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2026 State & Territory Landcare Awards

The 2026 State and Territory Landcare Awards stand as a prestigious biennial national Landcare Awards program. The Landcare Awards honour individuals, groups and organisations that are making outstanding contributions to caring for the environment in their local communities for the benefit of all Australians today, and for generations to come.

In each state and territory, the Landcare Awards will be granted to recognise the achievements that encompass climate action, environmental leadership, sustainable agriculture, First Nations Peoples, women in landcare, youth, Coastcare and children.

Nominating is free. You can nominate yourself, or you can nominate someone you know who should be recognised for their work to restore, enhance and protect the natural environment in their community. 

Nominating is easy. If you know an individual, group or organisation in your community making a difference to the environment and sustainable land or water use, nominate them for a Landcare Award.

The winners of the nine national Landcare Award categories in each State or Territory will advance as finalists to the 2027 National Landcare Awards.

Nominate Now

Entry Dates

  • Nomination open on Tuesday 10 March 2026 and close at 11.59pm AEST on Friday 31 July, 2026.
  • The ACT Landcare Awards will close at 11.59pm AEST on Sunday 14 June, 2026.

How to Nominate

Simply select your region – QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT – and nominate an individual, group or organisation who should be recognised for their contribution to caring for Australia’s natural environment.

Key Information

We encourage nominations from individuals, groups or organisations involved in protecting and improving their local environment. These include:

  • Volunteers for landcare groups other environmental community groups
  • Sustainable farmers, farming systems groups and primary producer groups
  • Agricultural co-operatives, industry associations
  • Traditional Owners, First Nations organisations and Indigenous land and sea Rangers
  • Landcare groups, networks and other community-led environmental groups
  • Landholders and/or land managers
  • Urban landcare groups including ‘Friends of’ and bushcare groups
  • Coastcare, Rivercare, Dunecare groups and individuals
  • Environmental community care groups
  • Natural resource management agencies
  • Local government
  • NGOs
  • Research agencies and academics
  • Junior Landcare (early learning centres, day care centres, primary and secondary schools, Scouts and Girls Guides)
  • Young adult groups and individuals
  • Persons who are deceased can be nominated posthumously.

You can nominate for any of these categories:

National Landcare Award Categories 

  • Australian Government Landcare Innovation Award
  • Australian Government Sustainable Agriculture Landcare Award
  • Australian Government Individual Landcarer Award
  • Australian Government Community Partnerships Landcare Award
  • Coastcare Award
  • First Nations Landcare Collaboration Award
  • Women in Landcare Award
  • Junior Landcare Award
  • NextGen Landcare Award

Region Specific Awards

  • Green Adelaide Urban Landcare Award (South Australia only) 
  • Joan Kirner Landcare Award 40th Year Anniversary (Victoria only)
  • Landcare Network Award (Victoria only)
  • Victorian Farmers Federation/Landcare Victoria Inc. Heather Mitchell Memorial Fellowship (Victoria only)
  • Environmental Volunteer Group Award (Victoria only)

View the Category and Criteria information. 

Nomination word count for each question is up to 500 words, except for the last overview question with only 25 words required. You will need to provide two referees for the nomination and a high-resolution photo.

When nominating for a Landcare Award category, applicants must respond to all the criteria with a maximum of 500 words for each criteria point, the last question requires up to 25 words. 

All entries MUST include:

  • Information that demonstrates how the applicant/nominee meets ALL criteria in the nominated national Landcare Award category.
  • Respond to the details required for all questions.
  • A nomination summary that can be used for the Landcare Awards marketing and promotional use, including the photographs that may be published on a website or in promotional material.
  • Contact details for two referees that the judging panel may contact when your nomination is being assessed by the judging panel.
  • A minimum of two high-res photographs:
    • Photographs must be digital, high resolution files in JPEG or TIFF format and a minimum of 1MB in size.
    • To be safe, set your camera on the highest possible resolution setting.
    • Take photographs in landscape orientation (sideways, not up and down) and don’t leave the date stamp on your camera.
    • Photographs with people are preferable. The Landcare Awards are about recognising the dedication and commitment of the people involved – we want to see you!
    • Photographs may be used by the organisers at any time in promotional activities relating to the Landcare Awards or landcare, and all permissions relating to their use must be confirmed by the nominee prior to submission. Note the photos may be published on a website or in promotional material to promote the Landcare Awards.

Supporting Attachments

Applicants are urged to only include supporting documentation if explicitly requested in the criteria of your nominated category or absolutely essential to demonstrate how you have addressed the criteria.

Any supporting documentation that is included must be attached using the online entry portal, and can only be in .doc, .docx, .xls, .ppt or PDF format for documents, and JPEG or TIFF documents for images. Please do not post hard copies of supporting documents.    

  1. Acceptance of an entry into the 2026 State & Territory Landcare Awards is at the sole discretion of Landcare Australia Limited and the State/Territory Landcare Award organising body (the organisers) to the extent that they can refuse to accept or reject any entry without providing a reason.
  2. The organisers accept no responsibility for nominations not received by the final date. The closing date for entries is 11:59pm AEST on Friday 31 July, 2026. In the ACT, nominations will close on Sunday 14 June at 11:59pm AEST.
  3. Entries must be submitted via the online Landcare Awards entry portal. If you are having any technical difficulties with the portal, please contact [email protected]. If you are unable to access the portal and need to submit your nomination another way, please contact your State/Territory Landcare Award Coordinator. All entries must include a minimum of two images, at least 1MB in size, and high-resolution (300dpi) JPG or TIFF files.
  4. Nominees can enter only once in each category.
  5. Winners and finalists from previous Landcare Awards campaigns are eligible to re-enter, however they must declare the category, and if they were announced a winner or finalist.
  6. The winner for each State & Territory Landcare Award category is determined by the State/Territory Landcare Award organising body in each region.
  7. The decision of the judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  8. The nominee or applicant acknowledges and agrees that the organisers do not accept any responsibility for errors or omissions when content is reproduced for presentations, media or promotional activity, or if the nomination information is lost or damaged.
  9. The Landcare Awards are contingent upon the nominee or applicant permitting the organisers or their agents to publish sufficient information about the entry so that the general public can understand it. This information including photos may be used for media and promotional purposes for the Landcare Awards communications and media activity.
  10. Entries may be submitted by a representative of a company/organisation or individual who, working alone or in a team, but is primarily responsible for the project.
  11. Joint entries that represent the work of several groups or organisations are accepted where approval of accreditation is required by either party, this will remain the sole responsibility of the nominee or applicant. The organisers bear no responsibility for obtaining accreditations regarding the origination of any entries. Only one winner will be announced (and one prize if applicable) to the entrant that has made the submission.
  12. Employees or immediate family members of the organisers are eligible to enter provided their nomination is for their volunteer work undertaken outside their paid role. Former employees may enter but must not submit entries based on their work at Landcare Australia.  
  13. Entries must be in English.
  14. The provision of all relevant information for the judges is the responsibility of the nominee or applicant however judges may seek further information or clarification if necessary.
  15. The judges reserve the right not to award finalists or winners within categories or to move entries within categories.
  16. Each entry is submitted with an expectation of winning the Landcare Award category. The organisers may use the content provided for media and promotional activity or presentations to describe the entry.
  17. No guarantee of confidentiality can be provided, however if there is information associated with an entry that the nominee or applicant wishes to remain confidential, the nominee or applicant should first contact the organisers.
  18. Winners of the national categories at the 2026 State & Territory Landcare Awards subsequently become finalists of the 2027 National Landcare Awards.
  19. The organisers reserve the right to use at any time the information from the entries – including photographs – in any marketing or public relations promotion for the sole purpose of promoting Landcare. All rights are reserved.
  20. Nominees must Australian residents.
  21. The organisers will use information disclosed in submissions and entries for evaluating the entry.
  22. Please note that all materials provided to the awards organisers may be destroyed following the judging process. The exception may be for the category finalists and winners; these materials may be retained by the organisers. The Landcare Award entrant grants the organisers permission to show the entries at the Landcare Awards events and at such other places or times as deemed appropriate at the sole discretion of the organisers. No entry or materials will be returned to the entrant; this includes use of supplied images.

Download an example entry form for reference.

Download Useful Tips for Writing a Nomination. 

Should you require assistance with your submission, please call or email the contact person for the State or Territory in which the landcare work was performed:

2026 ACT Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 NSW Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 NT Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 QLD Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 SA Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 TAS Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 VIC Landcare Awards
[email protected]

2026 WA Landcare Awards
[email protected]

Should you encounter any technical difficulties using this portal, please email Landcare Australia [email protected].

Landcare Australia manages a Landcare Awards program to recognise the tireless efforts of landcare volunteers and their outstanding contributions to caring for the environment in their community. The State & Territory Landcare Awards program is run every two years, and the winners of the national award categories go forward as finalists to the National Landcare Awards, an event hosted every consecutive year as part of the National Landcare Conference.

The Landcare Awards recognise the individuals, groups and organisations involved in landcare including volunteers, landcare groups and other environmental community-led groups, farmers and landholders, First Nations people, and the next generation of Landcarers. The Landcare Awards program aims to raise awareness of the achievements of landcare to the broader community, encourage excellence within the landcare movement, and promote participation in landcare.  

Nominations for the 2026 State & Territory Landcare Awards will open in 2026. 

Read about the 2025 National Landcare Awards finalists and winners here. 

This program is administered by Landcare Australia with funding from the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust

Thanks to our Delivery Partners

​Working with Landcare Australia to deliver the 2026 State and Territory Landcare Awards across Australia are Queensland Water and Landcarers, Landcare NSW, Landcare ACT, Landcare Victoria, Landcare Tasmania, Landcare Association of South Australia, WA Landcare Network and Landcare NT.

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