Positive ageing – 2026 Senior Australian of the Year recipients

But I think it's a shame that there is a stigma associated with older people that suggests they are nearly ready for posture, because most older Australians still have a hell of a lot of life left in them. There's a lot more to being an older person in this country that we need to celebrate and acknowledge. There's not an understanding of the wisdom that comes with aging, of the better organizational skills, and a lot of older people are denied the opportunity to keep working.

The misconception of older people is that we do not have the ability anymore, and that somehow we are left behind. What we aren't given is time. We may not answer as quickly or do things in the same way, but that doesn't mean to say we do not know what we are doing. When you reach a certain age, people think we belong in a heap.

Instead of actually realizing that aging is not something that you need to be ashamed of, you've still got so much skill to be able to offer. Misconception about older people is that they don't have anything left to contribute to society. And that's exactly how I thought when I was pre retirement. And I honestly came to a completely different conclusion.

I think all we can do is just hope that the older people, as a retired, return to the community to offer their professional skills. I have found as a mature that older people become invisible and that the respect for aging is not there. Although I look 80 in my head, I'm still 35. I think older people are seen to perhaps not have anything to give to community, and yet so older people have got a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be shared and be used in a mentoring sense to make changes in community and to be a part and positive part of community. 

The misconceptions I can only answer in terms of my own work, and that is that everybody has access to a loving family who will provide care and support and help them navigate through the aged care system. My clients don't have any of that. So we have to do it. The wisdom and the respect for the elders is vanishing from Australia.

That is a national calamity. We don't celebrate aging Australians. We put them away.

WhatsApp, Facebook, you know, Twitter, using different forms of social media. Help me stay connected. I walk the dog almost every morning, you know, go to the beach. I go to the gym. These are the sorts of things that help keep us going. I'm a great believer in keeping active, so I exercise at least an hour every morning. I mean, I'm very involved with my research, with supervising students and post-doctoral fellows and writing research grants and writing papers.

I publish a lot of papers and, it's, it's very rewarding doing that physically, getting out every day and walking the dog bird, watching in the bush and just getting out and see the sunrise every day. It gives me a purpose in the morning to get up. To be able to know that during my day I am helping others.

And the knowledge that I'm learning all the time. I don't think I ever stop learning. And I would suggest it's a really good thing for people to do. Go and volunteer somewhere. Learn a new skill. You're never too old. Believe it or not. To begin with is to take everybody at face value and to understand who they are and not expect them to change.

And that's what I found. That is the best part about volunteering. People can come in and be who they are. There's not somebody paying them and telling them what to do. So I understand, and I'm now able to make friends with a much wider variety of people than I ever could in my earlier years. That's what I've appreciated about being a senior Australian.

What has kept me going, as has been the film industry. I've been involved in mentoring overseas students and, local students. Just this morning I get a text saying, May I borrow some radio microphones? And I want your ideas on how should I record it? I mean, those sorts of engaging things. I guess, keep you young, keep you involved.

Have a good friendship group. I'm connected through, volunteer work in the community. I have a dog that needs to be walked. I love, producing veggies, etc. in my garden so I can, enjoy my cooking that I love to do. And it's also about having family around you and being connected in that way. I stay motivated by my sense of social justice, which hasn't deviated at all.

The inspiring work of our staff, continual interaction daily with our clients who, and I spend a lot of time with. As a senior Australian, I stay active and connected with a couple of simple principles never stop dreaming. Never stop believing. You can be the architects of change and share that with the other people around you. It's the most inspiring and uplifting part of my life.