SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens nominated for Australian of the Year 2025

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has been nominated for the 2025 Australian of the Year – and admits he‘s “overwhelmed” by the privilege.

South Australia’s top cop has been nominated for the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards for transforming challenging times into opportunities to advocate for positive change in the state.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens was acknowledged as a veteran police officer with more than 40 years in the job, serving with good-humoured leadership during good times and bad.

During his lengthy career, he has launched and overseen a variety of significant policing initiatives, and managed to lead South Australia during the turbulent time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was during the pandemic that he first become a household name.

South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has been nominated in the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards Picture: Supplied

Additionally, Mr Stevens was commended for his bravery in sharing the pain and devastation their family went through after losing their youngest son Charlie in a car crash last year.

Mr Stevens and his wife Emma chose to keep engaging with the community and advocate for organ donation, youth engagement and road safety during their bereavement

The family had also asked mourners to donate money to Operations Flinders Foundation – which aims to help disadvantaged youths in SA – instead of laying flowers.

This request generated more than $217,000 for the youth organisation.

Mr Stevens said on Friday morning that he found his nomination to be unbelievable.

“I was pretty overwhelmed when I received the phone call advising me that I had been nominated; so much so that I thought it was one of my staff members having a lend of me,” Mr Stevens said on ABC Radio Adelaide.

Young Australian of the Year nomination for SA and one of the winners of The Advertiser’s 2024 Teen Parliament scholarship, Denzel James. Picture: Ben Clark

“But once I confirmed that it was a genuine phone call, I was blown away by the fact that someone had considered nominating me for something I think is quite a prestigious honour.”

The commissioner also said it was important for him to put out a message about road safety as he has a personal understanding of the pain of losing someone to a road accident.

“In terms of the road safety message, I think the really sad thing is, you wonder just how much of what we put into road safety marketing and education actually gets traction because every single week I’m being briefed on another road death,” he said.

“I find it very difficult when I’m being informed about another road death of another young person whose family is going through the same thing we’ve gone through. I know how it just tears your heart out.

“It's a perspective on road safety that I didn’t have before and I wish I didn’t have.”

Originally published as SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens nominated for Australian of the Year 2025