Nominations are now open for the 2020 Australia Day Awards and Cessnock City Council is calling on the community to nominate locals who deserve to be recognised.

There are a number of award categories to choose from including citizen of the year, senior citizen of the year (over 65) and young citizen of the year (25 and under).

The Maree Callaghan Young Female Achiever award - offered for the first time at this year's awards - will be presented once again.

The category, named after the former mayor of Cessnock, is open to female residents aged 16 to 25 who have shown leadership, made significant achievements and/or contributions to the community during 2019.

Other award categories include Community Event of the Year, sport, environment, heritage, achievement and appreciation awards.

Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent looks forward to the Australia Day awards every year and is encouraging residents to nominate people who deserve recognition for their contribution to our community.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge those in our community who give up their own time and dedicate themselves to making our community a better place to live and work," Cr Pynsent said.

"Our 2019 Australia Day Awards saw some outstanding people in our community recognised, including Olivia Palfreyman who was the first person to receive the Maree Callaghan Young Female Achiever award."

The winners will be announced at a civic reception held on Australia Day, with more details about the event to be released closer to the date.

Nominations must be submitted by Friday, December 6. Nomination forms and selection criteria can be found on council's website: cessnock.nsw.gov.au.

Take a look back at this year's Australia Day ceremony in the gallery below.