Emma Miller Awards 2026

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 131 No 7, 2 October 2026, page no.7

September brought Queensland unions together for the annual Emma Miller Awards, celebrating the incredible rank-and-file women who make our movement stronger.

Emma Miller was a pioneering union organiser, suffragist, and founding figure of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland. A shirt maker and seamstress, she helped form Brisbane’s first women’s union in 1890 and spent her life fighting for the rights and freedoms of working people.

More than a century later, her fighting spirit lives on. In 2026, the QTU presented the Emma Miller Award to three women: Nicole Elkins, Christine Jabs, and Julianne Schick (pictured below).

Back in 2016, when they saw their working conditions declining, Nicole, Julianne, and Christine did what all great unionists do: They got together to form a plan and fight for change.

What followed included statewide member engagement through meetings, information sharing, and a dedicated Facebook group to connect a geographically disparate workforce.

Nicole, Julianne, and Christine were at the centre of a statewide instrumental music work to rule campaign, which successfully highlighted workload and employment concerns, and strengthened members’ bargaining power.

In their push for statewide representation within the QTU, Nicole, Julianne, and Christine formed the Instrumental Music Special Interest Group, which was named the 2020 Labour Day Awards’ Most Active and Effective Workplace Committee.

Their grassroots campaign advocated for improved working conditions and support provisions for instrumental music teachers and instructors (IMT/Is) across Queensland.

Deeply respected and highly regarded, the informed perspectives and experiences they offer are trusted within and beyond the QTU. Their leadership demonstrates the power of collective action, and their activism has resulted in lasting improvements to consultation processes, professional recognition, and working conditions for IMT/Is throughout Queensland.

Nicole, Christine, and Julianne represent a remarkable and professional powerhouse. Receiving the award collectively is particularly special, because their fight has always been together.