into a community of over 4,500 members across Townsville and North Queensland. From her own lived experience of domestic violence and experiencing homelessness, Jade is committed to support women most at risk of isolation. Driven by the belief that loneliness — affecting one in three people — should never be faced alone, Jade has facilitated over 500 hours of connection, delivered more than 150 events, and raised over $35,000 for local women and families in need. Invited by the Minister for Women to contribute to Queensland's first Women's Economic Security Strategy consultation, and recognised as a Local Legend at the 2025 Community Achievement Awards, she is now building inclusive programs and digital solutions to extend The Women's Society's reach beyond geography.
Joshua Fidrmuc of Palm Cove is the CEO and founder of Dial A Vet, Australia's fastest-growing veterinary telehealth platform, which he built without external funding after identifying — during long hours at Deloitte — that pet owners routinely struggled to access trusted veterinary advice when they needed it most. Launched alongside his full-time role, the platform has grown to reach over 700,000 pet owners each month, supports hundreds of consultations daily through a team of over 90 licensed veterinarians and nurses operating globally, and has secured partnerships with Ancestry.com, TikTok, and Virgin Money, positioning it as a preventative care tool that reduces unnecessary emergency visits and insurance costs. Winner of the Finder 2025 Innovation Award as an Innovation Champion among major fintech competitors, and mentored by Nicolas Chereque, founder of PetMD, Josh has built clinical governance, rostering, and escalation systems that scale without compromising care quality — and sponsors the RSPCA Million Paws Walk as part of a commitment to animal welfare beyond the platform itself.
Remy Tucker of Brisbane is the founder of On the House — a new category of advertising called Social Out-of-Home (SOOH) — digital dispensers fitted with 32-inch advertising screens in high-traffic public bathrooms, where brand revenue funds free, biodegradable period products for anyone who needs them. The model is structured as a genuine media business: 100% venue retention, 99% user satisfaction, 76-second average dwell time, a 94% brand trust uplift, and a 92% intent uplift — because when people feel grateful for an ad, everything changes. Remy launched commercially in July 2025 with five dispensers across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has distributed over 12,000 free period products to date, and closed a $1.7 million seed round in January 2026 backed by Purpose Ventures and UniQuest. She is expanding nationally in April 2026, and aims to eliminate period inequity entirely — From 3 in 5, to 0 in 5.
Thomas Pirie of Robina is the co founder and driving inspiration behind 10 Cent Tom Limited, a national, Gold Coast–based charity he established with his mother, Carolyn. The organisation operates as a social enterprise, transforming recycling into environmental action and meaningful employment for people with disability. Living with an intellectual impairment and two titanium rods in his spine following major scoliosis surgery as a teenager, Tom began collecting bottles and cans in his neighbourhood to reduce litter. What started as a simple act of care grew into a bold vision: that recycling could create real jobs and real opportunities for people with disability. Today, 10 Cent Tom recycles approximately 3 million containers annually through Queensland’s Containers for Change scheme, employs eight team members with disability, and partners with businesses, sporting clubs, schools, and community groups across the Gold Coast and beyond. Tom is the organisation’s most powerful asset: a natural advocate and keynote speaker whose enthusiasm, authenticity, and community spirit bring people together around shared purpose. His vision for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy is to scale to 15 million containers annually and create 30+ inclusive employment opportunities, proving that together, we can Turn Small Change into Real Change for people, planet, and purpose.
Turosi Food Solutions Food Industry Innovation and Excellence Award
Asvath Chandran Ravichandran of Brisbane is a food technologist, gold medallist graduate, and New Product Development Technologist at Rocket Creations, currently pursuing a Master of Food Science and Technology at the University of Queensland. His experience spans sugar-reduction formulation, where he worked on developing natural ingredient systems to reduce sugar while maintaining taste and product quality, as well as supporting more than 20 food startups in product development, feasibility, and scale-up. His work includes contributing to the development of one of India’s first extruded surimi-based snack chips for export to Japan. At Rocket Creations, Asvath contributes to new product development through experiment design, formulation, and scale-up production, working on innovative frozen dessert concepts with a focus on balancing functionality, quality, and consumer appeal. Beyond his professional work, Asvath serves as President of the UQ Food Science Club, where he organises career development initiatives, industry tours, and networking events, connecting over 100 food science students with industry professionals. He is the first in his extended family to pursue an international degree.
