NT Rural Women's Award
The AgriFutures™ Rural Women’s Award is Australia’s leading award empowering and celebrating the inclusive and courageous leadership of women involved in Australia’s:
- rural and emerging industries
- businesses and
- communities.
The award provides a platform to inspire and support Australian women to use and develop their skills to benefit their industries and communities.
2024 NT Rural Women’s Award winner
Congratulations to Tanya Egerton the 2024 AgriFutures NT Rural Women’s Award winner.
Tanya Egerton is the founder and CEO of Circulanation and the Remote OpShop Project, which is supporting the establishment of opshops in remote First Nations communities, providing access to affordable items while also generating independent funding that supports culturally-focused projects.
For further details on the awards go to Agrifutures website
Who can apply
- Applicants must have an existing project, business or program that is already live or will be live within 3 months of the application being submitted
- The existing project, business or program must fall into one or more of these categories:
- Community
- Collaboration
- Commercial
- The existing project, business or program must align to the values of the Award:
- Empathetic
- Authentic
- Cooperative
- Confident
- Courageous
- Grit
- Resourceful
- Pragmatic
- Clarity of Purpose
- Inclusive
- Innovative
- Applicants must over 18 years old and identify as female.
- Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents.
- Location is no barrier. If you want to create impact, innovate and make a difference and/or contribute to enhancing the prosperity of rural and regional Australia, then we want to hear from you
- No formal qualifications are required.
- Detailed Award guidelines can downloaded from Agrifutures website
If you know someone who should apply for the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, please email their name, contact details, and project area to rwa@agrifutures.com.au.
When we refer to “rural industries” we mean agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
What does the winner receive?
A $15,000 bursary is awarded to each state or territory Winner, providing the financial resources to support a project, business or program that will benefit rural industries, businesses and/or communities.
The bursary can be used for:
- formal training in leadership and business management
- overseas study tours
- establishing business plans or pilot programs
- developing educational or promotional campaigns
- networking at forums and conferences to grow your knowledge of industries and markets
- developing training programs
- testing information technology initiatives
- developing or testing a new business concept or innovation
- publishing books.
The bursary cannot be used to buy capital equipment or further tertiary education such as a Diploma, Masters or Doctorate degree.
The National Winner will be awarded an additional $20,000 bursary. The National Runner Up will be awarded an additional $15,000. These additional funds can be used for the above-mentioned activities, and may also be used to assist in meeting national commitments, such as speaking engagements as the National Winner or Runner Up.
Winners will also have the opportunity to complete a professional development training course, and will attend a three-day workshop with all other state/territory winners to focus on further professional development skills and refinement of their winning project, business or program.
For more information, go to the AgriFutures™ Australia website.
Past winners
The 2021 Rural Women’s Awards were not held due to delays caused by COVID-19.
Eileen Breen is the 2023 AgriFutures NT Rural Women’s Award winner.
As a Business Strategist, Eileen Breen has a passion for sustainability and the belief that all business can be a force for good, no matter the size or industry. Based in the rural area of Darwin, Eileen works with her husband in a family-run civil construction, demolition and resource recovery enterprise, with a focus on development of the circular economy across the Northern Territory.
Kylie Jones is the 2022 AgriFutures NT Rural Women’s Award winner.
Kylie intends to use her Westpac grant to support her charity RAISEducation, which provides educational support to geographically isolated students and supporting families in regional and remote areas.
Amy Kirke is the 2020 Rural Women’s Award winner for the Northern Territory (NT).
Amy is passionate about sustainable industries and education with emphasis on supporting and uplifting women in her community.
As the NT winner, Amy received a $10,000 Westpac bursary towards her project that will provide rural communities with much needed STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) engagement through science workshops.
Amy Kirke, the NT winner of the 2020 Rural Women's Award.
Darwin resident Zoe Malone was awarded the 2019 Northern Territory AgriFutures™ Rural Women’s Award at a ceremony at Parliament House on Wednesday 27 March.
Zoe recognised that many grassroots community groups struggle to keep up with increasing governance and accountability demands, and received a $10,000 Westpac bursary to bring to fruition a project to provide tools and information to grassroots organisations that will empower volunteers and community groups to take charge of their governance.
Zoe has lived in Darwin for more than 10 years, but previously spent most of her life in rural and regional Australia. She is passionate about the role people and communities play in creating strong and vibrant regions.
Pictured centre, Zoe Malone 2019 NT Rural Women’s Award winner with (L-R) runners up Donna Digby and Rebecca Mohr-Bell.
Linda Blackwood won the 2018 Northern Territory Rural Women’s Award for a Station Site Access accreditation project that would reduce risk and increase efficiency for remote stations hiring contractors.
Linda received a $10,000 bursary to support the project, and will represent the Northern Territory (NT) at the national awards ceremony in September.
All three of the inspiring finalists identified important areas for development in NT regional, remote and rural communities.
- Amber Driver identified challenges faced by rural women living in the NT as a key focus area. She proposed a number of workshops to equip women with the tools to generate positive pathways for self-prosperity, resilience, success and to encourage them to take on new roles to serve both the rural sector and the community.
- Annette Howie established Country Connections NT, a network that provides rural, regional and remote women across the Territory with links to support services, community groups, government and private enterprise. She is working to further develop the project onto digital platforms that connect and inform.
Long-term Territorian Kate Peake won the 2017 NT Rural Women’s Award for her project around local water stewardship.
Kate is passionate about local water stewardship and her project for the awards focused on the development of stakeholder-endorsed communications and strategies to foster sustainable water use across the Darwin region.
As the 2017 winner, Kate received a $10,000 bursary to support her project, and she represented the NT at the Australian Rural Women’s Award.
The Rural Women’s Award is a prestigious annual award recognising the contribution of women in our primary industries and rural communities.
Other finalists for the 2017 NT awards were all inspiring women who have excelled in their field.
- Dr Mila Bristow a plant industries researcher with the Department of Primary Industry and Resources. Her project focused on raising interstate awareness about agricultural opportunities in the NT.
- Mrs Helen Guyupul is involved in wellness programs on Elcho Island which focus on improving the health and wellbeing of Yolngu people.
Visit the AgriFutures Australia website for more information on the 2018 Rural Women's Award.
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