By Ben McEachenTuesday 16 Nov 2021NewsReading Time: 4 minutes
Update Thursday 27 January 2022: The Australian of the Year Awards 2022 were announced on Tuesday night, 26 January 2022, at a ceremony in Canberra, where Dr Daniel Nour was named Young Australian of the Year for 2022.
A doctor who chose to deliver medical care to people experiencing homelessness was crowned 2022 NSW Young Australian of the Year, and has now been recognised as the national Young Australian of the Year.
Dr Daniel Nour is founder of Street Side Medics, a fantastic not-for-profit that customised vans to bring vital healthcare to people sleeping rough in New South Wales.
On November 15, Nour was honoured alongside waste research scientist Professor Veena Sahajwalla, who was named 2022 NSW Australian of the Year. Sahajwalla is Founding Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology at the University of New South Wales
The NSW Senior Australian of the Year is Abla Kadous, President of Islamic Women’s Welfare Association. Shanna Whan is NSW Local Hero, who also became the national recipient of the Australian Local Hero award. She founded and leads Sober in the Country, an advocacy and support network about alcohol consumption in regional Australia.
As Nour told Hope Breakfast, he conceived Street Side Medics after a stark incident during his final year of study, while doing an elective in London. He helped a man experiencing homelessness having a seizure outside a train station. Afterwards, Nour spoke with a woman experiencing homelessness who told him about the man’s history of seizures.
“Why has he not gone to see his local GP?” Nour asked her.
“The healthcare system barely cares about you, let alone us,” she answered.
“As someone who was about to graduate from medicine and commit his career to improving the healthcare of those who are vulnerable… that slapped me in the face.”
“As someone who was about to graduate from medicine and commit his career to improving the healthcare of those who are vulnerable… that slapped me in the face.”
Upon Nour’s return to Australia, he researched healthcare for our homeless population. “What if we took healthcare to them?” the young doctor wondered. Street Side Medic was born.
Source: Street Side Medics Facebook
Nour works full-time at Royal North Shore Hospital but the 26-year-old volunteers at the mobile clinics during the afternoon. Street Side Medics has 145 volunteers and four separate clinics across NSW, treating often neglected medical needs or undetected conditions (from diabetes to cancer).
Nour was named NSW Young Australian of the Year because of “his leadership and social consciousness” and a commitment “to making a real difference to the lives of many Australians. … He’s also making significant improvements to society”.
He was named Young Australian of the Year 2022 for “identifying a gap in the healthcare of vulnerable people in New South Wales… and making significant improvements to society”.
NSW Awards
2022 Australian of the Year Finalists
Update: the winners of the Australian of the Year Awards were announced on Tuesday 25 January 2022, with the following in bold awarded the awards.
- ACT Australian of the Year – Patrick Mills
- NSW Australian of the Year – Professor Veena Sahajwalla (Kensington, Sydney)
- NT Australian of the Year – Leanne Liddle (Darwin)
- QLD Australians of the Year – Sue and Lloyd Clarke (Camp Hill, Brisbane)
- SA Australian of the Year – Professor Helen Marshall (Beaumont, Adelaide)
- Tasmania Australian of the Year – Craig Leeson (Burnie)
- Victoria Australian of the Year – Dylan Alcott OAM (Melbourne)
- WA Australian of the Year – Paul Litherland (Perth)
2022 Senior Australia of the Year Finalists
- ACT Senior Australian of the Year – Valmai Dempsey (Canberra)
- NSW Senior Australian of the Year – Abla Tohamy Kadous (Sydney)
- NT Senior Australian of the Year – Robyne Burridge OAM (Darwin)
- QLD Senior Australian of the Year – Dr Colin Dillon AM APM (McDowall, Brisbane)
- SA Senior Australian of the Year – Mark Le Messurier (Adelaide)
- Tasmania Senior Australian of the Year – Bruce French AO (Burnie)
- Victoria Senior Australian of the Year – Gaye Hamilton (Inverloch)
- WA Senior Australian of the Year – Janice Standen (Perth)
2022 Young Australian of the Year Finalists
- ACT Young Australian of the Year – Sean Dondas (Canberra)
- NSW Young Australian of the Year – Dr Daniel Nour (Sylvania Waters, Sydney)
- NT Young Australian of the Year – Sizolwenkosi Fuyana (Palmerston)
- QLD Young Australian of the Year – Dr Tahnee Bridson (Mareeba)
- SA Young Australian of the Year – Dr Trudy Lin (Kensington Park, Adelaide)
- Tasmania Young Australian of the Year – Kaytlyn Johnson (Lapoinya)
- Victoria Young Australian of the Year – Ahmed Hassan (Brunswick)
- WA Young Australian of the Year – Kendall Whyte (Claremont)
2022 Australia’s Local Hero
- ACT Local Hero – Luke Ferguson (Canberra)
- NSW Local Hero – Shanna Whan (Narrabri)
- NT Local Hero – Rebecca Forrest (Darwin)
- QLD Local Hero – Saba Abraham (Brisbane)
- SA Local Hero – Monique Bareham (Plympton Park, Adelaide)
- Tasmania Local Hero – Kimberley Smith APM (Hobart)
- Victoria Local Hero – Leo op den Brouw (Mallacoota)
- WA Local Hero – Craig Hollywood (Perth)
“From quiet and lifelong dedication to overcoming challenges or finding purpose in adversity, these are people who look forward. In doing so, they show us all what is possible when we strive for better,” – National Australia Day Council CEO Ms Karlie Brand
For more information on the Australian of the Year Awards visit australianoftheyear.org.au.
Feature image: australianoftheyear.org.au