Canberra woman Valmai Dempsey, who has dedicated more than 50 years of her life to helping others, has been named the 2022 Senior Australian of the Year at a ceremony at the National Arborteum this evening.

The other 2022 Australians of the Year are: Dylan Alcott OAM – an athlete and philanthropist leading change for people with a disability; Dr Daniel Nour – a young doctor taking medicine to the streets to help marginalised people; and Shanna Whan – a woman changing the way rural Australia uses and talks about alcohol.

For the first time in the Award program’s 62-year history, a person with a disability has been named Australian of the Year.

The 2022 Australian of the Year is athlete, paralympian, philanthropist, media commentator and advocate, Dylan Alcott OAM, of Melbourne, Victoria.

Dylan Alcott’s leadership and commitment to developing opportunities for people with a disability is making an impact for thousands of Australians.

As a teenager, Dylan hated being in a wheelchair because he didn’t see anyone like him in mainstream media. Then sport changed everything.  

A gold medal at the Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball preceded three more in Paralympic competition after a cross-code switch to tennis. Now, with 23 quad wheelchair Grand Slam titles and a Newcombe Medal, Dylan Alcott recently became the first male in history, in any form of tennis, to win the Golden Slam.  

Amid his training and competition load as a world-class athlete, Dylan notes that his most profound impact has come from beyond the field of play.  He founded the Dylan Alcott Foundation to provide scholarships and grant funding to marginalised Australians with a disability.

He also authored his best-selling autobiography, Able, and co-founded Get Skilled Access. In addition, the 31-year-old’s AbilityFest is Australia’s first and only inclusive, fully accessible music festival. In realising his childhood dream, Dylan holds several high-profile media roles spanning TV, radio and podcasting. 

The 2022 Senior Australian of the Year is 71-year-old St John Ambulance volunteer Valmai Dempsey of Canberra, ACT.

Starting as a cadet volunteer while still in primary school, for more than 50 years Valmai (Val) Dempsey has dedicated her life to St John Ambulance. She’s one of the ACT’s longest-serving volunteers and, year after year, she still dedicates more hours than any other volunteer. 

In 2020, Val faced her biggest challenge yet as a St John Ambulance volunteer – first with the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, she led 40 fellow volunteers as they supported fire-affected communities during the emergency that stretched over many weeks. 

Then when the pandemic hit, Val displayed unwavering commitment to the St John team, despite heavy impacts on team morale. Without hesitation, she personally contacted every volunteer to check they were ‘doing OK’ in terms of welfare, mental health and morale. It is these tireless commitments to St John that has led many in the community to know her lovingly as ‘Aunty Val’.  

Read more about Valmai Dempsey here: ACT Senior of the Year dedicates her life to saving Canberrans

The 2022 Young Australian of the Year is the 26-year-old founder of Street Side Medics, Dr Daniel Nour, of Sydney, NSW.

Identifying a gap in the healthcare of vulnerable people in NSW, Dr Daniel Nour founded Street Side Medics in August 2020. It’s a not-for-profit, GP-led mobile medical service for people experiencing homelessness.

With 145 volunteers, and four clinics across NSW, Street Side Medics has changed the lives of more than 300 patients. It has treated many communicable and non-communicable illnesses, dealt with neglected medical needs, and detected conditions that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. This includes diabetes, thyroid disorders, hepatitis C, HIV, heart disease and cancer.

Despite working full-time at Royal North Shore Hospital, 26-year-old Daniel has rarely missed a clinic across the four sites since Street Side Medics launched. He volunteers his afternoons to ensure the clinics are run smoothly and patients are receiving the care they deserve.

With his leadership and social consciousness, Daniel is committed to making a real difference to the lives of many Australians. He’s also making significant improvements to society.

The 2022 Australia’s Local Hero is the founder and CEO of Sober in the Country, 47-year-old Shanna Whan of Narrabri, NSW.

Shanna Whan is single-handedly creating radical social impact and change around how we discuss and use alcohol in rural Australia.

When Shanna almost lost her life to alcohol addiction in 2015, giving up drinking was just the start. What began as volunteer work to help others locally, evolved into a grassroots charity called Sober in the Country (SITC), which now has a national reach and offers peer support, powerful broadscale advocacy and education.

Shanna donated about 20,000 hours to the cause and now travels on invitation as the spokesperson for SITC. She has appeared on numerous major national media platforms, in person, in paddocks and at conferences.

She courageously shared her harrowing journey to sobriety on Australian Story in 2019. Now, through the national charity, the 47-year-old is amplifying the essential, life-saving message and charity campaign that it is always “OK to say no” to booze.

Chair of the National Australia Day Council, Danielle Roche OAM, congratulated the 2022 Australian of the Year Award recipients.

“The 2022 Australians of the Year are great examples of the Australian spirit. Their courage, determination and fearlessness are an inspiration to us all,” she said.

“Dylan Alcott is a champion who has risen to the top of the world rankings through sheer grit and determination. His Golden Slam is an incredible feat, the first for any male tennis player.

“Dylan is an inspirational Australian on and off the tennis court. Through the Dylan Alcott Foundation, he is giving young Australians facing disadvantage the promise of a better future.

“Val Dempsey embodies the Australian spirit of volunteering. She has donated her time to the service of St John Ambulance for more than half a century, helping countless Australians.

“Dr Daniel Nour and Street Side Medics work to make sure no Australian gets left behind, providing vital medical care and lifesaving treatment to those experiencing homelessness and who might otherwise fall through the cracks

“Shanna [Whan] is an inspiring and tireless local hero who not only overcame her own life-threatening challenges, but turned the experience into a force for good. Her Sober in the Country movement is changing lives across remote and rural Australia.”

Dylan Alcott returns to Melbourne immediately after the 2022 Australian of the Year Awards Ceremony to play at The Australian Open tennis tournament on 26 January.

Dr Daniel Nour, Val Dempsey and Shanna Whan will attend the National Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony in Canberra on Australia Day morning, Wednesday 26 January 2022.  They will then travel to Sydney for the evening’s Australia Day events. Nominations for the 2023 Australian of the Year are now open.

If there’s someone you think should be considered, you can nominate them now at australianoftheyear.org