From Creators to Changemakers: New Award Celebrates Australia’s Influential Creators
Nominations are now open for a brand-new award celebrating Australians using their digital platforms to make an impact, with Indigenous storyteller, journalist and multimedia creator Tom Forrest - known as Outback Tom - named as the first member of the selection panel.
The Creator Impact Awards, led by SUGRco and presented by Hnry, will recognise digital creators using their platforms to make a difference - from changing conversations and influencing behaviour to building communities and turning their ideas into businesses and careers.
An expert panel will select nine Australian Impact Nominees, before around 1,000 of the country’s top creators vote live to crown the Australian Creator of the Year at the Creator Christmas Party in Melbourne on Tuesday, 24 November.
Creators are playing an increasingly significant role in how Australians consume information, discover brands, and engage with the issues shaping communities, including many that aren’t as widely represented in the mainstream.
The 2026 Digital News Report: Australia found 43 per cent of Australian news consumers now get news from creators and influencers, while almost half of 18 to 24-year-olds use TikTok for news. Separate research released by IAB Australia in September found creators now influence the brands 61 per cent of Australians discover, rising to 85 per cent among people under 40.
SUGRco CEO Brooke Howard-Smith says the way people consume media has fundamentally changed, making the role creators play in shaping culture and conversation increasingly important.
“The water-cooler moment used to come from something everyone watched on television the night before or read in the morning paper. Today, those moments can start with a creator and spread through a community in minutes,” says Howard-Smith.
“Creators are trusted voices on the issues their audiences care about. They’ve created spaces for people who haven't always seen themselves represented in traditional media, and can advocate on issues affecting these groups, giving a platform to stories and perspectives that may otherwise struggle to be heard,” he says.
Alongside the growing influence, Australia’s creator economy has also evolved significantly as a form of self-employment. Hnry figures show annual payments to Australian creators using its service have roughly doubled in two years, while the number of creators grew by 44 per cent. The number earning more than $50,000 rose 81 per cent, while the number earning at least $100,000 quadrupled.
Hnry Australia Managing Director Karan Anand says creators' growing cultural influence is increasingly matched by their economic contribution.
“Creators are taking their skills, knowledge, creativity and audiences and building genuine careers and businesses around them,” says Anand.
“Some of Australia’s most interesting creators have built highly engaged communities around a particular skill, interest or point of view. They’re educating people, changing conversations and influencing what their communities think and do.
“Behind that influence is often a sole trader running an incredibly sophisticated business. They can be the talent, producer, salesperson, marketer and business owner all at once and are great examples of how the face of self-employment is changing in Australia, and Hnry wants to champion the people making that happen.”
The Creator Impact Awards form part of SUGRco’s Creator Christmas Parties in Australia and New Zealand. Panellists will be announced throughout October, before the nine Australian Impact Nominees are selected. Nominations for the Creator Impact Awards open on 1 October. The Australian Creator of the Year will be announced in Melbourne on Tuesday, 24 November.
More information can be found here: https://anzcreatoroftheyear.
About Hnry:
Hnry is the world's first all-in-one service for sole traders, providing digital accounting and tax automation. Designed to make self-employment simple, affordable and stress-free, Hnry is available in the UK, Australia and NZ and processes billions of dollars in payments each year; it automatically calculates and pays taxes as you earn and takes care of invoicing and expenses with on-demand accountancy support - meaning you never have to think about tax again.
Since launching in 2018, it has raised nearly $100 million in investment and is Australasia's fastest-growing accountancy service. Hnry was named on the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2025 list and won the People’s Choice Award for ‘Fintech Organisation of the Year’ in 2022 and 2023. Hnry recently won the ‘Innovation in Financial Services’ category at the 2024 INFINZ Awards. Find out more at www.hnry.com.au
