SOUTH AUSTRALIA

South Australian Community Achievement Awards

2025 Winners 

Refined Real Estate Leadership Award

Tim Jarvis of Hyde Park is an environmental scientist, explorer, and climate advocate whose leadership has led to transformative environmental outcomes. Tim founded The Forktree Project, restoring degraded farmland into thriving native habitat, planting over 32,000 trees, and educating thousands of young people in sustainability. Internationally, Tim led campaigns securing 750,000 km² of marine sanctuaries around Australia’s sub-Antarctic islands and helped shape South Australia’s groundbreaking 2025 Biodiversity Act. His award-winning expeditions, documentaries, and books, spanning Antarctic re-enactments to climate-focused films such as Thin Ice VR, have elevated public understanding of climate change and biodiversity loss. He was named the 2024 South Australian of the Year.

 

Konica Minolta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Community Achievement Award

Wonky Lines Counselling is about healing through story, connection and culture. Founded by proud Gamilaraay and Bigambul woman Tamara Young, Wonky Lines provides culturally grounded Narrative Therapy and Social and Emotional Wellbeing informed support for individuals, families, workers and communities nationwide. Tamara works alongside people to unpack stories shaped by colonisation, systems and intergenerational trauma; strengthening identity, culture and connection. Her work includes one-on-one counselling, identity-building programs for children and young people, cultural supervision and creative wellbeing workshops. Wonky Lines also supports families navigating child protection systems and reinvests as a profit-for-purpose practice into community resources, culturally safe programs and healing initiatives through counselling, training and truth-telling work with all people of all cultures.

 

Carers SA Carer Achievement Award

Stacey Woods of Huntfield Heights is committed to making a lasting impact to the broader carer community. Stacey has been the full-time carer for her four neurodiverse children for more than a decade. She overcame her own acquired brain injury and vision impairment. Stacey has volunteered across major community initiatives, contributing essential insight to SACOSS projects, the Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness program, and the Circle of Life palliative care events, representing outcomes at a statewide forum. Through her compassion, practical support, and ability to empower others, Stacey has helped carers access services and navigate complex systems. Her leadership was recognised with the 2023 DEAI Volunteer Award.

 

Carers SA Young Carer Award

Mary-Rose Vanderheul of Mount Gambier has offered leadership, resilience and commitment. Mary-Rose has spent eight years caring for her mother with chronic health issues and her four siblings with disabilities. She manages daily routines, medical needs, emotional support and household responsibilities. Alongside her caring role, Mary-Rose founded a community charity that provides flexible employment for carers, people with disabilities and those facing barriers to work. A passionate advocate, she is active in the Young Carers Collective, raises awareness through community outreach, and works with organisations to improve recognition and support for young carers. Mary-Rose has also developed supported accommodation for young carers transitioning to independent living.

 

SkyCity Adelaide Local Legend Award

Lidia Faranda-Hall of North Haven works tirelessly to support families affected by service-related trauma. As the founder of Resolute Ready, she delivers trauma-informed digital education resources for military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their families. Through the Virtual Hub and the DVA-funded Digital Education Backpack, she provides connection, learning support, and community engagement. Lidia has secured key partnerships, advocated to families, government, and service providers, and contributed to policy and legislation change. Her work has achieved national recognition and engagement across 30 countries. She believes everyone deserves a well-lived life, and her leadership continues to unite service-connected communities worldwide.

 

Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation Enriching Children's Lives Award

Hopestreet SA of Playford is transforming the lives of at risk children and young people in a disadvantaged region. Beginning as a small volunteer run youth drop in, it now delivers a network of programs, including an after hours youth drop in, kids club, skatepark outreach, mentoring, and the families of hope parent program. Supporting hundreds of children and families each year, Hopestreet offers an innovative, place based approach that meets young people where they are and builds strong, consistent relationships that support re-engagement with school, improved wellbeing, and new opportunities. Their social enterprise work experience program provides practical skills and pathways to employment. Hopestreet is creating safe spaces, empowering families, and nurturing positive role models. 

 

Flinders NVI Business for Good Award

Lashes of Change is an Australian innovation redefining beauty through sustainability, ethics, with a deeply personal purpose. Founded in 2022 by breast cancer survivor Tania who created Australia’s first refillable, fully customisable mascara system—designed to reduce waste, empower individuality, and challenge the one-size-fits-all model that sends over a billion mascaras to landfill each year. Entirely self-funded and built on circular design principles, Lashes of Change has already diverted more than 6,000 mascaras from landfill while offering vegan, toxin-free formulas. With over $10,000 raised for breast-cancer research, this brand blends innovation, resilience, and social responsibility to create beauty with real impact. 

 

Beyond Bank Community Group Award

The Sammy D Foundation helps young people build safer, kinder communities and works to end youth violence through evidence-based education and mentoring. Established in 2008 following the tragic one-punch death of 17-year-old Sam Davis, the organisation delivers programs in schools, sporting clubs and community settings that equip young people with practical skills to manage conflict, make positive decisions and support their peers. To date, more than 300,000 young people have participated in its programs, showing measurable improvements in empathy, confidence and attitudes toward violence.