The New Zealander of the Year Awards, currently known as the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, celebrate the achievements of New Zealanders and were founded in 2010 by Australian Jeffrey John Hopp. Nominations are accepted from the general public and a judging panel selects finalists in each category. The awards are presented in Auckland in March each year.
The categories for the awards are:
Nominees must be aged between 15 and 30 years of age.
Nominees must be over 70 years old.
The award is made to an individual who is making or has made a significant contribution to their local community.
Regional or national community groups, iwi, geographical regions or collectives of people in any sector are eligible for the award.
The category was introduced in 2014.
The category was introduced in 2022, and was known as Environmental Hero of the year from 2022 to 2024.
The Legacy Award was inaugurated in 2024, and recognises an individual or individuals whose contribution to New Zealand over a sustained period of time has played a significant role in defining national identity.
Any member of the public can nominate an individual (aged 15 years or older), organisation or group for an award. A judging panel of one executive judge and two or three additional judges creates a list of semi-finalists, followed by a shortlist of three finalists for each award. The finalists are invited to the New Zealander of the Year Awards Gala in Auckland and the winners are announced on the night. Local Hero Medal recipients are awarded throughout December each year.
All nominees receive a certificate of achievement, and each of the six category award winners receives a trophy and a prize of NZ$5,000.
In 2020, the executive judges were: