Mayor's Citizen of the Year Awards

Citizen of the Year 2026 
Recognises outstanding service to the community over the last 5 years. 

Young Citizen of the Year 2026 
Recognises outstanding service to the community over the last 5 years by a young person aged 12 -25yrs. 

Sportsperson of the Year 2026
Recognises outstanding service to the sporting community over the last 5 years.  

Environmental Citizen of the Year 2026
Recognises the service to the community through environmental and sustainable practices which benefit the community.  

The awards are open to all Australian citizens living in the City of Ryde. The Young Citizen of the Year Award is open to Australian citizens between the ages of 12 and 25 years (as at Monday 26 January 2026). The awards are held under the auspices of the Australia Day Council of NSW and judging is conducted by a local selection panel. Winners are announced at Council’s Citizen of the year Awards Ceremony which will take place on Monday 26 January 2026.  

Carefully read the guidelines before nominating. Nominations closed on Sunday 9 November 2025.

In assessing a nomination, the judging panel may consider:

• Achievements in the year immediately prior to the nomination of the Award, as well as consideration of the nominee’s past achievements, longevity of service and ongoing contribution to the City of Ryde
• Broad community involvement
• The benefit to the community from the nominee’s service or contribution
• Other recognition of the nominee's work
• Whether the nominee worked as part of a team and their role within the team
• Whether the nominee has had to overcome any particular challenges or hurdles

1. Any individual who has made a noteworthy contribution to the City of Ryde during the current year and/or given outstanding service to the local community over a number of years shall be eligible
2. Only nominations submitted on the approved nomination form or via the online web form will be accepted
3. Nominations may be submitted by an individual or an organisation
4. Young Citizen of the Year must be between 12 and 25 years of age as at Monday 26 January 2026
5. Previous Award recipients are eligible to be nominated again however only the contribution to the community since the last award will be considered during the judging process
6. Unsuccessful nominees can be re-nominated in following years
7. All Nominees must be residents of the City of Ryde
8. Persons cannot nominate themselves
9. Supporting written material and copies of other documents may be attached to the nomination form if desired
10. The decision(s) of the judges are final, and no correspondence will be entered into
11. The judging panel will consist of the Mayor or delegate of the City of Ryde, CEO or delegate of the City of Ryde and current Citizen of the Year  
12. Current City of Ryde Staff and Councillors cannot be nominated for an award
13. City of Ryde Staff and Councillors may nominate people in the community with the exception of members of the Judging panel
14. Nominations close at 11.59pm on Sunday 9 November 2025
15. Those selected as finalists should be available to attend the City of Ryde's Citizen of the Year Awards Ceremony on Monday 26 January 2026 (inability to attend does not disqualify entry)
16. Nomination information in relation to winners may be used for publicity purposes
17. Winners may be asked to make themselves available without cost for publicity purposes
18. Organisations or individuals can submit a maximum of 2 nominations per organisation