Welcoming Cities Awards for Change 2026

At the Welcoming Australia Symposium in Adelaide on Tuesday 19 May, community leaders from across Australia were recognised for their exceptional contribution to building a welcoming Australia where everyone can belong, contribute and thrive.

Now in its fifth year, The Welcoming Cities Awards for Change celebrate the progress made in communities by individuals, organisations and local councils. Winners were chosen from an exceptionally strong field of candidates for their commitment to advancing communities of welcome, belonging and inclusion. Sometimes, a seemingly small shift can make the biggest change.

The Welcoming Cities Awards for Change – Local Government

City of Greater Bendigo, Vic

The Welcoming Cities Awards for Change recognise the progress that strengthens social cohesion with newly arrived and receiving communities to ensure everyone has a chance to participate, belong and thrive. In recognition of its impact, the City of Greater Bendigo won the 2026 Welcoming Cities Award for Change in the Local Government category.

The council recognised that while its internal systems were designed with good intentions, many processes had evolved over time to unintentionally favour people who were fluent in English, familiar with Western administrative systems, and confident engaging with government. This meant that some community members, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds, encountered barriers that prevented them from participating fully or benefiting equally from council services. What emerged was a clear need for systems change: a deliberate shift from processes built around assumed familiarity to ones purposely designed for equity.

Through education programs, community consultation and practical systems redesign, the City of Greater Bendigo transformed processes including grants, communications and parking systems to make them more accessible and inclusive. Changes included simplifying language, diversifying grants panels, creating multilingual resources, and strengthening staff understanding of lived experience and inclusion.

The change has not only improved access and participation for multicultural communities, but also demonstrated that when systems are designed for people facing the greatest barriers, they work better for everyone.

Highly Commended

• Walgett Shire Council, Supporting Participation through the Community Engagement Strategy, NSW
• Hume City Council, Women’s Only Swimming Program, Vic.

The Welcoming Cities Awards for Change – Organisation

Hume Central Dallas Phoenix Basketball Club, Vic

Hume Central Dallas Phoenix Basketball Club is the winner of the 2026 Welcoming Cities Awards for Change in the Organisation category.

The club was created in response to a clear gap in community sport participation in Broadmeadows, Dallas and surrounding suburbs, which are culturally vibrant but socially disadvantaged communities in Melbourne’s north. While basketball was highly popular among local young people, very few families from these neighbourhoods were participating in organised club sport. Barriers such as cost, transport, cultural safety concerns and the ‘hidden rules’ of Australian sport meant many families viewed sport as inaccessible or ‘not for people like us’. Phoenix changed this.

The club worked directly with local young people to design a model that reflected the aspirations and realities of the community itself. Through youth-led design, culturally inclusive practices, affordable participation and intentional relationship-building, the club created an environment where families felt welcomed, safe and connected from the moment they joined.

In less than two years, the club has grown to 22 teams, with 87 per cent of participants having never previously played organised sport. The club has also created meaningful opportunities for parents, particularly mothers, to participate, build friendships, contribute to decision-making and strengthen community connections.

The judges recognised the club’s innovative and community-led approach to belonging, inclusion and participation, and its extraordinary impact in creating pathways for young people and families to thrive through sport.

Highly Commended

• The Couch International Student Centre, Vic
• Ghan United Soccer Club, SA

The Welcoming Cities Award – Individual

Madly Bodin, Waverley Council, NSW

Madly Bodin leads the development and implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives at Waverley Council in NSW. She is passionate about community engagement, partnership development and change management. Her career spans diversity recruitment and finance in Paris, project development in Alice Springs, and impact investing and transformation projects in the social services sector in Sydney.

Madly is the winner of the 2026 Welcoming Cities Award in the individual category. Her work has focused on embedding diversity and inclusion into everyday council practice through community engagement, storytelling, intersectional approaches and practical systems change.

Through initiatives such as the Perfect Strangers program and the Culture Waves youth program, Madly has created opportunities for connection, empathy and participation across diverse communities. Her approach prioritises listening, responding to community feedback, and building trust through small but meaningful actions that help people feel heard, included and empowered to contribute.

The judges recognised Madly’s thoughtful and innovative approach to inclusion, her commitment to embedding equity into organisational culture, and her ability to foster belonging through empathy, storytelling and community-led practice.

The Welcoming Australia Medal

The Welcoming Australia Medal recognises individuals who have played a significant and often unassuming role in developing Welcoming Australia as a movement and organisation. Since 2018, it has been awarded to individuals who have been instrumental in shaping Welcoming Australia and whose legacy deserves to be honoured.

In 2026, the Welcoming Australia Medal was awarded to Sarah Scarce and Nader Ibrahim.

Sarah Scarce

Sarah Scarce is the Director of The Aqua English Project. Co-founded with her mother as a drowning prevention program for refugees, migrants and new arrivals to Australia, the program has evolved into a nationally recognised initiative focused on aquatics education, social inclusion and empowerment. More than 44,000 people from over 44 different cultural backgrounds have learned to swim through the program.

Sarah has worked tirelessly to break down barriers facing refugees, migrants and new arrivals, while advocating for culturally inclusive aquatic environments and stronger pathways to employment, participation and belonging. Her work has demonstrated that swimming and aquatic participation are not simply about safety, but about connection, confidence, opportunity and inclusion in Australian life.

Through initiatives including the co-development of Inclusion Guidelines for Public Aquatic Facilities and new community-led aquatic projects, Sarah continues to advocate for accessible and welcoming public spaces that reflect Australia’s changing communities.

The Welcoming Australia Medal recognises Sarah’s decades-long commitment to inclusion for migrant and multicultural communities.

Nader Ibrahim

Nader Ibrahim is a co-founder of One Culture and a passionate community leader whose work has brought young people from diverse backgrounds together in meaningful and lasting ways. Originally from Egypt, Nader migrated to Australia in 2009 as an international student and has since become a trusted and active leader across South Australia’s multicultural communities.

With extensive experience across youth services, mental health, disability and settlement support, Nader has dedicated his career to strengthening inclusion and belonging for young people and families. He is perhaps best known for co-developing Football Life, one of Adelaide’s most successful grassroots youth programs, which brought together more than 200 young people from diverse cultural backgrounds through sport.

Nader’s work has consistently demonstrated the power of football and community connection to break down barriers, foster friendships, build confidence and create meaningful opportunities for participation and belonging.

The Welcoming Australia Medal recognises Nader’s ongoing contribution to social cohesion, his leadership within multicultural communities, and his deep commitment to supporting young people to feel welcomed and connected.