Film director SA's Australian of the Year

A documentary director who teaches people to love and appreciate their bodies has been named South Australia's local Australian of the Year.

Taryn Brumfitt leads the Adelaide-based Body Image Movement organisation, and her 2016 documentary Embrace has been watched by millions of people in 190 countries.

The documentary takes on the issue of women loathing their bodies, and looks at Ms Brumfitt's own journey towards body acceptance.

The Cumberland Park local is also an author of four best-selling books, and she collaborated with a body image expert to create Embrace Kids - a companion parenting book to her September documentary of the same name.

Embrace Kids teaches children aged nine to 14 to move, nourish, respect, and appreciate their bodies.

She and her collaborator Dr Zali Yager have also created Embrace Hub, a free resource for teachers, parents, children, and the wider community. 

All in all, Ms Brumfitt's work has reached more than 200 million people. 

The documentary director was among four Australian of the Year recipients in the South Australian leg of the awards, announced at a ceremony at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday evening. 

Aboriginal rights activist Sandra Miller took home the award in the senior category, with the Wirangu woman from the Ceduna region honoured for breaking down barriers for Indigenous women when they were under-represented in leadership positions.

Ms Miller, who lives in Glandore, trained as a social worker and worked for Adelaide's Department of Community Welfare in the early 1980s, when she pushed to change policies detrimental to Aboriginal children.

She also encouraged Aboriginal people to become foster parents.

Ms Miller went on to play integral roles developing policy across key government portfolios including Aboriginal health, ageing, and welfare, and she continues to be a strong advocate for her community.

The Young Australian of the Year award went to professional soccer player Awer Mabil, who co-founded the not-for-profit organisation Barefoot to Boots. 

Mr Mabil grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya after his family fled civil war in Sudan.

He came to Australia at the age of 10, and his sister died in a car accident in 2019, only a year after he achieved his dream of playing for the Socceroos.

Mr Mabil's organisation Barefoot to Boots is targeted towards improving health, education, gender equality, and policies for refugees. 

The Walkley Heights local promotes a message that people struggling with their mental health are not alone and can speak up. 

Chipblitz creator Christine Robertson was named the state's Local Hero in Thursday's awards. 

The Ridleyton resident co-founded Lost Pets of South Australia in 2013 to reunite lost pets with their families. She soon realised many animals were becoming lost because owners couldn't afford to get them microchipped.

Ms Robertson then developed the Chipblitz program, which allowed trained people to implant microchips for as little as $10. 

Chipblitz has helped more than 65,000 pets get microchipped across Australia, and the program is now the Southern Hemisphere's largest pet microchipping program. 

The Australian of the Year Awards recipients from South Australia will join winners from other states and territories at a national award ceremony in Canberra on January 25 next year.