New Zealander of the Year Awards


The New Zealander of the Year Awards, currently known as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, celebrate the achievements of New Zealanders and were founded in 2010 by Australian Jeffrey John Hopp. Nominations are accepted from the general public and a judging panel selects finalists in each category. The awards are presented in Auckland in March each year.
WWW nzawards.org.nz

Categories

The categories for the awards are:

Young New Zealander of the Year

Nominees must be aged between 15 and 30 years of age.
YearRecipientPortrait
2010Divya Dhar
2011Jamie Fenton
2012Sam Johnson
2013Sam Judd
2014Parris Goebel
2015Guy Ryan
2016Lydia Ko
2017Rez Gardi
2018David Cameron
2019Kendall Flutey
2020Georgia Hale
2021Jazz Thornton
2022Ezra Hirawani
2023Shaneel Lal
2024Simran Kaur
2025Nu'uali'i Eteroa Lafaele

Senior New Zealander of the Year

Nominees must be over 70 years old.
YearRecipientPortrait
2010Eion Edgar
2011Alison Neill
2012Malcolm Cameron
2013Ian Grant
2014Frances Denz
2015Donald Sew Hoy
2016John Russell
2017Sue Paterson
2018Kim Workman
2019Bill Glass
2020Margaret Sparrow
2021Doug Wilson
2022Tipene O'Regan
2023Mark Dunajtschik
2024Bob Francis
2025Elizabeth Ellis

Local Hero of the Year

The award is made to an individual who is making or has made a significant contribution to their local community.
YearRecipientPortrait
2010Sam Chapman
2011Billy Graham
2012Henare O'Keefe
2013Jim Morunga
2014Cecilia Sullivan-Grant
2015Billie Jordan
2016Selwyn Cook
2017Hayden Smith
2018Ricky Houghton
2019Pera Barrett
2020Nick Loosley
2021Shannon Te Huia
2022David Letele
2023Ellen Nelson
2024Sally Walker
2025Subash Chandar K

Community of the Year

Regional or national community groups, iwi, geographical regions or collectives of people in any sector are eligible for the award.
YearRecipient
2010Victory Village, Nelson
2011Gibbston Community Association
2012Paeroa
2013Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ
2014Victim Support
2015Paihia
2016Community Fruit Harvesting
2017Randwick Park
2018Canterbury Charity Hospital Trust
2019Pillars
2020Good Bitches Baking
2021Christchurch Mosque Victims Group
2022Matakaoa
2023Kindness Collective
2024Cyclone Gabrielle volunteers
2025Lake Alice survivors

Innovator of the Year

The category was introduced in 2014.
YearRecipientPortrait
2014Sean Simpson
2015Peter Beck
2016Hyvan Anaesthesia Ltd
2017Ed Gane
2018Team New Zealand design team
2019Ian Taylor
2020Bill Buckley
2021Ranjna Patel
2022Mark Sagar
2023Emily Blythe
2024Cecilia Robinson
2025Emma Lewisham

Sustainability Leader of the Year

The category was introduced in 2022, and was known as Environmental Hero of the year from 2022 to 2024.
YearRecipientPortrait
2022Charmaine Bailie
2023Camden Howitt
2024Nicola MacDonald
2025Deborah Manning

Legacy Award

The Legacy Award was inaugurated in 2024, and recognises an individual or individuals whose contribution to New Zealand over a sustained period of time has played a significant role in defining national identity.
YearRecipientPortrait
2024Wayne Smith
2025Mark Dunajtschik and Dorothy Spotswood

Nomination and selection process

Any member of the public can nominate an individual, organisation or group for an award. A judging panel of one executive judge and two or three additional judges creates a list of semi-finalists, followed by a shortlist of three finalists for each award. The finalists are invited to the New Zealander of the Year Awards Gala in Auckland and the winners are announced on the night. Local Hero Medal recipients are awarded throughout December each year.
All nominees receive a certificate of achievement, and each of the six category award winners receives a trophy and a prize of NZ$5,000.
In 2020, the executive judges were: