Recognising our Speaking
Industry’s top achievers

Awards and Scholarships

PSA has a tradition of awarding excellence through its Annual Award Program, recognising our Speaking Industry’s top achievers across a range of expertise and contribution, with Award presentations taking place annually at our National PSA Convention. Of course Members and Guests are welcome to register for whole or part of Convention, ensuring they also secure their Gala Dinner and Awards Tickets for the Saturday Evening!  Our Award nominations open in November of each year, and we encourage you to consider your peers or yourself for any of these outstanding achievements.

Professional Speakers Australia has five key annual awards and one scholarship:

 

About Professional Speakers Australia Annual Awards

Our suite of Awards consist of 5 key awards. Four are for PSA Members and one is for an Industry Partner.

For the four PSA Member awards the following apply:

  1. Applications will only be accepted from people who have been members of PSA for more than 2 years of continuous membership preceding the date applications close.
  2. Recipients can only receive the award once. Once you are a winner of any award category, you cannot be nominated, apply, or win the award again in subsequent years.

Nominees for all awards, other than the Nevin, will have the opportunity to accept or decline their nomination and they will be required to complete a submission. The Nevin Award nomination form is completed by the nominator and must be kept completely confidential.

The applications for each Award will go to an experienced Convenor and panelists.

The Kerrie Nairn Scholarship is a self-nominating process, and all applicants must be a financial Associate member of PSA. You can read more about joining PSA as an Associate or read about any of our other PSA membership levels here

*note: Nominees of The Next Level Speaker Award are not required to have held a financial membership for the 2-years. 

 

Nominations for the following award categories for 2025 have now closed:

  • Next Level Speaking
  • Industry Partner of The Year
  • The Educator of The Year
  • Keynote Speaker of The Year

You can still nominate for the following Award or submit your application for the following:

The Nevin Award

The Nevin Award is our association’s most cherished honour. It is awarded annually to a member whose outstanding contribution to Professional Speakers Australia and to the speaking industry over the years have earned the utmost respect, honour and admiration in the Association and the profession. They are a Professional Speakers hero.

Learn more about the Award evaluation criteria here. To access the 2025 nominations form for The Nevin Award, click here.

Nevin Award Recipients

  • 2024 – Russell Pearson CSP
  • 2023 – Steve Simpson CSP
  • 2022 – Warwick Merry CSP
  • 2021 – Gary Edwards CSP
  • 2020 – Ian Stephens CSP
  • 2019 – Donna Hanson CSP
  • 2018 – Graham Harvey CSP
  • 2017 – David Staughton CSP
  • 2016 – Helen Macdonald CSP
  • 2015 – Michael McQueen CSP
  • 2014 – Brad Tonini CSP
  • 2013 – Rodney Marks CSP
  • 2012 – Allan Parker
  • 2011 – Kevin Ryan CSP
  • 2010 – Anne Riches CSP
  • 2009 – Lindsay Adams CSP
  • 2008 – David Penglase CSP
  • 2007 – Glenn Capelli CSP
  • 2006 – Sarah Cornally CSP

  • 2005 – Martin Grunstein
  • 2004 – Colin Pearce
  • 2003 – Matt Church
  • 2002 – Colin Bockman
  • 2001 – Keith Abraham CSP
  • 2000 – Robyn Henderson
  • 1999 – David Julian Price CSP
  • 1998 – Max Hitchins PM
  • 1997 – David Griggs PM
  • 1996 – Catherine Palin-Brinkworth CSP
  • 1995 – Lisa McInnes-Smith CSP
  • 1994 – Walter Dickman CSP
  • 1993 – Winston Marsh CSP
  • 1992 – Doug Malouf CSP
  • 1991 – Ron Tacchi CSP

Keynote Speaker of the Year Award

This award acknowledges speakers who have the capacity to engage a diverse variety of audiences, captivate them with their style, delivery and humour and deliver a message that conveys their expertise.

NOMINATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS AWARD CATEGORY

Keynote Presenter Award for Excellence Winners

  • 2024 – Peter Merrett
  • 2023 – Julie Cross CSP
  • 2022 – Anders Sörman-Nilsson CSP
  • 2021 – Dr Louise Mahler CSP
  • 2020 – Colin James
  • 2019 – Rowdy McLean CSP
  • 2018 – Amanda Stevens CSP
  • 2017 – Lisa McInnes-Smith CSP, CPAE
  • 2016 – Jason Fox

  • 2015 – Michael McQueen CSP
  • 2014 – Matt Church
  • 2013 – Glenn Capelli CSP
  • 2012 – Keith Abraham CSP
  • 2011 – Rodney Marks CSP
  • 2010 – Catherine DeVrye CSP
  • 2009 – Amanda Gore CSP
  • 2008 – Allan Pease CSP
  • 2007 – Bruce Sullivan CSP
  • 2006 – Peter Sheahan

The Educator of the Year Award

This award acknowledges presenters who have continued to reach diverse groups with deep content through diverse methodology over many years in a training, facilitation and one-on-one format.

NOMINATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS AWARD CATEGORY

Educator Award for Excellence Winners

  • 2024 – Gihan Perera CSP
  • 2023 – Phill Nosworthy
  • 2022 – Leanne Faraday-Brash CSP
  • 2021 – Amanda Gore CSP, CPAE, Global Speaking Fellow
  • 2020 – Ian Stephens CSP
  • 2019 – Keith Abraham CSP
  • 2018 – Alison and Darren Hill
  • 2017 – Andrew Horabin
  • 2016 – Max Walker CSP
  • 2015 – Steve Simpson CSP
  • 2014 – Lisa McInnes-Smith CSP
  • 2013 – Michael Grose CSP
  • 2012 – Ian Hutchinson
  • 2011 – Matt Church
  • 2010 – Terry Hawkins
  • 2009 – Allan Parker
  • 2008 – David Penglase CSP
  • 2007 – Colin James
  • 2006 – Glenn Capelli CSP

Presenters Award for Excellence Winners

Key role models and pioneers of the the industry who were recognised at Professional Speakers’s 20th Birthday celebrations in 2007.

  • Walter Dickman CSP
  • Doug Malouf CSP
  • Ron Tacchi CSP
  • Winston Marsh CSP
  • Lisa McInnes Smith CSP, CPAE
  • Allan Pease CSP

National President’s Award for Outstanding Contribution

This award acknowledges and appreciates a member of our speaking profession who has contributed beyond any reasonable expectation during the previous 12 months.  The recipient may be a member at any level either of PSA or of any other GSF Association. This Award may not be given every year.

  • 2024 – Sally Foley-Lewis CSP and Denise Quinn CSP (joint recipients)
  • 2023 – Kim Seeling Smith CSP
  • 2022 – Ian Stephens CSP
  • 2021 – Nina Sunday CSP

Next Level Speaking Award

(formerly Breakthrough Speaker of the Year Award)

This award is designed to recognise and identify emerging speakers who have achieved recent extraordinary prominence and/or major transformation and success.

Nominees and Awardees are individuals who have captured the attention and fascination of the marketplace. More than simply an overnight success or flavour of the moment, the winning speaker may well have been speaking for an extended period of time but has recently gained traction or achieved a breakthrough. Alternatively, they may be a new-comer emerging in the industry who displays great potential as a future thought-leader/influencer.

In 2024 PSA introduced the Catherine-Palin Brinkworth Scholarship, awarded as part of the Next Level Speaking Award. Catherine’s history with PSA dates back to being one of the founding members. Catherine is a PSA hero and treasure. She has been a Chapter President, served as our National president for 2-years in 1993/94, and has served in the past as a board member of PSA, and in 1996 received the Nevin Award, our association’s most cherished honour. The Catherine-Palin Brinkworth Scholarship is worth more than $19,000 to continue the Scholar’s professional development.

NOMINATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS AWARD CATEGORY

  • 2024 – Danielle Dobson
  • 2023 – Tracey Ezard CSP & Dr Kristy Goodwin – joint recipients
  • 2022 – Warwick Merry CSP
  • 2021 – Scott Dutton CSP
  • 2020 – Sally Foley-Lewis
  • 2019 – Daryl Green
  • 2018 – Mykel Dixon
  • 2017 – Rabia Siddique CSP

Industry Partner of the Year Award

This award recognises a bureau consultant, PCO, meeting planner, AV provider or other industry partner who goes above and beyond.

NOMINATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS AWARD CATEGORY

  • 2024 – Susan Dean (Dean Publishing)
  • 2022 – The Good Work Group
  • 2021 – HOUSE of O
  • 2020 – Wise Connections
  • 2019 – Saxton Speakers Bureau
  • 2018 – Claxton Speakers
  • 2017 – Celebrity Speakers

The Kerrie Nairn Scholarship for Public Speaking

In May 2005 our much loved and respected member Kerrie Nairn passed away. In her honour and with generous Australian Government funding, The Kerrie Nairn Scholarship for Public Speaking was established.

The Kerrie Nairn Award is worth more than $15,000 to boost the Scholar’s professional development. The Terms and Conditions for the Scholarship can be viewed here.

Learn more about the KNS Application form here. To access the 2025 application form for The Kerrie Nairn Scholarship for Public Speaking, click here.

The Kerrie Nairn Scholarship Scholars

  • 2024 – Alan Cameron-Sweeney
  • 2023 – Alfred Chidembo
  • 2022 – Ally Nitschke
  • 2021 – Daniel Bull
  • 2020 – Jenny Wynter
  • 2019 – Sarah Morse
  • 2018 – Daniel Merza
  • 2017 – Kirryn Zerna
  • 2016 – Chinmay Ananda
  • 2015 – Daryl Green

  • 2013 – Lachlan Cooke
  • 2012 – Neryl East
  • 2011 – Sonja Falvo
  • 2010 – Steve Francis
  • 2009 – Jason Fox
  • 2008 – Dale Elliott
  • 2007 – Alicia Curtis
  • 2006 – Jennifer Harwood


^PSA Professional Members and CSPs are not eligible to apply.

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