Award Categories 2026

This award recognises and honours the achievements of young people who have successfully pursued their personal goals while fulfilling caring duties, or who have advocated for those occupying caring roles. A young carer is anyone under the age of 25 who has a family member or friend that they support with disability, chronic illness, mental health challenges, drug or alcohol dependency, or who is frail due to age. Young carers demonstrate exceptional tenacity, commitment, and brilliance in managing responsibilities beyond their years and overcoming challenges and disadvantages. It acknowledges their ability to achieve personal, educational, or health-related goals while providing care to their family or community members.

In a time where media is immediate, far-reaching and constantly evolving, this Award celebrates nominees who have committed to fair and balanced reporting on young people or youth issues. Open to young people working across platforms including journalism, photography, video, social media, podcasting, digital content and emerging media, this award celebrates those using storytelling to inform, influence, and create meaningful impact. The award acknowledges the role the media plays in forming public opinion about young people and youth issues in our community. Charmaine Dragun was a recipient of a WA Youth Media Award for an outstanding journalist, and this Memorial Award has been created in her honour and is supported by the Dragun Family.

Young people look to their peers for inspiration. In the important and often challenging years before adulthood, it’s vital young people can turn to their peers for support, encouragement and inspiration. The Commissioner for Children and Young People Rising Voice Award is open to young people aged 10–17 who show outstanding dedication to making a positive change in their community and demonstrate peer leadership through their chosen pursuit – be it in their school and education, through sports, student council, community involvement, their work, extracurricular activities or any other relevant pursuits.

Whether it's research in science, paving the way in arts, or building stronger and more sustainable communities, young people are the future. They are driving change, inspiring others, and showing what’s possible when passion meets action. This award celebrates young people aged 10–25 years who are making a difference across technology, arts, science, innovation, and/or community. It recognises those who have the courage to take action to create positive change, make a lasting impact, and demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges. This is for the changemakers shaping a better future for young people and their communities.

This award recognises the accomplishments of young people aged between 10–25 with lived experience, be it housing instability, disability, discrimination, mental health, stigma, systemic barriers or personal disadvantage, who have worked through significant challenges, changed attitudes, and elevated their peers.

Young people deserve great youth workers. At every youth centre, support service, and even a growing number of schools, there’s a team of dedicated youth workers developing programs, lending an empathetic ear and providing a vital support structure for young people in need. This award celebrates the efforts of those youth workers, whose passion and dedication change lives. The category winner will be eligible for the WA Young Person of the Year Award if they are aged 25 or under as at Friday 11 September 2026.

History shows us that young people are at the forefront of social change. From fights for gender equality, anti-racism, and disability rights in decades past to contemporary movements for marriage equality, Black Lives Matter, and School Strikes 4 Climate, young people are at the forefront of grassroots activism, political campaigning and sophisticated social media advocacy. The Mission Australia Young Changemaker Award celebrates those young people aged 10–25 fighting against injustice, discrimination, and inequality, working to create meaningful change in their local communities and the world they’re set to inherit.

Young people are at the forefront of creative movements globally. Be it a new wave of artistic expression, an innovative form of community arts, or the intersection of creativity and activism, progress in the arts is frequently youth-centred and youth-led. The Creative Contribution Award celebrates those young people who are using creative and artistic practice to tell compelling stories, reflect the world, and uplift their peers. This award is open to artists, arts facilitators, art teachers and arts workers aged 10–25 working across any discipline, including community arts, visual arts, film, theatre, performance, dance, music, literature, community arts, media arts, and interdisciplinary practice.

We know that young people are frequently driving change in our society. We also know that collaboration is often the genesis of great ideas. This award celebrates a youth-led initiative driven by young people, collaborating and channeling their collective efforts to generate meaningful social impact. Finalists will demonstrate a passion for making change in their community, a focus on inclusivity and collaboration in their practice, and an innovative approach to problem-solving and breaking down barriers. This award is open to groups led and driven by young people aged 10–25, including those incubated within a school program, university, TAFE, or similar education institution, within a Local Government, a youth initiative, or a youth group. This award is open to both formally organised, auspiced groups and informal collectives.

Across WA, organisations are achieving great outcomes for young people, but sometimes it takes a meeting of minds, cultures, and ideas to generate real impact. This Award celebrates outstanding projects in the youth sector that emerge from collaboration, skill-sharing, and a cross-pollination of ideas between two or more organisations.