Awards are Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Event of the Year and Service Group of the Year, and are presented annually on January 26 in Queanbeyan Park.

The aim of the awards is to recognise outstanding contributions to the local community during the year. Criteria for eligibility include the length and quality of service, including individual acts of compassion, generosity and bravery.

Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall encouraged everyone in the community to think about worthy recipients for the awards.

"Every day people are doing great things in our community, and we want to recognise these people individually and the groups and organisations they belong to," he said.

"Queanbeyan has a big heart, you see it in the way we welcome people from all over the world to this area, as well as in the way we support volunteers, the disabled and elderly and other vulnerable groups such as the homeless.

"We are highly competitive in the sporting arena and have a thriving creative community. I look forward to presenting the 2016 awards and to meeting many of the people that work to give Queanbeyan its heart and soul," Mayor Overall said. Nominations forms are available from Queanbeyan City Council's Customer Service Office at 256 Crawford St, and online at www.qcc.nsw.gov.au