The Sidney prize is awarded each month for an outstanding piece of journalism that exposes social or economic injustice. It is named after Sydney journalist Sidney Hook and sponsored by Overland magazine. Winners are announced on the second Wednesday of each month and receive a $500 honorarium. The winning story will be published in the autumn edition of Overland, while runners-up will be featured online.
Awarded annually, the Sidney Cox Memorial Prize is given for that kind of undergraduate writing that most nearly meets the high standards of originality and integrity which Mr. Cox set for himself and his students in his teaching and in his book, Indirections for Those Who Want to Write. Any kind of undergraduate writing in English may be submitted, and the prize is not restricted to students majoring in English or minoring in it.
Since its inception, the prize has sought to illuminate the great issues of the day—from the search for a basis for lasting peace to the need for better housing, medical care and employment security for all, to the promotion of civil liberties and democracy, and the battle against discrimination on the grounds of race, nationality or religion. The prize is supported by the family of the late Dr. Sidney Edelstein, a noted expert on the history of dyes and founder of a successful specialty chemical manufacturing firm. It is a prestigious award in the field of history of technology, and carries with it a $3500 cash prize and a plaque.
Each year, the Sidney prize is given to a writer whose work is considered an outstanding contribution to the field of journalism. The winner is chosen by a committee of journalists that includes representatives from the newspaper industry, academia and the media watchdog groups. The committee selects a single article, or a series of articles, from the hundreds received by the competition. The selected pieces are deemed to be the most outstanding and important by the committee, and they are awarded the Sidney prize.
In 2024, Nazanin Boniadi won the Sydney Peace Prize for her advocacy for women’s rights and civil liberties in Iran. She has been praised for her efforts to “turn outrage into action” by Lord Mayor Clover Moore, and will be formally presented with the prize later this year.
The Faculty of Science Postgraduate Research Prize for Leadership is awarded to individual HDR students or a group who have taken on extra responsibilities, such as leadership roles on their School and Faculty committees, representation in professional organisations and outreach activities within the community. This is a recognition of their contributions to the community and their university as well as the quality of their work. The prize has no monetary value.