Australia Day Ambassadors

Dr Dimity Dornan AO is a social entrepreneur, bionics advocate, speech pathologist and researcher.

In 1992 she established Hear and Say which is a leading not-for-profit for deaf children learning to listen and speak, particularly with surgically implantable hearing technology like the bionic ear.

Dr Dornan is currently sharing her experience for the benefit of the stakeholders in the wider bionics industry.

As Founder and Chair of Bionics Gamechangers Australia, Dr Dornan is aiming to bring outcomes for many people who use the bionic ear to other new spin-off devices like bionic senses, mobility, brains, and organs. She has been working to promote the bionics industry and help bring new bionics solutions to market for the benefit of people with previously untreatable medical problems. These include not only hearing but also visual, neurological, limb, organ and other conditions.

Dr Dimity Dornan was awarded the Queensland Senior Australian of the Year in 2018.

Carmel Crouch is a long-time advocate for people with a disability and has worked for more than 30-years developing programs and services that provide people with a disability equal opportunities for employment, housing, happiness, health and wellbeing.

She has worked tirelessly to improve language, literacy and numeracy skills, and employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Most recently Carmel has been working to settle refugees and humanitarian migrants giving them opportunities to achieve a new, independent and meaningful life in Australia.

Having held a successful career in both the not-for-profit and commercial sector, Carmel combines her passion and dedication with an astute business acumen to develop mutually beneficial relationships with local business, community organisations, councils, state and federal governments.

As Managing Director of STEPS Group, Carmel’s focus on strategic partnerships has been key to supporting positive outcomes for individuals and establishing stronger communities.

Carmel was a Queensland Senior Australian of the Year nominee in 2018 and 2021, and was awarded 2021 Senior Citizen of the Year in the Sunshine Coast Australia Day Awards.

Distinguished Professor James Dale AC leads the research program at QUT which is involved in the genetic improvement of bananas, the world’s most important fruit crop. The most advanced project is to develop East African Highland bananas with high levels of pro-vitamin A to overcome the scourge of vitamin A deficiency in Uganda. East African Highland bananas are the staple food of Uganda and other countries in East Africa. Dubbed Superbananas, Time Magazine identified these bananas as one of the top 25 inventions of 2014.

The program has also produced Cavendish bananas with resistance to Panama Disease tropical race 4. This disease kills Cavendish and many other bananas and is moving as a slow pandemic from continent to continent, threatening the production of bananas worldwide including Australia. The resistant bananas are now being trialled in the Northern Territory and the best line has been selected for commercialisation.

James was the 2019 Queensland Senior Australian of the Year, he was honoured as a Queensland Great in 2015 and is a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Peter launched Blood Bikes Australia several years ago — a volunteer brigade of motorcyclists that ferry urgent blood and medical supplies between hospitals for free. The money saved on transporting blood and supplies can then go to other healthcare services.

Peter first started making deliveries in Brisbane on his own, but it soon grew to nine volunteers. Blood Bikes Australia has now grown to 500 qualified volunteers across Australia.

His team of riders have made more than 5,000 last-resort pick-ups and deliveries for more than 55 healthcare providers, covering more than 500,000kms. They’ve delivered life-saving blood, biopsies, COVID tests, stem cells, corneas for transplant and clinical trial tests, along with files and patients’ personal items. Peter’s long-term goal is for more hospitals to use Blood Bikes Australia, saving more lives and healthcare dollars.

Peter was a Queensland Local Hero nominee in the 2023 Australian of the Year Awards.

Paul Dellit OAM is an actor, musician and producer. He has performed with the Queensland Theatre, La Boite Theatre Company, Opera Queensland, QPAC and the Adelaide Festival Centre. He has worked as the Musical Director and Director for Queensland Theatre and La Boite Theatre Company.

Paul is currently the Manager of the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre in Bundaberg. In 2022, Paul received the Gold Matilda Award from the Brisbane theatre critics; and then the Alan Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award from the Actors’ & Entertainers’ Benevolent Fund of Queensland, both of these awards were for his Outstanding Contribution to the Arts Industry in Queensland.

