Congratulations to great Australians
The Australian of the Year for 2025 is Neale Deniher AO, who received the award for his work with FightMND, a charity he cofounded that has raised more than $115 million for medical research to find a cure for motor neurone disease (MND).
Young Australian of the Year is scientist and researcher Dr Katrina Wruck for her work on treating water contamination. Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello have been jointly named Local Hero for founding Cafe Stepping Stone, which helps migrant women gain employment.
Along with Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, who hails from Western Australia, Senior Australian of the Year finalists were:
New South Wales: Science educator and broadcaster Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Victoria: Peter Brukner, founding member of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians
Queensland: Dr Bronwyn Herbert, for her work on the generational impact of homelessness
South Australia: Indigenous advocate Charles Jackson
Tasmania: Gynaecological oncologist Penelope Blomfield
ACT: Peter and Marilyn Ralston, for their work with vision-impaired athletes
Northern Territory: Michael Foley, founder of Seniors of Excellence NT
There is a full list of recipients here .
National Seniors Australia (NSA) congratulates 2025 Senior Australian of the Year, co-founder of Wheelchairs for Kids, 84-year-old Brother Thomas Oliver (Olly) Pickett AM.
Brother Olly, who is also the Senior West Australian of the Year, received the honour for his work providing free adjustable wheelchairs and occupational therapy expertise for children in developing countries.
Since its inception in 1996, Wheelchair for Kids - made up of more than 250 retiree workshop volunteers, with an average age of 74 years - has gifted more than 60,000 custom-built wheelchairs to children in more than 80 countries.
NSA chief executive officer Chris Grice said he is delighted Brother Olly's 26 years of service has been recognised alongside the service of Wheelchair for Kids' 250 senior volunteers and 550 people from aged care and community groups who sew covers for wheelchair soft supports, and crochet rugs and soft toys.
"Brother Olly's well-deserved recognition not only demonstrates the importance of his life-changing work, but it also demonstrates the importance of experience as seen through his leadership of the development of a world-first low-cost wheelchair design that grows as the children do," Mr Grice said.
"Although age brings with it experience, it can also bring a perception of being past a use-by-date. Too often, older Australians, despite their experience, are portrayed as problems instead of solutions. The ageing population is seen as an impending cost as opposed to a potential opportunity.
"The number of people aged 65+ is expected to grow by 2.35 million by 2041, and those aged 85+ expected to grow by almost 750,000 over the same time. We need to plan for this impact and this opportunity now.
"Brother Olly, and indeed the Senior Australian of the Year award, is a timely reminder that older people contribute in ways that can't be measured. Without these builders and their experience, Australia simply wouldn't be what it is today."
It is a philosophy at the heart of and inspiration for NSA's Experience Matters campaign - a campaign designed to change the perception and portrayal of older Australians; to promote the importance and impart the benefits of knowledge, wisdom, and insight gained during a lifetime of experience.
"Brother Olly and the hundreds of senior volunteers behind Wheelchairs for Kids embody and exemplify the very essence of NSA's Experience Matters Campaign and with it, the potential of an undervalued cohort," Mr Grice said.
"We congratulate Brother Olly and those who work alongside him once again on the positive difference they are making to the lives of children around the world, and the example they set to all Australians that Experience Matters."
To learn more about NSA's Experience Matters campaign, and show your support, click here.
Related reading: ABC , West Australian
Photo credit: Salty Dingo/ Australian of the Year
With age comes wisdom and the more years lived means more experience gained. At every stage of our life, whether we're benefiting from experience being shared or benefiting from sharing our experience, * Experience Matters *.
