Multicultural Awards
Awards for individuals and organisations that have contributed to our multicultural community.
Nominations close 26 July at midnight.
Nominations
The ACT Multicultural Awards recognise contributions to our multicultural community. The awards acknowledge the people and organisations who support an inclusive community.
Nominations for the 2026 awards open on Friday 26 June 2026 at 9:00 am.
Nominations close on Sunday 26 July 2026 at midnight.
Only applications completed and submitted on time will be assessed.
Who you can nominate
When the awards are open you can nominate individuals or organisations doing excellent work in their field. This could be in:
- business
- advocacy
- media
- art
- culture and language
- settlement services.
Nominees must be based in or live in the ACT or the Canberra region.
Guidelines
Check the eligibility criteria in the guidelines before you submit a nomination.
Information Sessions
For support with your nomination, Multicultural ACT will host 2 information sessions to help you.
Information Sessions:
- Wednesday 8 July 2026: at Room 0.17 and 0.18, Ground Floor, 220 London Circuit
- Thursday 9 July 2026: 12:30pm to 1:30pm online via Microsoft Teams
Contact ma@act.gov.au to register for a session.
Award categories
You can nominate an individual or organisation for more than one award category.
Multicultural Individual Champion
This award acknowledges outstanding efforts to make Canberra a more welcoming community.
Community Organisation Multicultural Champion
This award is for services that have benefited the local multicultural community.
Outstanding Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion
This award recognises people in the community sector for supporting cultural diversity and inclusion.
Multicultural Art, Media or Culture Award
This award is for promoting multiculturalism in the local community through art, media or cultural activities.
Lifetime Achievement Award
This award has been included to mark the 15th anniversary of the awards in 2026.
This award acknowledges an individual or an organisation that has made a longstanding and continued contribution to promoting multiculturalism over many years.
How to nominate
Check that nominations are open. Make sure you have the consent of the nominee.
To nominate online:
- Provide accurate information in the nomination form.
- Include contact details of 2 referees who aren't family members and have knowledge of their work.
- Submit your nomination before the close date.
Your nominee must not have received:
- an ACT Multicultural Award in the past 3 years
- a high commended in the same category in last year's awards.
The ACT Multicultural Award for Lifetime Achievement is a stand-alone category to mark the 15th anniversary of the awards. Nominees who have received an ACT Multicultural Award within the past 3 years are eligible for nomination in this category.
2025 winners
ACT Multicultural Individual Champion Award
- Winner: Sanjay Sharma
- Highly commended: Aqila Ziae
ACT Multicultural Community Organisation Champion Award
- Winner: Safe@School Taskforce
ACT Multicultural Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion
- Winner: Dr Nilofar Ebrahimi
- Highly commended: Santosh Kumar Gupta
ACT Multicultural Art, Media or Culture Award
- Winner: Canberra Dragon Dance
- Highly commended: Pradeep Timalsina
These people, businesses and groups work hard to make Canberra a place where different cultures are celebrated.
Each winner shows a strong commitment to making our city more diverse, inclusive and welcoming.
Our award winners with their awards:
Aqila Ziae - Highly Commended Individual Champion
Laura Sant’Ana and Jessie Atkins from Safe@School Taskforce - Community Organisation Champion Award
Sanjay Sharma - Individual Champion Award
Wilson Lo and Hayley from Canberra Dragon Dance - Arts, Media or Culture Award
Dr Nilofar Ebrahimi - Outstanding Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion.
Past winners
Find past winners of the Multicultural Awards.
Contact us
Email
ma@act.gov.au
Post
Multicultural ACT
Health and Community Services Directorate
GPO Box 158
Canberra ACT 2601