The prestigious annual awards celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes, whose talent, resilience and determination continue to shape Australian sport and inspire the next generation.
Thirteen national awards were presented by the Indigenous Sports Network at a gala ceremony at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), recognising outstanding achievements and contributions across a diverse range of sports, disciplines and fields of competition.
Professional boxer Callum Peters was named 2026 National Sportsperson of the Year .
Last year, he won his 7th straight National Title at the Boxing Australia amateur championships.
In December 2025, Peters won his first Australian Title as a professional boxer in just his 5th professional fight. Since turning pro 18 months ago, he has knocked out seven of his eight opponents – and holds the current IBGF Pan Pacific Middleweight title.
Peters is now ranked 15th in the world with IBF, positioning him to fight for a world title in 2027 and is rated as Australia's best Indigenous boxing talent since Anthony Mundine.
As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the men's middleweight event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and competed in the men's middleweight event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Yorta Yorta and Boonwurrung man Christoher Hume was named as the 2026 National Senior/Elder Sportsperson of the Year.
In his 50s, Hume is a Masters Boxing state champion and community boxing coach based in Victoria where he runs the Warrior Boxing Club in Healesville for the local community.
The 2026 National Junior Sportsperson of the Year is Ngoonar surfer Leihani Zoric who in September became the first Indigenous world champion at any level when she won at the World Junior Surfing Games in El Salvador.
The win made her the youngest ever International Surfing Association (ISA) Under 18 World Junior Champion in history aged only 13. Zoric, who lives in Byron Bay, is currently competing with the Australian open team for the World Surfing Games in Peru.
It’s been a standout year for Zoric, also winning the Junior Girls and Open Women's divisions at the 2026 Indigenous Surfing Titles held at Bells Beach in May on Wadawurrung Country.
15-year-old Layla Sharp was named 2026 Sportsperson with a Disability Award for her outstanding achievements since making her international debut at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi in the T38 200m and 400m.
The proud Biripi and Darug woman pivoted to a new event to pursue Glasgow Commonwealth Games selection during an impressive 2025/26 domestic season, breaking the Australian T38 long jump record with a leap of 4.86m.
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in July, Sharp won the silver medal in the Women's T38 Long Jump with a 5.06m leap, setting a new Australian Record, new Oceanic Record and new personal best.
The 2026 National Sports Team of the Year went to the Fitzroy Stars Women’s Team following their historic Northern Football Netball League Division 2 Women’s Premiership back in August 2026.
It was the first Grand Final win in the club’s history and an incredibly powerful moment for the players, their families and the wider Indigenous community. The win was a moment of history, pride and empowerment for the entire community.
Wiradjuri woman and Super Netball umpire Jordan Kiss was named 2026 National Sports Official of the Year , recognising her outstanding contribution to netball and her growing reputation on the international stage with World Netball.
Kiss, who made her Super Netball umpiring debut in 2021, was awarded the International Umpire Award from World Netball in May - becoming the second First Nations umpire to receive the qualification.
This qualification grants her the ability to officiate at top global events such as the World Netball Championships, World Youth Netball Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.
Kiss previously earned an All-Australia Umpire Award in 2023, was named International Talent Identified (ITID) in August 2025, and officiated at international events including the Singlife Nations Cup and Asian Netball Championships.
The 2026 National Community Sporting Organisation of the Year went to John Moriarty Football (JMF) - a transformational soccer skills program for two to 18-year-olds that improves school engagement and achieves resilient and healthier outcomes for Indigenous children in regional and remote Australia.
The program - established in Borroloola in 2012 - offers culturally informed wrap-around support by providing important health literacy and teaching self-regulation techniques to over 3,000 children annually. It also connects talented young players to the wider football ecosystem by opening doors to regional and national pathways that once felt out of reach.
Delivered in school curriculum, in before and after school sessions, at holiday clinics and weekend competitions, it is now woven into the social fabric of 16 remote communities across NSW, NT, and QLD.