In 2001, he was the recipient of a Centenary Medal for his services to the Arts in Australia and in 2017 he was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). For 12 years, Paul was one of QPAC’s most versatile and experienced producers working on projects as diverse as international ballet productions and major concerts featuring Broadway stars. He has spent years raising the profile of the Benevolent Fund, spearheading fundraising campaigns to help performers in need, arranging public memorials for major arts industry figures, and looking for practical ways to support emerging artists.

Gerrard Gosens OAM is a vision-impaired adventurer, three-time Paralympian, project manager, chocolatier, small business owner, sports coach, and motivational speaker. He recently represented Australia in the Para-triathlon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and has represented Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games in the team sport of Goalball. Gerrard returned to his former sporting love, distance running, and represented Australia at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and marathon (42.2km). He has also represented Australia at the 2012 Marathon World Cup, 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and six Athletics World Championships.

Gerrard was honoured with an Order of Australia Medal in 2012 for his outstanding service to sport and people with disability. Gerrard is the owner of Chocolate Moments, creating hand-made chocolates while running two retail chocolate stores in Brisbane and conducting chocolate cooking experiences.

For more than 30-years, Gail Ker OAM, has contributed her vast industry experience and unrivalled expertise in the Australian multicultural, humanitarian and community sectors.

Gail is the Specialist Advisor for Settlement and Community Capacity Building at The Social Policy Group (SPG) – a national not-for-profit body with specialist expertise in social policy and program design. Gail is also the Coordinator of the THRIVE Logan Project, an initiative auspiced by the SPG that is focussed on connecting Logan’s diverse communities and partners to enhance economic and social participation in the Logan area.

Renowned for her expertise in innovative service solutions for newly arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants, Gail is a recognised thought leader in needs-based community planning, innovative business models, social cohesion, strategic partnerships, employment pathways, funding opportunities and strategic direction. In 2010, Gail was awarded an Order of Australia Medal.

After his son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Jay Larkins became passionate about Paralympic Football. Jay established the Brisbane Paralympic Football Program in 2006, and today coaches more than 100 children with a disability, giving them an opportunity to engage in team sport and exercise.

As Director, Jay oversees a team of assistant coaches, managers, volunteers, physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists, who are all committed to helping the young athletes be the best they can. Jay’s ‘never say never’ attitude has been inspirational to many participants in the program, with many athletes representing Australia and others working towards selection for the Australian Paralympic football team.

Having served in the military within Australia and overseas, a firefighter in Brisbane and a professional pilot worldwide, Kevin’s passion for Australian native animals started in the early 90’s.

He held the senior pilot position for the Wirrimanu Aboriginal Community located in Balgo, Western Australia with all aircraft based at Halls Creek. It was there his education of native animals grew along with the passion to assist in bringing awareness to as many people as possible. Kevin then formed the Endangered Species Supporters Australia.

Karen is an international concert artist, songwriter and speaker whose speaking voice led to a unique pop culture status being in over a billion GPS and smartphone devices worldwide, including the original Aussie voice of ’Siri’. In real life, through her songs, concert performances and speaking presentations, she entertains and inspires.

Karen has shared the stage with Norah Jones, Neil Sedaka, Jon English, Cyndi Lauper and Christopher Cross and performed the national anthem at major sporting events in the United States and in Australia.

She is passionate about being an established artist, creating projects to make a lasting impact in Queensland, specifically increasing the arts and culture presence in the Whitsunday region where she is based. It is Karen’s vision that brought to life the inaugural Whitsunday Songwriter Festival in September 2022, as Co-Founder.

Habib Jamal is the President of the Queensland Muslims Inc. (QMI) and former President of the Islamic Council of Queensland (ICQ) and has supported the Muslim community with consistent leadership across more than 60 different nationalities, all with different spiritual and cultural needs.

