Emergency doctor and rescuer Dr Jorian Kippax has been announced as the 2026 Australian of the Year for Tasmania.

He was honoured alongside school nutrition pioneer Julie Dunbabin, life skills educator Alyssia Kennedy and social entrepreneur Emily Briffa at a ceremony in Hobart on November 18.

The Tasmanian recipients will join those from the other states and territories for the national awards on January 25, 2026.

Dr Kippax was part of a specialist team of rescuers tasked to free a whitewater rafter who was trapped in perilous rapids on the Franklin River in 2024.

Lithuanian whitewater rafter, Valdas Bieliauskas, was retrieved from freezing water by Dr Kippax and his team.

The clinical team performed an operation to amputate Valdas's leg underwater, allowing him to be freed and ult

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