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stronaut and space engineer Katherine Bennell-Pegg has been named Australian of the Year, with the winners announced at the National Arboretum in Canberra as part of the annual Australian of the Year Awards.
There were 33 finalists across four categories, including Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Local Hero. Bennell-Pegg received the overall top honour, adding to a strong recent run for South Australia, which has produced four Australian of the Year recipients in the past eight years.
Speaking after the announcement, Bennell-Pegg described the moment as surreal, while also framing her win as a chance to widen the pathway for others.
“It’s ‘pinch me’ stuff to be in this position, and I hope by being here and showing what’s possible, I can unlock that path for more to follow in the future,” she said. “When I grew up, I was mesmerised by the stars above me, but they felt very far away. I was inspired by Australians that had been to space before.”
The 41-year-old made history as the first Australian to qualify as an astronaut under Australia’s space programme, following her completion of the European Space Agency’s highly competitive astronaut programme. She graduated from Basic Astronaut Training in 2024 as part of a class of six, after being selected from more than 22,500 applicants to train at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany.
Bennell-Pegg has since returned to Australia and is now Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, working on missions and technologies that support the country’s growing space sector. While her astronaut qualification has drawn national attention, she has also built a profile through regular presentations to school children and advocacy aimed at encouraging more young people, particularly women and girls, to consider careers in STEM.
“Yeah, becoming an astronaut for me is a childhood dream come true, but it’s still just the beginning. I’ve not been to space yet. I’m working to remain ready in case that opportunity should arise,” she said. “But yeah, seven out of 10 Australian kids under 12 want to go to space.”
Bennell-Pegg has argued that space work has practical benefits on the ground, pointing to how satellite and space-based technology supports emergency response, agriculture, communications and national security.
“Space is a high point in the sky from which we can see bushfires and floods and phenomena across our country,” she said. “It’s how we look after our first responders by connecting them in remote regions. It’s how we guide our farmers’ farming equipment, how we ensure our national security, and how we unlock discoveries that can only be unlocked in space.”
This year’s awards also recognised long-term contributions in health, community leadership and advocacy.
Professor Henry Brodaty was named Senior Australian of the Year for his work in dementia, a focus shaped by his father’s experience of Alzheimer’s disease. The 78-year-old psychiatrist helped establish advocacy and support group Dementia Australia and has spent decades contributing to clinical care, research and prevention efforts.
Since co-founding the UNSW Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Brodaty has helped grow the institute to around 60 staff, with research spanning genetics, blood proteins, brain imaging and the social factors that influence health outcomes.
“All focusing on those different aspects, looking at the genetics, looking at the changes in the proteins in the blood, looking at brain imaging, looking at the social determinants of health,” he said. “And we are also involved in helping people manage the behavioural changes that occur in dementia.”
Australia’s Local Hero for 2026 is Indigenous construction leader Frank Mitchell, whose four companies collectively employ more than 200 people, with a focus on integrating cultural values with business leadership. The Whadjuk-Yued Noongar man is co-director of Wilco Electrical and co-founder and director of Kardan, Baldja and Bilyaa, which operate across the trades and construction sector.
Mitchell said his businesses have created pathways into employment and training, including Aboriginal upskilling roles, while also directing work towards Indigenous subcontractors.
“I’m really proud to recognise that the impact that we’ve had with myself and my teams is that we have achieved 70 Aboriginal upskilling positions over the last 10 years,” he said. “We’ve also awarded over $11 million to Aboriginal subcontractors, ones in which we have seen grow from, in some cases, one person contracting through to now having their own teams and their own Aboriginal upskilling programmes.”
He also spoke about how personal experiences shaped his commitment to supporting First Nations communities, including the loss of friends and a turning point in his early adulthood.
“Having lost two friends to drugs and suicide in my teenage years, I was in a bit of a death spiral when I was in my early 20s,” he said. “One was the unplanned birth of my son at age 21. It really shook me to my core about recognising that I had to provide for this beautiful boy. I came across an opportunity to do an electrical apprenticeship. I really wasn’t feeling confident that I could achieve an electrical apprenticeship trade, but this one man believed in me, that was my uncle, and this has really instilled in me today in wanting to pay that forward.”
The Young Australian of the Year award for 2026 went to Nedd Brockmann, recognised for raising awareness and funds for people experiencing homelessness. Now 27, Brockmann has raised millions of dollars, often through endurance running challenges that have drawn national attention.
He said his approach has been driven by taking action rather than waiting for the perfect plan.
“I think I just took action,” Brockmann said. “I think it was a matter of well, we can always sit back and play out the best scenario of how we’re going to make this work, but I think the worst thing you can do is the inaction around these issues.”
Brockmann, an electrician from Forbes, ran almost 4,000 kilometres from Perth’s Cottesloe Beach to Bondi in Sydney over 46 days. He has since launched Nedd’s Uncomfortable Challenge, encouraging others to push themselves while supporting causes aimed at tackling homelessness.
The four national recipients were selected from the wider group of 33 finalists across the award categories. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the winners represented the best of Australia.
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