Kamran Kasaei-Nejad of Woolloongabba is the founder of Funky Food, a Brisbane-based fresh produce business that has built a commercially viable model around reducing food waste at the farm gate by sourcing surplus and cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables directly from Australian growers — produce that major retailers would otherwise reject. By creating a direct-to-consumer platform and curated weekly produce boxes, Funky Food gives farmers an additional revenue stream for produce that would otherwise go unsold or be significantly undervalued, while delivering fresh food to households across Brisbane, New South Wales, the ACT, and Victoria at competitive prices. Since launch, Funky Food has rescued over 7.5 million kilograms of fresh produce and delivered more than 628,000 boxes. The business maintains rigorous quality control — evaluating produce on freshness and safety, not appearance — and is actively changing consumer expectations about the relationship between cosmetic standards and food quality. It has been featured on SBS and in Fruitnet and EcoNews for its model challenging traditional produce supply chains.
Grace Griffiths of Goondiwindi is an agronomist, cotton grower, and founder of 101 Ag Pathways who is widening the pipeline of talent entering Australian agriculture by making its career diversity visible. After finishing university without a clear picture of the many roles available beyond farming itself, she launched 101 Ag Pathways in 2022 — a social media platform and online careers resource that showcases real journeys from agronomy and research through to ag-tech, communications, and agribusiness. The initiative grew from a personal frustration into a recognised tool for attracting and retaining talent in the sector. In her professional work she specialises in precision agriculture, and sustainable farming objectives to support growers, and has focused on translating complex carbon farming and sustainability frameworks into practical language producers can act on. Winner of the CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year Award in 2025 and Goondiwindi's Young Citizen of the Year 2024, Grace proves that the next generation of agricultural leadership is already here — and already building.
Kaylaha Malaponte is a Precision Agriculture Extension Officer with Aglantis and proudly comes from a fourth-generation sugarcane farming family in Ayr. Having always lived in the Burdekin, she is deeply connected to the region and passionate about helping local farmers adopt practical technology that improves productivity, profitability, and sustainability on farm. A qualified chief drone pilot and Fertcare Advisor, Kaylaha leads Aglantis' drone program, using aerial imaging to deliver detailed paddock insights. Her work helps farmers make smarter decisions around fertiliser and water use, identify crop stress earlier, and reduce nutrient runoff into the Great Barrier Reef catchment. Known for her down-to-earth approach and strong farming roots, Kaylaha has built trust in an industry where new technology is often met with hesitation. She combines firsthand farming knowledge with technical expertise to make innovation practical and accessible. Kaylaha is also the founder of Burdekin AgriSisters, a peer network giving women across farming, agribusiness, banking, and marketing a place to connect, learn, and lead. In an industry where women have long worked behind the scenes, AgriSisters is helping bring their voices, skills, and ambition to the front and building a stronger rural community in the process. With deep roots in the Burdekin and her eyes firmly on the future, Kaylaha is helping shape what the next chapter of Australian agriculture looks like and who gets to lead it.
Laura Carniel is an emerging food systems leader and Vice President of Australia's first World Food Forum Australia Youth Chapter. Selected as a Global Voices Policy Fellow in 2024, Laura has represented Australia at the United Nation's FAO World Food Forum in Rome before returning to establish the Australian chapter. Since their launch in late 2025, she has co-led a team of four to 34 members, providing a platform that connects young Australians to the food system. Laura grew up on a multi-generational horticultural farm in the Lockyer Valley and holds a Bachelor of Advanced Science (First Class Honours) from UQ where she was named an AgriFutures Horizon Scholar and a UQ Future Leader. Laura has been a part of international and Asia-Pacific dialogues, farm tours and panel events and passionately advocates for youth involvement in agricultural and food systems transformation.