Habib has led multiple projects during his time as President of the ICQ, including fundraising for bushfire recovery, creating training opportunities for youth, and working jointly with other religions during COVID-19 to develop plans for Places of Worship. He is the Multicultural Ambassador for Mental Health Foundation Australia, and continues his ongoing charity work and fundraising for communities.

Habib continues to work towards the goal of unifying the very diverse Muslim community and supporting others in need.

Melissa McGuinness is a founder of the YOU CHOOSE Program. YOU CHOOSE is a multi-award-winning, not-for-profit charity described as 'Australia's youth-led mission to change driving culture'.

Highly acclaimed by students, parents, police, educators and academics, YOU CHOOSE Youth Road Safety received an award through the 10th Annual Australian Road Safety Awards for School Programs. The program has recently surpassed 100,000 participants Australia-wide.

She continues to pursue best-practice in teen behavioural engagement, youth leadership and insights into how the YOU CHOOSE social mission inspires young people to protect their families and their communities from the preventable misery of road trauma.

Melissa was also a Queensland nominee for the Australian of the Year Awards in 2021 and 2022, and was also the People’s Choice for Gold Coast Bulletin’s Women of the Year in 2020.

Associate Professor Richard Lewandowski graduated from the University of Queensland Medical School in 1981 and become a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in both General Surgery (1990) and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (1993). He also completed a Graduate Diploma in Craniomaxillofacial Surgery in the United States in 1995. Richard founded Operation Smile Australia for which he received a Queensland Greats Award in 2004.

He is a plastic surgeon at Mater, Queensland Children’s, Gold Coast and Cairns Hospitals, as well as being an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Queensland. He has a special interest in improving the lives of those born with cleft and craniofacial conditions. His numerous leadership roles include Director of Surgical Specialties, Mater Adult’s Hospital.

Susie Maroney OAM is a former Australian marathon swimmer. Susie was born with cerebral palsy and initially kept her condition a secret until 2007.

She was first recognised as a long-distance swimmer in 1989 when she achieved third place in the Australian Marathon Swimming Championship for women, aged 14.

In 1990 she became the youngest and fastest Australian to swim the English Channel.

Susie was the two-time winner of the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in 1990 and 1994 and won the 26.4km International Self-Transcendence Marathon Swim in 1994. She completed the fastest female two-way English Channel crossing in 1991 at age 17.

At age 22, she swam a record 197km from Mexico to Cuba, covering the longest distance without flippers in the open sea. Susie also held the Guinness Book of World Records listing for the longest distance swum in 24-hours (93.6kms) until 1997.

Susie completed her farewell swim on 23 February 2003 by swimming from the Opera House at Circular Quay to Manly Wharf.

Her awards and honours include being awarded an Order of Australia, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the NSW Government, and induction to the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ross McKinnon AM is a retired curator-in-charge of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha. Internationally regarded as one of the world’s leading sub-tropical botanic gardens, it features significant plant collections including the world’s largest representative collection of Australian native rainforest plants.

In June 2014, Ross was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the pursuit of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

Douglas Millican has been an integral part of North Queensland Legacy for the past six years. In that time, he has mentored many legatees and currently supports many beneficiaries ranging from 4 to 102 years of age. Douglas is now the Vice-President of the RAAF Association Townsville.

Douglas works tirelessly in his community and volunteers countless hours to the cause. Douglas also attends the local defence force resettlement seminars providing advice on life in Townsville post separation from defence. Douglas was the Townsville City Council 2022 Australia Day Citizen of the Year.

William (Bill) Nancarrow became involved in powerlifting training in 2000 after a motorbike accident. In 2002, he met the team at Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association in Brisbane and forged a great relationship with the team, attending several state and national competitions over the next few years, building on his strength, and forming close friendships.

After some setbacks in 2006, Bill was offered an assistant coaching role at Sporting Wheelies. He has held many assistant coach, coach and team manager positions over his career with some highlights including the Beijing Paralympics and the recent Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

In 2022, Bill was asked by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to coach and lead the Pacific Islands Para Powerlifting Team to prepare them for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Bill has been a recipient of the Col Marsh Volunteer of the Year and received the Coach of the Year award in 2017.

