Licia Heath, a Coogee local who has fought for better public schools in Sydney’s east, has been named the 2026 NSW Local Woman of the Year for the electorate of Coogee — recognition for her grassroots advocacy that has delivered tangible change to public education in the region.
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Ms Heath was recognised for her work on two fronts: building the CLOSEast campaign, which secured a new co-educational public high school and stronger funding for existing schools in the area; and, as CEO of Women for Election Australia, inspiring women across the country to step into political life.
From School Campaign to State-wide Recognition
Ms Heath founded CLOSEast, a community group that united parents, grandparents and local residents around three clear goals: improved funding for public education assets, the creation of a new co-educational public high school, and a greater focus on the specific needs of public school students in the east and inner suburbs.
The campaign worked. CLOSEast helped bring about the merging of Randwick Girls and Boys High School into the now-unified Randwick High, and contributed to the establishment of Inner Sydney High School, the co-ed public high school the community had pushed for. The NSW Local Women of the Year official citation credits the campaign with leading to “Inner Sydney High School and a strengthened Randwick campus.”
It was through running CLOSEast that Ms Heath first engaged with politicians and built a profile in the electorate. When the 2018 Wentworth federal by-election was called, she put her hand up. Ms Heath has since described running for office as one of the most positive experiences of her life.
Women for Election
Today, Ms Heath leads Women for Election Australia (WFE) as its inaugural CEO, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation with a mission to inspire and equip women of all backgrounds to run for public office at local, state and federal levels.
Under her leadership, WFE led a consortium that was awarded a $5 million federal grant over five years to expand its work equipping women to run for office across Australia. The organisation focuses on training women to run for office and engaging more women in Australia’s political process, including educating them on the various roles they can take to help another woman get elected.
Ms Heath’s philosophy is straightforward: gender-balanced representation isn’t just good for women, it’s good for everyone. WFE aims to strengthen democracy by increasing the number, influence and diversity of women in politics in Australia.
About the NSW Local Women of the Year Awards
The NSW Local Women of the Year Awards, now in their 14th year, are run by Women NSW and recognise extraordinary individuals from electorates across the state. Each recipient is nominated by their local Member of Parliament for outstanding contribution to their community.
The 2026 recipients were announced at the Women of the Year Awards ceremony on 5 March at the International Convention Centre, Sydney, the flagship event of NSW Women’s Week, held each year in the lead-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March.
This year’s cohort spans the breadth of NSW, with recipients recognised for work across aged care, mental health, sport, the arts, emergency services, multicultural inclusion and education. Ms Heath joins an impressive group of women whose work, in different ways, reflects the same instinct: to spot something that isn’t working and do something about it.
Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill praised her contribution to both causes. “Thank you Licia for championing women and your hard work to bring stronger public schools to the Eastern Suburbs,” O’Neill wrote in announcing the honour.
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For Ms Heath, that instinct led her from a school campaign in the Eastern Suburbs to a national platform for women in politics. The award is a reminder of how far one community organiser, with a clear goal and a group of people behind her, can go.
Published 5-March-2026
