Ten Chinese-Australian youths from the public and private sectors have become the recipients of the 2018 Golden Wattle Awards, which celebrate outstanding achievements and contributions to the community.

The winners, in fields ranging from public services, arts and sports, academia to business, received the biennial accolade in a ceremony at the University of Sydney in the New South Wales (NSW) state capital at the weekend.

"We thrive in our respective fields and shine... We admire, complement and support each other to succeed as a group," said award winner Li Jing, director at international development at South Australia state's Department of Trade, Tourism and Investment.

"All these are not possible without the Golden Wattle Awards which bring us together, encourage us to make our contributions more visible and build a stronger Chinese community in Australia," he said.

The Golden Wattle Awards, named after Australia's national flower, was launched in June 2011. It is supported by the Australia-China Parliamentary Friendship Group and given to Australian citizens or permanent residents under 40 years old with Chinese heritage. 

Renee Zhao, partner at accounting and advisory firm ShineWing Australia, dedicated her award to the people who migrated to Australia recently or generations ago, carrying "the raw passion of bridging the Australian and Chinese business cultures and economies."

The year 2018 marked the 200 years since the first Chinese migrated to Australia. According to the Australian Embassy in China, there are 140,000 Chinese students studying in Australia in 2016, and a 2016 demographic census shows that more than 500,000 Australian citizens and residents of Chinese origin live in Australia.  

Julia Banks, the Federal Member for Chisholm in the Australian House of Representatives and chair of Australia-China Parliamentary Friendship Group once said, thousands of new immigrants and overseas students chose to live in her electoral district, and have made a great contribution to the local economy and diversified cultural development.

This year's winners were chosen from a list of 20 nominees through a process that lasted half a year, including more than 200,000 online votes as well as specialist reviews and recommendations.

The 10 winners of the 2018 awards are: Li Jing, director at international development at South Australia state's Department of Trade, Tourism and Investment; Maggie Jiang, associate professor in international studies and director at the Confucius Institute, University of Western Australia; Dan Yang, partner/head of China practice (Australia) for law firm Ashurst; Yu Tao, professor of civil engineering and head of postgraduate studies, University of Wollongong; Nancy Jian, CEO of Chemist Warehouse China division; Livia Wang, founder and director of Access Marketing and Communications; Eric Gao, founder and CEO of BMY Group; Renee Zhao, partner at accounting and advisory firm ShineWing Australia; Francesca Hung, Miss Universe Australia 2018/19; and Jason Phu, lecturer at the University of New South Wales, art and design.

Award organizers also held a charity auction at the event to raise funds to help farmers affected by one of the state's worst droughts this year.

(Cover: The 10 winners of the 2018 Golden Wattle Awards and guests pose for a photo. /Xinhua Photo