Peter Timms is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Sunshine Coast. He is a microbiologist and a highly regarded global authority in the major infectious disease threats to koalas, including Chlamydia and Koala Retrovirus, where he is recognised as the research authority.

Based in Queensland, Peter is leading the race to develop vaccines to safeguard this Australian icon from extinction—championing the underpinning science, its trialling and translation, and giving further to Queensland by supervising PhD students, mentoring early career researchers and working with numerous local koala carer and rescue groups.

Timms' team is spearheading the development of a vaccine. The results suggest that the vaccine could be a game-changer for the koala's future survival. Peter's inspiring research and passion for koala science may be the critical factor to save our Australian koala population.

Emeritus Professor Roland (Roly) Sussex has a PhD in Russian and general linguistics from the University of London. From 1974 to 1989, Roly was a Professor of Russian at the University of Melbourne, and from 1989 to 2010, a Professor of Applied Language Studies at the University of Queensland.

Roly has ongoing research projects in language, society and culture, intercultural communication, communication and pain, Australian English, and language communication in digital media and online learning. He has been broadcasting weekly in a segment with ABC Radio since 1997.

Roly has written several books which include his most recent book published in 2021, Word for Today.

Selina Tomasich is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hair Aid Inc, an Australian not-for-profit organisation that sends teams of hairdressers to poverty-stricken areas to work directly with people in need. The teams teach them the skills required to increase their livelihood, allowing them to earn money to feed, clothe and house themselves and their children.

Selina is also a Learning Support Advisor, working directly with nursing students, ensuring best practice online learning as well as supporting and mentoring educators to deliver exceptional training needs.

Taj Pabari is one of Australia's youngest and most successful social entrepreneurs.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of The ASE Group which has partnered with government, the private sector and educational institutions to deliver real and authentic education, entrepreneurial and employment programs to more than 180,000 young people, aged between 5 and 24 years.

Taj was named the 2014 Australian Young Innovator of the Year, and was awarded Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2017.

He has presented to the former US Vice President, Al Gore in Brisbane; joked with Hollywood Tycoon, Will Smith in Hong Kong; and sipped tea with the Prime Minister of Australia in Canberra.

His story has been featured by Sunrise, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, National Geographic, ABC, Nickelodeon and CNBC.

Taj has also appeared as an education commentator on Channel 9 and Channel 10, given three TEDx talks and has been a keynote speaker at the World Science Festival alongside Nobel Laureate, Brian Schmidt.

Daniel Clarke is a passionate conservationist for the critically endangered orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra. Since 2008, Daniel, with the help of his brother William, has highlighted the species' plight and has raised nearly $1 million to help protect the animals and their habitat. These important funds have supported orangutan care centres by building new enclosures and enabling investment in veterinary equipment.

Daniel and William’s literary work on orangutan conservation has been incorporated into the NSW Department of Education curriculum and Daniel has spoken to more than 60,000 students Australia wide.

Additionally, their combined conservation efforts have been recognised by former US President Barack Obama, Dame Dr Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough.

Daniel is also a passionate disability advocate, raising awareness and speaking at events promoting inclusivity of people with a disability. He continues to work with organisations and the community, co-designing programs for young people with a disability to empower them to achieve their dreams.

Along with his brother William, Daniel was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2021.

Michael Sanford walked away from a full-time job in 2019 to tackle a major crisis overwhelming the South Burnett region of South-East Queensland – suicide.

The Burnett local area records the second highest suicide rate in Australia.

As a former local youth worker, Michael had seen the ongoing gaps in mental health services and the need to address them. He founded Bunyarra Wellbeing Co and immediately began to tackle how the community talks about and responds to mental health and suicide.

In 2020, he partnered with a Queensland Government energy provider to remove any barriers to employees accessing mental health services. He developed and delivered a program designed to improve mental health services on worksites – with five suicide interventions recorded in the first five weeks.