JMF is named after Yanyuwa man John Moriarty, the first Aboriginal to be elected to play football for Australia.
Aunty Emma Thomas - a prominent Aboriginal community leader, youth advocate, and sports administrator - was named the 2026 Sporting Volunteer of the Year for her work with the Bunurong Sporting Club based in Hallam, Victoria.
Throughout 2025 and 2026, Aunty Emma volunteered countless hours organising and coordinating the club’s football, basketball and netball teams’ participation at the Koorie Cup in Shepparton in Nov 25 and the VACSAL Basketball Tournament this year in March.
Beyond large competitions, she’s created a safe and inclusive places for our young people through weekly basketball sessions, where they can learn, connect and feel a sense of belonging. Her community says she embodies the values of community, care and always putting others first and stepping in wherever needed, whether as an organiser, mentor, driver, volunteer or player.
The 2026 Sporting Comp of the Year Award went to the 30th UniSport Indigenous Nationals 2026 - a week-long multi-sport competition for Indigenous student-athletes in a powerful combination of sport, culture and community.
This year’s Indigenous Nationals brought together more than 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from over 30 university teams at the University of Newcastle's Wollotuka Institute.
Celebrating its 30th edition in 2026, the annual event brings together student-athletes from universities across Australia to compete in a variety of sports and ultimately crown one university team the champion of the games.
Hockey Coach Troy Williamson – was named the 2026 Sport Coach of the Year for his outstanding coaching leadership, international success and contribution to greater First Nations visibility within Australian hockey.
As Head Coach, he led Australia to the 2026 World Masters Hockey World Cup title in Rotterdam building on his winning success as national coach in the 2025 Trans-Tasman Men’s Over 45 championships in Cairns.
Williamson’s contribution extended well beyond results. As the only First Nations coach representing Australia at the 2026 World Cup, he created opportunities for the team to better understand and celebrate Aboriginal culture as part of its national representation
The late Tony Mundine OAM – a Bundjalung man from Baryulgil, NSW, - was recognised with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the Aboriginal community and successes as one of Australia's greatest boxing champions.
Through his Elouera Tony Mundine Gym in Redfern, Mundine also made a significant difference in the lives of generations of Aboriginal young people.
Over a 15-year professional career, he won 80 of 96 fights and remains the only Australian boxer to hold national titles in four weight divisions (middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight) as well as two Commonwealth titles.
Mundine’s best-known fight came in 1974, when he challenged Argentina's Carlos Monzón for the WBA world middleweight title, a bout stopped in the seventh round.
In 1986, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport, particularly boxing, and Aboriginal youth, followed by the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sport in 2004 and induction into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005.
Bo De la Cruz , an Australian dual-international sportswoman, touch football champion and proud Gudjula and Erubian woman, was named the 2026 National Sports Media Representative of the Year.
De la Cruz serves as a panellist and analyst on NITV’s weekly Indigenous Rugby League show Over the Black Dot - and appears on platforms including Kayo Sports and Fox - discussing NRL/NRLW action, culture, and community representation.
She also works as a commentator and presenter at the NSW Koori Knockout, Brisbane’s Murri Carnival and the National Indigenous Cricket Championships in Mackay, Queensland.
Having transitioned from an elite athletic career—where she was the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in senior touch football—she now uses her media platform to inspire youth and promote community connection.
One of this country's finest cricketing pioneers, Johnny Mullagh (1841 – 1891) was named as the 2026 National Trailblazer.
Mullagh, a Jardwadjali man from Western Victoria whose real name was Unaarrimin, starred for the 1868 Aboriginal XI during their tour of England when they became the first sporting team from Australia to tour internationally.
He played 45 of 47 matches during the 1868 tour, scoring 1698 runs. A talented allrounder, he also bowled 1,877 overs, 831 of them maidens, taking 245 wickets during the grueling six months tour.
In December 2020, some 191 years after his death - Unaarrimin was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, becoming the first Aboriginal player to receive the honour.
He was a pioneer who broke barriers and paved the way for others in Australian sport.
