Animal Justice Awards

2025 award nominations are open! Closing 31 October.

Our annual Animal Justice Awards recognise the individuals, charities and organisations working towards a better life for all animals for today, tomorrow and into the future.

Find out more

Every year we will provide Awards and one-off financial grants to support outstanding animal charities, thought-leading activists, cruelty-free brands and innovative community organisations who are progressing animal justice. Awarding those who foster sustainable behavioural, social, political, economic, cultural and technological change to save animals is one of the ways the foundation aims to support the movement.

Huge thanks to Animals Australia, the Australian Alliance for Animals, and The Gillies Foundation for their support and sponsorship of three awards.

Award Categories

This year’s Awards include five categories:

The Peter Singer Award for Lifetime Achievement
In Memoriam for Animal Justice
Award for Outstanding Activism for Animal Justice
Animals Australia Award for Effective Advocacy
The Gillies Foundation Award for Exemplary Commitment to Companion Animal Rescue
Australian Alliance for Animals Award for Young Political Advocacy

An Award Selection Panel of renowned animal advocates will be convened to review the nominations and select the winners, with a formal announcement of award winners made at the Animal Rights Forum in Melbourne 24-25 February 2025. The Award Selection Panel will consist of representatives from the Animal Justice Foundation, Animal Rights Forum, Animals Australia and the Gillies Foundation.

Note that nominations for the Animal Justice Awards are not “votes” in any sense. The panel will determine the winner without consideration of the number of nominations that name a person or organisation.

Previous winners in a category cannot be considered again in the same category, but may be considered in an alternative category. See links to 2022, 2023, and 2024 awards and winners at top of this page.

Peter Singer Award for Lifetime Achievement

This will be awarded by Peter Singer to an individual who has provided outstanding service to the movement over a long period (more than 20 years). The panel will consider the impact of the work on animals directly, as well as its wider impact on society’s progress towards a world of animal justice. The winner will receive the bespoke Peter Singer Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of their work.

In Memoriam for Animal Justice

This will be awarded to an individual who has provided outstanding service to the movement and has passed away in the preceding period. The panel will consider the impact of the work on animals directly, as well as its wider impact on society’s progress towards a world of animal justice. The family, beneficiaries or successors of the person will receive a bespoke In Memoriam Animal Justice Award in recognition of their work in the movement.

Award for Outstanding Activism for Animal Justice

This accolade includes a $10,000 grant. and will be awarded to an individual or organisation that has undertaken outstanding activism in the previous period (2024) to fund further effective activism. The winner will receive a bespoke Outstanding Activism for Animal Justice Award in recognition of their work and a $10,000 cheque to support their ongoing work for animals.

The panel will consider both the work already undertaken, and the proposed use of the $10,000 grant over the following year to continue and deepen the outstanding activism. The winner will be required to provide a progress report within twelve months of receiving the grant funds and will be followed up to ensure effective use. Where possible, the AJF will help promote this work and progress through our own communications.

You are welcome to nominate a person for this Award, but the awards panel will need the contact details of someone with authoritative knowledge of the work done and proposed. So, most of the nominations are expected to be by the individual or organisation itself.

Animals Australia Award for Effective Advocacy

This will be awarded to an individual or organisation that has undertaken innovative and effective values-based advocacy to further the animal cause through a shift in the human/animal relationship in the previous period (2024). The panel will consider both the work already undertaken, and the proposed use of funds towards influencing human thinking, attitudes and choices which affect the lives of animals.

The winner will receive a bespoke award in recognition of their work and a $5,000 grant from Animals Australia to fund further similar advocacy.

You are welcome to nominate someone for this Award category, but the Awards Selection Panel will need the contact details of someone with authoritative knowledge of the work done and proposed. So, most of the nominations are expected to be by the individual or organisation itself.

The awards sponsored by Animals Australia will only consider nominees whose work is legal under state and national laws applicable at the time.

The Gillies Foundation Award for Exemplary Commitment to Companion Animal Rescue

This will be awarded to an Australian Rescue Group that has demonstrated exemplary commitment towards the protection, care and well-being of vulnerable companion animals at risk in the community in the previous period (2024).

The winner will receive a bespoke award in recognition of their work and a $10,000 grant from The Gillies Foundation to fund similar work.

You are welcome to nominate someone for this Award category, but the Awards Selection Panel will need the contact details of someone with authoritative knowledge of the work done and proposed. So, most of the nominations are expected to be by the individual or organisation itself.

The award sponsored by the Gillies Foundation will only consider nominees whose work is legal under state and national laws applicable at the time.

Australian Alliance for Animals
Award for Young Political Advocacy

This will be awarded to a young person, or group of young people, who have undertaken effective political advocacy to represent the interests of animals to government in the previous period (2024). The Awards Selection panel will consider how their advocacy work has raised awareness of and contributed to a government or political policy debate concerning the interests of animals.

Examples of effective political advocacy include:

engagement with local, state or federal politicians to raise awareness of animal suffering and gain support for policy change
generating messages, letters or submissions to government inquiries and consultation processes, to promote pro-animal views being reflected in subsequent reports and recommendations
organising others to engage with politicians or government processes to achieve policy change for animals.

The winner will receive a bespoke award in recognition of their work and a $2,000 grant from the Australian Alliance for Animals to support their ongoing political advocacy.

To be eligible for this award, all nominees must meet the following criteria:

Nominees must be under the age of 30 at the time applications close.
Advocacy activities must be focused on promoting or opposing a particular policy rather than promoting or opposing a political party.
All activities conducted must be legal under state and national laws applicable at the time.

Notes on eligibility:

Groups do not require incorporation.
With the intention of promoting animal protection to a wider community, there is no political belief or orientation requirement to be eligible for an award or grant.
With the intention of promoting animal protection to a wider community, there is no strict dietary or lifestyle requirement to be eligible for an award or grant, though these factors may be considered by the Award Selection Panel.
It is anticipated that the majority of grant monies will be used to fund projects within Australia.
It is anticipated that individuals or organisations will only be recognised within a category on one occasion (i.e. the same person or entity cannot win it in multiple years)
The Animal Justice Awards will largely be directed towards initiatives that can be described as “abolitionist”, that is, ultimately directed towards rights or justice for animals, rather than improved welfare.
The decision of the Award Selection Panel is final and correspondence will not be entered into.
The Animal Justice Awards are contingent on the growth of the AJF’s annual revenue and comprise a small proportion of the annual income earned from investments, philanthropy and donations.
The awards sponsored by Animals Australia, the Australian Alliance for Animals, and the Gillies Foundation will only consider work that is legal under state and national laws applicable at the time.

Image credit: Carol Slater Photography, 2020