After her release from prison in 1992, Debbie Kilroy established Sisters Inside to fight for the human rights of incarcerated women and to address gaps in services available to them and their children. Since then, Debbie has completed four tertiary degrees – in social work, forensic mental health and law – and was the first and only former prisoner to be admitted as a legal practitioner in Queensland. As the Chief Executive Officer of Sisters Inside, Debbie works at the coalface of human rights activism and her powerful advocacy to highlight the over-representation of Aboriginal people in Australia’s prisons has earned her many accolades. She has spearheaded a long list of ground-breaking programs which have broken the cycle of imprisonment. Debbie has overcome her own personal obstacles to rebuild a life that is lived in service to others and she works long and hard to improve the circumstances of the powerless, the voiceless and the disadvantaged.

A Group Captain in the RAAF and former Lieutenant Colonel in the Army seeing operational service in East Timor three times, Catherine McGregor announced that she was changing her gender in 2012, moving from Malcolm to Catherine. Since then, Catherine has told the stories of thousands of hidden transgender Australians through her own lived experience, speaking at forums such as the National Press Club in Canberra and at capital city writers’ festivals. Her story as a leader for the transgender community has been documented in the Australian Women's Weekly and national newspapers and she’s featured in the ABC’s Australian Story. A well-known cricket commentator, author and political columnist, Catherine’s remarkably brave journey has not been without its challenges but it has brought her great personal contentment and inspired others to be true to themselves. With large stocks of courage, eloquence and confronting candour, Catherine has become a leading figure in the transgender community and as a result Australians have gained a greater understanding and acceptance of the transgender community.

While everyone else is fleeing war zones and natural disasters, Lucy Strickland is running towards them.  Representing some of the world’s most recognised and respected humanitarian organisations – and speaking six languages – Lucy has dedicated her career to improving the quality of children’s lives. For the past 15 years, Lucy has worked tirelessly in more than 20 countries. In Afghanistan, Lucy focused her efforts on fighting female education exclusion by returning girls to the classroom. She was at the frontline during Haiti’s cholera outbreak and in South Sudan during its independence and as the country descended into tribal conflict. In the aftermath of the 2015 Nepalese earthquake, Lucy established temporary schools and trained teachers in psychosocial support of children. Lucy’s current role as Global Education in Emergencies Specialist has taken her to Northern Iraq, where she's designed education and protection programs for children displaced by the ongoing crisis with the Islamic State. Lucy’s personal sacrifice illustrates the significant impact one person can make on the world.