Stephanie Trethewey

Stephanie Trethewey is the 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania, an award-winning entrepreneur, journalist, author, and the Founder and CEO of Motherland — Australia’s leading organisation for rural mothers.

A seasoned television journalist, Steph spent eight years reporting and producing for some of Australia’s biggest news and current affairs programs before swapping the city for the country in 2019. Following the birth of her first child, she moved to a farm in Tasmania with her husband  and found herself navigating the realities of rural life and new motherhood far from the support networks she had left behind.

The transition was a baptism of fire. Steph’s experience with postnatal depression and the profound isolation of rural motherhood became the catalyst for Motherland — transforming one of the most challenging periods of her life into a national movement supporting rural mothers across Australia.

Today, Motherland delivers programs, services, events and advocacy designed to reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes for rural women. What began at Steph’s kitchen table has grown into a nationally recognised charity that has connected and supported thousands of women across the country.

Steph was named the National AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award winner in 2022 and released her debut book, Motherland, in 2023. In 2025, she expanded Motherland’s impact with the launch of Father Land, a groundbreaking podcast series sharing the challenges, triumphs and untold stories of rural fathers.

Drawing on her career in journalism, her lived experience of motherhood and mental health, and the realities of building a national organisation from the ground up, Steph is a warm, candid and compelling speaker, known for bringing honesty, humour and wit to even the most challenging conversations. She speaks on leadership, resilience, motherhood, mental health, rediscovering joy, and turning personal adversity into meaningful change.