A paediatric audiologist who 12 years ago co-founded Earbus Foundation to help save the hearing of Aboriginal and at-risk children has been nominated in the 2026 Australian of the Year Awards.
Dr Lara Shur, who now oversees a fleet of mobile ear clinics that deliver free care to thousands of children annually, was nominated in the Australia’s Local Hero for Western Australia award category.
She is CEO of Earbus Foundation, an organisation she created with Mr Paul Higginbotham, a teacher of the deaf and former Earbus CEO, now executive director, and Ms Dee Parker, a nurse audiometrist.
The Earbus was originally the brainchild of ENT Professor Harvey Coates AO, now the foundation’s clinical patron, who launched the first Australian Earbus after seeing the concept in action in New Zealand.
Dr Shur served a decade as director of clinical services and outcomes and, after vast experience working in paediatric and regional settings, started in the role of Earbus CEO in April 2023.
No salary for 12 months
A media release on 30 October 2025 which announced the 2026 Australian of the Year nominees for Western Australia said Dr Shur was “making it possible for hearing-impaired Aboriginal and at-risk children in Western Australia to hear”.
“Ear infections are more prevalent among Aboriginal children than non-Indigenous children. If left untreated, they can cause hearing loss and serious, life-long limits on learning and development,” the media release said.
“Lara co-founded Earbus Foundation around her kitchen table in 2013, where she and her co-founders worked for 12 months before they were able to pay themselves a salary.”
Fleet of mobile ear clinics
She has since mapped hearing services across Western Australia, focusing on Indigenous communities.
“Under Lara’s leadership, a fleet of mobile ear clinics travel to schools, daycare centres and kindergartens at 200 locations in regional and remote communities,” the media release stated. “Up to 5,200 Aboriginal and at-risk children are treated for free each year.”
Dr Shur, 51, from Perth, has also facilitated ear, nose and throat surgery clinics to treat children seen in Earbus programs across WA.
The nominees for Western Australia are among 134 people being recognised across all states and territories.
The Western Australian award recipients will be announced on 13 November 2025 in a ceremony at Government House in Perth which will also be available to watch online at australianoftheyear.org.au.
They will then join other state and territory recipients as finalists for the national awards announcement on 25 January 2026 in Canberra.
Mr Mark Fraser AO CVO, National Australia Day Council CEO, congratulated nominees.
“The nominees for the Western Australia awards are extraordinary people,” he said. “They are entrepreneurial in their approach to helping others, changing public perceptions, creating positive futures and bringing people together.”
The other nominees in the WA Local Hero category with Dr Shur are Ms Bronwyn Bate, founder of Mettle Women Inc who helps women escape domestic violence and find work; Mr Frank Mitchell, Indigenous construction leader who has created more than 70 Aboriginal upskilling positions in the electrical and construction industry; and Mr Holden Sheppard, an award-winning author whose debut novel, Invisible Boys, draws from his own experiences growing up gay in Geraldton.
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