Senior Australian of the Year is a national award that recognises and showcases the exceptional work done by older Australians. The award is given to an Australian over 65 who has dedicated their life to a worthy cause.
Sandra Miller, a proud Wirangu woman from the Ceduna area, is the South Australian nominee for Senior Australian of the Year. Sandy is an Aboriginal rights activist and advocate for Indigenous health and welfare. She has been a trailblazer, breaking down barriers for Aboriginal women aspiring to leadership roles at a time when they were under-represented.
In the early 1980’s, Sandy trained as a Social Worker and worked for the Department of Community Welfare in Adelaide. Sandy worked hard to change government policies that were detrimental to Aboriginal children and encouraged Aboriginal people to become foster parents.
Sandy went on to play an important part in policy development and service design across key state government portfolios, including Aboriginal health, ageing and welfare.
She continues to be a strong voice for her community since leaving the public service. She’s had leadership roles in Aboriginal health and legal rights groups, and holds multiple board and executive appointments.
She has represented her community in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance and at the United Nations.
Sandy won South Australian Senior of the Year 2023, announced late last year.
The South Australian nominee for Local Hero is Christine Robertson, co-founder, Lost Pets of South Australia and creator of the Chipblitz program. Christine has helped more than 65,000 pets across Australia receive a microchip with her low-cost microchips for pets program Chipblitz.
The award for Senior Australian of the Year 2023 and Local Hero will be announced on 25 January on ABC TV or ABC iView.
