Nominations
Each year nominations are invited for the McKinnon Prize in Political Leadership. This year there are three categories McKinnon Political Leader of the Year - Federal, McKinnon Political Leader of the Year - State/Territory, and McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year.
Nominations are now open.
Recipients Announced
The Selection Panel evaluates the shortlisted nominations and, considering the established prize criteria, decides a recipient for each prize. The Prize recipients are announced shortly after the Selection Panel meeting.
Shortlist Announced
The Shortlisting Committee considers all eligible nominations against the prize selection criteria and determines a shortlist by category (agreed by consensus) for consideration by the Selection Panel. The Shortlist is announced shortly after the Shortlisting Committee meeting.
Special Event
The McKinnon Prize recipients are formally recognised and celebrated at an annual event. In recognition of their achievements, each recipient receives a trophy and participates in a program of activity throughout the following year.
Prize categories for nomination
McKinnon Political Leader of the Year - Federal
Recognises the leadership of long-serving federal elected representatives with over five years in elected office.
McKinnon Political Leader of the Year - State/Territory
Recognises the leadership of long-serving State or Territory elected representatives with over five years in elected office.
McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year
Recognises the leadership of recently elected representatives, with less than five years in federal, state/territory or local office.
Prize criteria
In each prize category, nominations are evaluated by the Shortlisting Committee and then the Selection Panel, against the same criteria.
The judges are looking for examples of real impact and achievement where peoples’ lives were made better through a nominee’s:
The nominee has demonstrated innovative, farsighted, and practical thinking to identify and resolve important public policy problems.
Nominees may have demonstrated at least one of these selection criteria through their current role on one significant public policy issue, or through multiple achievements.
Nominations that will stand out are those that provide clear and compelling examples of impact and positive change.
Eligibility requirements
- Nominees must be an elected member of a local, state or federal Government. For the purposes of the 2023 prize, nominees must have held office in 2023 and:
- nominees for 2023 McKinnon Political Leader of the Year (Federal and State/Territory) must have been elected into political office prior to 1 January 2019
- nominees for 2023 McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year must have been elected into political office on or after 1 January 2019
- Self-nominations are accepted.
- Prizes will not be awarded posthumously.
- Nominees cannot be considered in both prize categories in the same year but can be considered for recognition in a separate category in subsequent years.
- In circumstances where the length of service of a nominee is unclear due to a break in service or a move to a different level of government, the Shortlisting Committee and the Selection Panel reserve the right to determine that any nominees be considered in a different prize category than the one for which they were originally nominated.
- Unsuccessful nominees may be re-nominated in subsequent years.
- Group nominations are eligible and the selection panel may award multiple nominees when collective action has been demonstrated.
- No weight will be given to the number of times a person is nominated.
Still have a question about the nomination process?