Since then, he’s created and delivered multiple programs to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace and more broadly in the community.

Ranandy Stanley has significantly contributed to community outreach efforts as part of the Hope Centre Logan team and consistently goes above and beyond in service to the City of Logan.

Since 2007, she has been central in providing crisis-care and emergency food relief to families in need, as well as working as a cultural liaison for the Samoan community.

Ranandy is also the founder of Queensland Samoa Netball and has served as the secretary of the Woodridge State High School P&C since 2018.

In 2019, Ranandy launched the Hope Centre’s Community Connect Lunch, which aims to link marginalised people with community agencies. The lunch is prepared by Woodridge State High School students and is a regular meeting of more than 100 people providing important connections to community groups and services.

In 2022, Ranandy was the winner of the Logan Citizen of the Year Award. Her passion lies in uniting communities for change and witnessing individuals thrive.

Nerelie Teese has been an educator for more than 30 years and is a qualified Laughter Yoga Group Leader in Beaudesert through the Scenic Rim Regional Council's, Be Healthy and Active Program.

She co-founded the international literacy project, Books Through the Seas and was instrumental in sourcing thousands of books for school and community libraries in the Philippines. An award-winning Bush Poet, Nerelie has presented her poetry across Australia as well as in Canada and America and in aged care and retirement homes. She was also a travelling performer on The Ghan and appeared on The Great Australian Doorstep TV program.

Uncle Barry Watson is the Elder-in-Residence at Harris Fields State School and has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood for many years.

He is a descendant of the Wergaia people of Western Victoria and has lived in Logan City since 1979.

Uncle Barry has developed many early childhood resources and produced several children's books, provides cultural awareness training to government and non-government organisations, and is a respected Community Elder and member of many local action groups.

He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service in Brisbane, and is currently the President of the Indigenous Sports and Recreation Foundation.

In 2015, Uncle Barry was awarded the NAIDOC Elder of the Year for South East Queensland and was a nominee in the Queensland Australian of the Year Awards in the Local Hero category. In 2019, he received a Queensland Day Award for his community work and in 2021, was a finalist for the Queensland Reconciliation Awards in the Education category.

In 2014, Natasha Johnston founded Drought Angels Ltd, a service that delivers care packages and financial assistance to thousands of drought-stricken farming families across Australia. Originally expected to be a three-to-six-month project to support farmers impacted by the drought, today Drought Angels has raised more than $23 million to support over 9,000 farming families all over Australia impacted by natural disasters.

In 2021, Natasha was awarded the Queensland Local Hero and The Courier-Mail’s Queenslander of the Year.

Following his appointment as Ipswich's first paediatrician in 1974, Dr Robert (Bob) McGregor set about raising funds in his new community to improve the rudimentary paediatric facilities.

Bob chaired a small committee at Ipswich Hospital which has raised more than $120,000 over the past 30-years to brighten the stay of young people and supported medical equipment, child-friendly nurses’ uniforms, and toys in the special care nursery.

Bob has served in many capacities throughout his long career. By 1980 he had established effective training for University of Queensland undergraduates in both primary and secondary level paediatrics.

Following more than two-years of negotiation with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, he secured accreditation for trainee paediatric registrars in 1991. In doing so Ipswich became the first non-tertiary teaching hospital to be honoured.

He served for more than 36-years as Chair of the West Moreton Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Team. Throughout this period, Bob was especially focused on developing programs to prevent these issues in society, leveraging the mainstream media and public meetings.

Bob has also served on the Boards of West Moreton Health, St Andrews Hospital Ipswich, and the Ipswich Hospital Foundation. He has also served on the Board of the Asthma Foundation of Queensland and the Epilepsy Association of West Moreton.

As a keen cyclist, Bob founded the annual Ipswich 100 Bike Ride in 2000 which has raised more than $1.7m for local charities.

He has also been honoured with the highest awards from both Lions International (Mervyn Jones) and Rotary International (Paul Harris) for his community work.