Maddison O’Gradey of Bateau Bay has been named the NSW Young Australian of the Year for 2025.
Recipients for NSW were announced at a ceremony in Sydney on November 12 and will join those from the other states and territories for the national awards to be announced on January 25.
A mental health advocate and researcher, O’Gradey-Lee said taking out the state honour “still seems surreal”.
Currently completing a PhD and Master of Clinical Psychology at the University of NSW, the 27-year-old is committed to improving mental health outcomes.
“When I was doing my honours research on anxiety and depression I recognised the importance of being able to measure mental health from a child’s perspective,” she said.
“And there was nothing for First Nations people in that area.
“I thought of all the wonderful First Nations people who had supported me and I wanted to give back to the community.”
She set out to improve methods of measuring the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people through her PhD research and in 2020 co-founded the Orygen Global Youth Mental Health Fellowship with Nataya Branjerdporn.
“We held consultations with young people globally and kept hearing that mental health advocates with passionate lived experience felt really alone, with no real training available,” she said.
“We wanted to bridge that gap and create a support network.”
So she and Branjerdporn founded the fellowship program, for young people aged 18 to 30 from Australia or any ASEAN country who are passionate about youth mental health and want to create change in the mental health landscape in their respective countries.
The five-month fellowship builds the capacity, skills and voices of young people to create positive change in mental health awareness, policy and systems reform.
The program comprises weekly online sessions and additional mentoring opportunities.
“In our first year we were still building the ship as it sailed,” O’Gradey said.
“But the fact we had over 700 applicants for the first intake showed how important it was.”
The program has now seen 76 participants progress through three fellowship programs across 42 countries.
More than 21,000 young people have been reached through the direct and indirect impact of the program.
Once she completes her university studies, O’Gradey will continue to work in the mental health field, with a special interest in measuring the wellbeing of First Nations children.
“We are also looking to grow the fellowship globally, work in more countries and double our impact,” she said.
“The fellowship is open to everyone, although we do get a high interest from Indigenous people and members of the LGBTQI community.”
For more information on the Australian of the Year Awards, visit australianoftheyear.org.au
Terry Collins