Nicole Turner announced ‘NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year’

Congratulations to Kamilaroi woman, Adjunct professor Nicole Turner who was announced ‘NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year’ at the NSW Women of the Year Awards ceremony on Thursday as part of NSW Women's Week 2026 (2-8 March).

Nicole is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) and is the former Director Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement at Rural Doctors Network, who first joined RDN as Aboriginal Engagement Manager in 2019.

A dedicated pillar of her community, the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year is a role model who promotes economic, cultural and/or social opportunities for Aboriginal people in NSW.

Upon accepting her award from Master of Ceremonies, Australian journalist and author, Leigh Sales AM, Nicole credited “my people” for giving her the motivation to remain optimistic and to keep her going.

“What keeps me going is my people,” Nicole said to a packed room which included, amongst many dignitaries, RDN’s Patron and the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC.

“My elders have paved the way for me to get to this place; my family, my children…. I have six grandchildren – I want to make sure their lives are better and all the generations to come.

“I want to make sure that our future generations don’t have to go through what the past generations have gone through,” Nicole said.

Nicole has more than 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal health and, as CEO of the AH&MRC, works closely with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations across NSW. She is Chairperson of Indigenous Allied Health Australia, having served on the board for over 10 years and is a qualified nutritionist and an Adjunct Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Canberra. Nicole is committed to research that creates meaningful impact for Indigenous peoples and future generations and, as a mother of four and grandmother of six, Nicole says her work is guided by her commitment to her family and community. 

You can watch the livestream recording of Nicole accepting her award here (-8.37).

Congratulations Nicole!

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Related reading:

• Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council appoints Nicole Turner as Chief Executive Officer (2025)