Community Hero Awards 2026

Congratulations to our 2026 winner, Carolyn Devries!

Smokeball’s Community Hero Award shines a light on the impactful work that legal professionals conduct in their communities all across Australia.
meet our winner

Meet our 2026 finalists

Lauren Devine
The Family Law Co.
Lauren has been a strong advocate for providing legal education and awareness to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. She co-founded The Rainbow Roundtable, works as an Advocacy Officer for Pride in Law (NSW Chapter), and leads researchers democratising legal knowledge at Voices of Influence. She also provides mentoring for law students.
Sarah Jefford OAM
Surrogacy & Donor Legal Services
Sarah is a surrogacy lawyer and former surrogate who received the Order of Australia in 2023 for her legal work and contributions to the surrogacy community. In 2025, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research international surrogacy legal frameworks to help inform the ALRC review of Australia's surrogacy laws and helped to secured over 200 submissions from people with lived experience. Sarah founded the inaugural Fertility Law & Ethics Symposium in October 2025 and is establishing the Aus-NZ Association of Fertility & Surrogacy Professionals.
Milad Juma
PRD Legal
Milad provides pro bono legal support to the Bakhtar Community Organisation, helping refugees, migrants, and vulnerable groups in Melbourne with visa applications, housing, legal advice, and funding for community programs. He offers legal education to his local Karen (Myanmar people) community and partners with local sporting organisations to help non-English speakers integrate into Australian culture. Milad champions education for all as a board member of River Nile School, a not-for-profit secondary school for young women from refugee backgrounds.
Rohani Bixler
Olivertree Legal
Rohani has spent over a decade providing pro bono and free Will services to organisations like the Salvation Army, Red Cross, and Cancer Council. Through her firm, she established a Community WillPower event that has raised over $20,000 for local charities including The Babes Project, Sages Cottage, and St Vincent's Institute. She supports local charities through sponsorships, hosts community events, and provides legal assistance to carer groups and special schools on VCAT matters.
learn more about our finalists

About our Community Hero Award

Every day, members of the Australian legal industry go above and beyond to serve and enrich their local communities. At Smokeball, “Caring is Not Optional” is ingrained in our company values. This award allows us to recognise and celebrate those individuals who share that same value by servicing and enriching their local communities by:

  • Providing pro bono services and closing the access to justice gap
  • Promoting inclusion and diversity for underrepresented groups
  • Supporting charities and community groups
  • Sustainability initiatives for the environment
  • Random acts of kindness
Watch our interview with our 2025 Community Hero, Del Copeland

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Smokeball Community Hero Award, the entrant must be:

  • Employed in a job within the legal industry
  • Aged 18 years or older
  • Resides in Australia

The award is open to both Smokeball clients and non-users. You can nominate yourself or someone you know from the legal community.

Award criteria

The Smokeball Community Hero Award will be judged based on the supporting information provided in the nomination form. The following can be outlined in the submission:


  • Examples of achievements, initiative, planning, management and leadership
  • Approximate hours contributed (paid and/or unpaid)
  • Achievements and contribution to the community
  • Impact on the community/workplace
  • Specific reference to how actions have inspired the community or workplace
  • Barriers or difficulties faced and how they have been overcome
  • Self-development and/or training (if applicable)

The 2026 judging panel

All Smokeball Community Hero Award nominations will be evaluated by our panel of esteemed industry experts.
Hunter Steele
Smokeball CEO
Jane Oxley
Smokeball CRO
Del Copeland
Copeland Estates Legal
Terms and Conditions
Promotional Period: Applications open Monday, 10 November 2025 at 09:00am AEDT and close on Friday, 19 December 2025 at 11:59pm AEDT. Eligibility: To be eligible for the award, the entrant must be an Australian resident aged 18 years and over and be employed in a job within the legal industry. How to Enter: To enter, the nominator must fill out all required questions on the 2026 Smokeball Community Hero Award form and submit it within the Promotional Period. A nominator is able to nominate more than one (1) person, but can only nominate a person one (1) time. A nominator can nominate themselves provided they meet the Eligibility requirements. Judging: Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges on a variety of criteria, including the nominee's contribution to their community, achievements, innovation and overall impact. Winner Announcement: The winner of the 2026 Smokeball Community Hero Award will be announce on Friday, 20th February 2026. Prizes: The winner of the 2026 Smokeball Community Hero Award will receive a travel voucher valued at $5,000.00 AUD. Privacy Policy: Information collected will be used in accordance with the terms of Smokeball’s Privacy Policy which can be viewed at https://www.smokeball.com.au/privacy. Information collected as part of the competition will be used only for the purpose of conducting this promotion (which may include disclosure to third parties for the purpose of conducting the promotion or providing the prize) and for promotional purposes surrounding this promotion, including in the future.ck.
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