Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg has won the 2026 Australian of the Year Award.
Bennell-Pegg is widely considered to be the first Australian astronaut to graduate from the European Space Agency, completing her training at the European Astronaut Centre as the first "astronaut under the Australian flag".
She is also the director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency, and is the first Australian woman to qualify as an astronaut.
The South Australian 41-year-old hopes to become the first person sent into space as part of an Australian mission.
Nominees
The award’s nominees is formed from a pool of state and territory winners for their own Australian of the Year awards.
This year’s state and territory winners are:
- NSW – Dr Alison Thompson OAM
- Victoria – Carrie Bickmore OAM
- South Australia – Katherine Bennell-Pegg
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- Western Australia – Dr Daniela Vecchio
- Queensland – Dr Rolf Gomes
- Tasmania – Dr Jorian Kippax
- Northern Territory – Dr Felix Ho ASM
- ACT – Professor Rose McGready
Last year’s winner was Neale Daniher, a former AFL player and coach who co-founded charity FightMND, which aims to find a cure for motor neurone disease (MND).
Other awards
Western Australian Frank Mitchell won the Local Hero Award for his work creating opportunities for First Nations young people in the construction industry via his company, Kardan, Baldja and Bilyaa.
NSW 27-year-old Nedd Brockmann won the Young Australian of the Year Award for his efforts raising over $2.6 million to end homelessness by running from Perth to Sydney, becoming the fastest ever Australian to do so.
Professor Henry Brodaty, from NSW, was named Senior Australian of the Year for his work transforming the diagnosis, care and prevention of dementia.
