Australian of the Year

Dr Susan Neuhaus embodies a life of service as a specialist surgeon, former Australian Army officer, governance leader and author. 

For more than three decades, Susan has served patients and communities, including in Cambodia, Bougainville and Afghanistan. In Tarin Kowt in 2009, she was the deployed surgeon when a suicide bomber struck the local police barracks. With one operating team available, she triaged and treated the wounded through what she describes as her “longest day”. 

Her experiences in uniform shaped a lifelong commitment to honouring those who serve. That commitment extends through governance leadership across health, defence, veterans and not-for-profit sectors. As an author, Susan brings forgotten stories of Australian women in war to wider audiences through fiction and non-fiction. 

As a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial and Chair of its Development Committee, she has helped steward the Memorial through its most significant expansion, ensuring these stories are preserved and shared. 

Photo credit: Jodie Allan