The Victorian Young Australian of the Year 2026 is based right in City of Casey, recognised for his impactful positive changes in the South East communities.
Abraham Kuol, a respected South Sudanese youth leader who co-founded the popular Black Rhinos and volunteers at Sandown Lions Club leads young people through sports pathways.
He was announced as the state winner at the evening of Thursday 6 November in a grand ceremony also attended by his family and partner.
“I didn’t even sleep that much, I feel very good,” he says.
“You never know what to expect; you just go into these moments. I was honoured to be there and nominated.
“I made amends with all possible outcomes, but it was incredible to experience that with my family and partner.
“My mum was tearing the whole time, it’s a testament to their resilience.
“With most migrant children in Australia, that’s the greatest thing you can do, showing their sacrifice and hard work was something.”
Born in a Kenyan refugee camp, his family fled the civil war in South Sudan to Australia for safety, where Kuol struggled with his identity and belonging.
Gradually, being part of the sports community he saw and heard a lot from people from all walks of lives who also mentored him.
Following the same pattern, that teenager has now won for his immense contributions amongst a competitive pool who were also nominated under the same category.
Other finalists were a scientist and disability advocate from Gnarwarre, a doctor and innovative scientific researcher from Craigiburn and a public policy advocate from Kew.
Kuol wants to be the one to lead by example and calls onto others in the community to do the same and “lookout for each other.”
“I’m passionate about my work because I want to see the South Sudanese community to do well, to feel there isn’t a goal or dream, too big for them.”
He is in the last stages of completing his PhD in Criminology at Deakin University.
His interests include youth violence, risk, and protective factors for offending, and culturally and linguistically diverse young people.
Kuol has helped raise over $3.5 million for programs to support African-Australian families and justice-involved youth.
He is one of the 10 recipients of a Westpac Social Change Fellowship scholarship 2025.
The fellowship provides up to $50,000 funding towards personal development for conferences, coaching, as well as overseas learning trips for professional development.
Out of all the 16 nominees across four categories, Mr Kuol was one of two South East finalists. The other was Springvale-based refugee support advocate Be Ha in the Victorian Senior Australian of the Year category.
