How a complete stranger catapulted this teacher into the national spotlight

After creating a program to serve hot lunches to thousands of Tasmanian schoolchildren, a fan secretly nominated former Hobart school teacher Julie Dunbabin for one of Australia's most prestigious awards.

"The experience has been very humbling, and it's also opened a few doors that probably were going to be difficult to open," said Dunbabin, the 2026 winner of Tasmanian Senior Australian of the Year.

But five months after winning the title for her work serving hot, sit-down lunches to thousands of Tasmanian students, Dunbabin still has no idea who nominated her for the prize.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure," she said. "I had my guesses."

"It's a type of kindness, isn't it? Thinking of someone else and congratulating them on what they've done."

After 31 years as a teacher, Dunbabin began to notice children's lunchboxes were often stuffed with ultra-processed food, as busy parents opted for simple options.

"I just saw the gradual decline in what children had in their school lunchboxes," she said.

In 2010, she joined an organisation working to create more healthy options in school canteens around Tasmania.

Sadly, the initiative failed, as children continued to opt for party pies and chicken nuggets over vegetables and fresh fruit.

"We realised we were fighting a losing battle," Dunbabin said.

Dunbabin and her team pivoted in 2020, creating School Food Matters, a program offering free, sit-down lunches for schoolchildren across the state.

The program was a quick success, and has now expanded into 60 of Tasmania's 170 public schools.

While having a hot lunch served at school might seem unusual to some who grew up on Vegemite sandwiches and fruit juice poppers, Dunbabin said our lack of lunch programs makes us an outlier.

"Australia is one of the few countries in the OECD countries that still relies very much on children bringing food from home," she said.

"People are quite amazed that Australia, being quite a wealthy country, has got such a record with children not being able to access food."

Schools using the program say students are more engaged and better able to concentrate through the afternoon, with some even changing their lesson structure to take advantage of improved learning in the afternoon.

The program also supports Tasmanian farmers with its target of using 75 per cent local produce, and employs disadvantaged young people to serve the food.

Dunbabin said winning 2026 Tasmanian Senior Australian of the Year has pushed the organisation forward, and she dreams of taking School Lunch Matters nationwide.

The National Australia Day Council is calling on Australians to nominate that inspiring person in their life to be the next Australian of the Year.

You do not need to personally know someone to nominate them for Australian of the Year, and many previous nominees have been put forward by strangers, inspired by their role in the community.

To nominate someone, you simply need to explain who your nominee is, what they have achieved, and why it matters to you.

There are four categories recognising Australians each year, with Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year (for people aged 65 and over), Young Australian of the Year (between 16 and 30 years old) and Australia's Local Hero.

Nominees are then selected by each state or territory, and winners represent their state at the national awards announcement, planned for January 25, 2027.

Nominations for the 2027 Australian of the Year close on July 31, 2026. To nominate an inspiring Australian, visit australianoftheyear.org.au.

ACM, publisher of this masthead, is media partner of the 2027 Australian of the Year Awards.