Australian Human Rights Awards Finalists 2025
A diverse group of human rights advocates has been named as finalists in the 2025 Australian Human Rights Awards, ranging from youth support workers and filmmakers to justice activists and medical professionals.
Twenty finalists were selected from nearly 300 nominations across 5 categories.
Award recipients will be announced at a .
Finalists are listed below. Read more about them in the media release.
Awards night - Friday 12 December 2025
Join up to 600 guests from across the country to acknowledge, congratulate and share the important work of individuals and organisations who are making valuable contributions to advancing human rights in Australia.
The ceremony and reception will be held at the University of Technology Sydney and feature the 2025 Human Rights Day Oration.
The event will be livestreamed.
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Awards emblem
We commissioned a new emblem for the Australian Human Rights Awards to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2023,
The emblem is an artwork titled Djilba which has been created by First Nations artist Kambarni.
Reflecting the 鈥 which combines the shapes of a hand (representing humanity) and a bird ( representing peace) 鈥 the new emblem reinterprets this logo with a uniquely Australian and First Nations sensibility.
Kambarni is a prolific artist, designer, and illustrator, who reflects the natural world with intricate and graphic interpretations of Australian histories:
鈥淭his artwork considers the interplay between people and their environment, acknowledging that we are all part of something greater than ourselves - nature and humans are cyclic and connected - and what we put out into this world, we get back.鈥
Djilba means 鈥榝irst spring鈥 for the Noongar people of the Perth region in Western Australia.
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History of the Awards
The Commission established the Awards in 1987 to recognise the contributions of individuals across the nation who made it their life鈥檚 mission to champion human rights, social justice, and equality for all.
The Awards have evolved over 3 decades to align with Australia鈥檚 ever-changing human rights landscape. Originally recognising human rights in film, television and literature, the Award categories now span across a broader field.
The Human Rights Medal has been a constant. Recipients include:
- Rose Colless OAM
- Fred Hollows
- Peter Greste
- Dorothy Hoddinott AO
- Ian Thorpe
- Jonathan Thurston
- The Hon Peter McClellan AM QC and Chrissie Foster AM
- Rosemary Kayess
- Professor Larissa Behrendt AO.
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Human Rights Day Oration
Every year, the 黑料情报站 presents the Human Rights Day Oration to mark World Human Rights Day (December 10)
The Oration is delivered by a leading Australian working in the field of human rights and social justice or whose work protects and promotes human rights. The Oration is usually delivered by the recipient of the previous year鈥檚 Human Rights Medal.
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Past awards recipients
Since 1987, the 黑料情报站 (formerly the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) has recognised the extraordinary contribution to Australian society of a wide variety of people and organisations committed to issues of human rights, social justice and equality through the annual Human Rights Medal and Awards.
You can search our database of past Human Rights Awards recipients and finalists by year and category.
2023 Awards night
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Nominations criteria
In choosing the recipients for the Awards, judges consider the nominee鈥檚 achievements in the year prior to receiving the award, as well as their ongoing contribution to the advancement of human rights.
An individual, organisation or community group need only be nominated once to be considered. The number of nominations received per nominee carries no weight in the judging process.
To be eligible for nomination, entrants must have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Australia in at least one of the following areas:
- taking action to overcome discrimination or infringements of human rights within Australia
- encouraging greater harmony between people of different race, sex, sexuality, age or ethnic origin within Australia
- enhancing the rights of Indigenous people
- promoting equal opportunity for people with a disability in Australia, or increasing awareness of issues of injustice or inequality in Australia.
Entrants must have been active in this area between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025.
Eligibility criteria
- Nominees must be an Australian citizen OR have resident status and be living in Australia OR be an organisation or association that is registered in Australia.
- We accept self-nominations.
- Unsuccessful nominations may be re-nominated in subsequent years.
Category criteria
- People and organisations can be nominated in multiple categories.
- Nominations for people aged 25 years or under (as of 31 August in the Awards year) will be considered for the Young People's Award
- Eligibility is dependent on the award category and may be open to businesses, groups, organisations and/or individuals.
Judging criteria
Selection panels will consider the following when assessing and comparing nominations against the above criteria:
- Does the nominee contribute to the advancement of human rights issues in Australia?
- Does the entry provide specific examples of their contribution?
- Has the nominee been a leader in this area of work in their community?
- Has the nominee raised community awareness of the issue?
- Has the nominee been able to provide a network of support for the issue?
- What was the outcome of the nominee鈥檚 contribution?
- How effective was the outcome?
- Did the nominee overcome any obstacles to achieve their outcome?
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Contact us
For more information about nominating or attending the Awards, please contact us:
- Phone: 1300 369 711
- Email: awards@humanrights.gov.au
Key dates
