WAFES Awards

Nominations for the 2026 WA Fire and Emergency Services (WAFES) Awards are now open.

The awards honour and acknowledge the achievements of volunteers, career firefighters and DFES staff throughout Western Australia who have shown outstanding dedication to duty over the past 12 months.

The 2026 WAFES Awards see the introduction of some exciting new awards that elevate how we recognise our young people across all services.

The first is the new DFES Young Person of the Year Award for Career Fire and Rescue Service, corporate and operational staff. Similar to the current Young People of the Year Awards, it recognises an outstanding young person aged 18 to 28 years old.

The second is the introduction of the WAFES Young Person of the Year Award, the pinnacle of recognition for our young people. Each of the winners of the four young people awards will be in the running for this prestigious new award with the winner announced at the WAFES Awards gala dinner.

Whether you’re a volunteer, staff member or member of the community, any Western Australian can nominate an individual, young person or team for a WAFES Award.

Nominations close Monday 23 March 2026 at 9am.

Nominate Now

Young person awards

Individual awards

Team awards

WAFES Young Person of the Year Award

This award recognises an exceptional DFES volunteer, staff member or career firefighter under the age of 28 who has who has made an outstanding contribution to the emergency services in the past 12 months.

This award in not open for nominations. A judging panel will review the nominations for the 2026 winners of the:

Volunteer Firefighting Young Person of the Year Award
Marine Rescue Young Person of the Year Award
State Emergency Services Young Person of the Year Award
DFES Young Person of the Year Award

Guide to nominating

Click here to view the full nomination guide including some sample nominations to help you get started.

‍Step 1: Decide who to nominate

When thinking about who to nominate ask yourself:

why are you nominating this person or team?
have they gone above and beyond their normal duties?
is there a specific incident, project or event that occurred after 31 March 2025 that you can use as an example in your nomination? Remember you can nominate more than one individual or team!

Step 2: Select the right award

Review each award including eligibility and criteria and select the award that your nominee meets the requirements for.

For more information read the terms and conditions in the ‘Additional information’ section below.

Step 3: Plan your nomination

Don’t just say your nominee is outstanding, prove it!

The key to a strong nomination is providing specific information that demonstrates how the individual or team has gone above and beyond to keep the community safe.

Start planning out your nomination by considering a few key questions.

What did the nominee do?

Any incidents/projects or events above the nominee’s regular duties, including at least one within the past 12 months (after 31 March 2025).
Any challenges or issues encountered and overcome.
Ask their peers, colleagues or supervisors for information that could strengthen the nomination.

How did they do it?

Behaviours and attitudes
Initiative and leadership
Teamwork
Creativity and innovation

What were the results and impact?

What did the nominee’s efforts accomplish?
How did their teammates, DFES and/or the community benefit from those efforts?

Step 4: Write your nomination

One way to approach this is starting with a statement explaining why the nominee deserves recognition. Support this statement with examples of incidents/projects or events that occurred within the last 12 months, addressing the award criteria.

For your nomination to stand out against others, you must include evidence of what makes your nominee so exceptional. Judges can only assess the nomination based on the information you provide, so be specific.

Things to avoid

The most common mistake people make when writing nominations is describing the nominee’s actions or contributions in a way that suggests they were just going about their regular duties. Instead, focus on what makes your nominee stand out from the pack and how they have gone above and beyond to make a difference.

Step 5: Supporting documents

Nominations may also include supporting evidence such as a relevant referee statement from someone who knows the nominee and their work or photos and videos that help address the criteria.

Step 6: Select your endorser

All nominations must include the name of a supervisor who can endorse and support the claims in the nomination. Details on eligible endorsers can be found in the above awards section.

Remember as the nominator you cannot endorse the nomination, even if you are the supervisor.

Nominate now