2025 entries are closed.

2025 winners will be announced on 19 June at the Mid-Year Media Prizes event.

The 2025 Awards are open to young journalists 28 years and under, employed full-time or freelance, who have self-published or had work published or broadcast through Australian media outlets, including online publishers, between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Since 2008, these hotly contested awards for Australian journalists have identified and celebrated the rising stars of the new generation, opening doors for young talent and kick-starting careers.

Today’s young journalists are more dynamic and must work harder than ever before. They are multi-skilled and adept across platforms, drawing on interactive tools and technologies to tell their stories and capture the attention of audiences.

Celebrating and encouraging the excellence of their work is critical to fostering a robust new generation of journalists. Award-winners are chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence in the fundamental tenets of the craft including newsworthiness, balance, accuracy, ethics and public impact as well as their ability to present distinctive and original journalism that pushes the boundaries of the profession.

• Full Terms & Conditions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Read full category descriptions

The John B Fairfax family has pledged to support the Walkley Foundation’s awards and professional development opportunities for young Australian journalists over the next 10 years with a gift of $1 million.  

The John B Fairfax family through its foundation—the Jibb Foundation—has supported the awards since 2017. With the Jibb Foundation’s contribution, the Walkley Foundation has lowered entry fees for young journalists, provided a mentoring program for category winners and supported the overall winner with a fully-funded international trip to visit newsrooms abroad.

From 2022 this financial contribution will not only sustain these awards for the next decade, but also allow the Walkley Foundation to expand the professional development opportunities associated with winning a Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award.

John B Fairfax AO said: “We are extremely proud to be supporting an award that promotes excellence in journalism and encourages young Australian talent. We are also delighted to provide meaningful support to the Walkley Foundation, which has consistently embodied the values of integrity and quality in the profession.”

Read the full announcement here.

Read our interview with John B Fairfax AO here.

Young Australian Journalist of the Year

Supported by Jibb Foundation

This award recognises outstanding achievements by a young reporter aged 28 and under.  The John B Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year is chosen by the Walkley Judging Board from the category winners of the Young Journalist Awards. The journalist selected will receive a two-week overseas trip to visit relevant news organisations.

2024 Winner: Bill Ormonde, ABC, ‘Out of the Darkness‘

Bill Ormonde worked in regional television for several years before joining the ABC in 2021. Since arriving in Broken Hill, as a video journalist, he’s covered stories including Wilcannia’s COVID outbreak and the 2023 Menindee fish kill. He’s worked with a variety of programs including AM, The World Today and Landline.

All media: Shortform journalism

Supported by ABC

This award recognises the diverse skills of the journalist – not just for breaking news, but for all the other elements that make a great story under deadline pressure: tenacity, writing ability, accuracy, ethics, research, impact and great storytelling. The emphasis of this award is on solid, gripping reporting and outstanding individual efforts in covering a news story. Entries involving scoops and/or a body of work covering one story showing tenacity will be viewed particularly well. 

Entries in this category may be a single news report or up to three related reports on the same subject. All media are accepted (e.g. text, audio, video). Text stories can be up to 2000 words. This award is only open to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Liam Mendes, The Australian, ‘NT body of work’ (‘“No idea what we’re facing”: Alice crime scourge escalating’,‘“This situation is a travesty”: justice not served in this territory’, ‘Voice referendum: Rita Jingo asks Australians to think about what their vote means for her grandchildren’)

All media: Longform feature or special

Supported by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

This award focuses on narrative and/or investigative journalism skills and covers longform print/text pieces, video or television features and documentaries, radio/audio features and documentaries, including podcasts; and large multimedia projects, including those centred on data journalism. Other elements, such as social media, may form part of the project. Judges will particularly look for work that shines a light, tells a compelling story or provides in-depth analysis and investigation. 

Entries in this category must be a single piece of work. This award is only open to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Brooke Fryer, ABC Background Briefing, ‘Tears, tea and bloodshed — can violent men ever change?‘

All media: Innovative Storytelling

This award recognises excellence in innovative journalism that connects audiences with stories in new ways. It rewards excellent reporting, storytelling and investigation within an innovative production format, which might include social media, data journalism or multimedia presentation.

Entrants can submit a single piece of work, or up to three pieces showcasing a body of work. This award is only open to individual entrants-  however entrants can acknowledge others who contributed to the production of the story, as long as the majority of the work was done by the entrant.

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Entrants please note, the same piece/s of work cannot be entered in this category and the Visual Storytelling category.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

This category is new in 2025.

All media: Coverage of community and regional affairs

This category is open only to journalists working in the suburban or regional media and recognises their role in reporting on and informing their local communities. Regional media shall be taken to include all suburban outlets within major metro centres through to regional and remote outlets. This award recognises regional and community journalists so entrants must be based in the communities they are covering. The particular importance of stories to the community or region concerned will count as a judging criterion.

Entries can be a single piece of work or a body of work up to three pieces. This award is only open to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Melissa Mackay, ABC, ‘The crime crisis nobody is talking about’ (‘As domestic violence services cry out for funding, the NT government builds two new art galleries’, ‘Family of murdered domestic violence advocate welcome coroner to her home, as long-running inquiry nears end’, ‘The NT coroner examined the territory’s ’domestic violence epidemic’ in a series of inquests. This is what she uncovered’)

All media: Visual storytelling

This award emphasises the use of camera or graphic skills (sometimes combined with audio) to tell a story. It includes still photography, TV and video journalism and camerawork – and can include sound slides and photo film. It also covers artwork, which includes illustrations, digital photo illustrations, cartoons, or information graphics displaying creativity, innovation and style, combined with artistic technique. Criteria include storytelling, courage, public impact, creativity, innovative use of technology, technical ability and resourcefulness. 

Entrants can submit a single piece of work, such as a photo-essay or slide show, or up to three pieces showcasing a body of work.

This award is only open to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Bill Ormonde, ABC, ‘Out of the Darkness‘

All media: Public service journalism

Supported by Telum Media

This award aims to celebrate journalism’s role in informing citizens as part of our democratic system. It is about journalism that aims to make a difference, with tangible public benefit to the community. 

The journalism this award encourages can include:

• Good civic journalism which gives a voice to the voiceless in our community
• Journalism which starts a public debate on an important issue
• Journalism which exposes incompetence or wrongdoing by those who should be working for the common good, especially in government or any institutions affecting the public
• Journalism which points to solutions to important issues within the community or society which it serves

Entrants can submit a single piece of work or up to three pieces of related work. 

This award is only open to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to: 

• the category description; and 
• judging criteria. 

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Olivia Jenkins, Herald Sun, ‘Abandoned‘, ‘Rescue Mission‘, ‘Provider faces fake docs fine‘

All media: ​Student journalist of the year

Supported by The University of Sydney

This award is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Work must have been either published or submitted for assessment.

Entrants must be full-time students with the majority of their time dedicated to studying.

The award winner and finalists are chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence, including newsworthiness, research, writing, production, incisiveness, impact, ethics, originality, innovation, and creative flair.

Entrants can submit a single piece of work or a body of work up to three pieces. This award is open only to individual entrants. 

Entries must have been published or submitted for assessment between April 16, 2024 and April 14, 2025.

Each entry to the Mid-Year Media Prizes is judged on how well it responds to:

• the category description; and
• judging criteria.

For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs

The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions

2024 winner: Pamela Rontziokos, UTS / The Greek Herald, ‘Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia’s funeral certificate under scrutiny‘