Fabiana Guerreiro, Nurse Alison Sedgwick wears a face mask to be COVID-safe while tending to Jean Woolley, a resident of Lorne Community Hospital aged care facility, Lorne, December 2020

'When this photo was taken, the aged care facilities had been recently reopened to the public. It was really beautiful to see the nurses and staff caring for their residents during a time that was increasingly challenging for all. Here I was able to capture a really nice moment and see the dedication of the nurse, Alison, with Jean.'

Fabiana Guerreiro, February 2021

Fabiana Guerreiro, Amy Harbour working from home while home schooling, Apollo Bay, August 2020

'This was taken just after the state of disaster was declared for Victoria. Amy Harbour is a single mum trying to balance working from home and home schooling, which wouldn’t have been easy. She has two children and meeting her obligations as a mother and the requirements of her job was quite a challenge.'

– Fabiana Guerreiro, February 2021

Tiffany Garvie, Gunggari, Bruce Pascoe, Yuin, in front of his boat Nadgee IV, Wallagaraugh, October 2020

'Bruce’s boat, Nadgee IV, was used to travel up and down the river during the bushfires and was Bruce’s only way in and out at one point. He was up and down that river for six weeks, taking supplies to people who needed them, helping people up and down the river while the fires were going on. He was at the front line fighting the fires. His property was mostly untouched – he didn’t lose any buildings or anything like that. A lot of land was burned but Bruce was okay, leaving him free to help others.'

– Tiffany Garvie, February 2021

Tiffany Garvie, Gunggari, Don Ashby, Mallacoota, October 2020

'Don’s house completely burned down. He lost everything except a small section of his back fence, which he turned into an artwork. Before the fires he was teaching kids stilt-walking at the school – he’s a much-loved character in the community. His home is not far from the centre of Mallacoota, which is a stark reality check on how close the fires came to destroying the town.'

– Tiffany Garvie, February 2021

Tiffany Garvie, Gunggari, Aunty Charmaine Sellings and Aunty Rhonda Thorpe, both proud Kurnai women from CFA Lake Tyers Trust, satellite station of the Toorloo Fire Brigade with their ultralight fire truck , Lake Tyers, October 2020

'Aunty Charmaine Sellings was a founding volunteer for the CFA Lake Tyers Trust, a satellite station of the Toorloo Fire Brigade. They’ve been going for about 20 years. The artwork on this ultralight fire truck was created especially for them by Wemba Wemba artist Emma Bamblett. The artwork is about everyone coming and working together.'

– Tiffany Garvie, February 2021

Tiffany Garvie, Gunggari, Greg and Sandra Huggins with their family in front of the Nowa Nowa General Store, Nowa Nowa, October 2020

'That’s their family there with Greg and Sandra. Those T-shirts are an indication of country resilience: "Drought, bushfires, COVID-19 – down but not out". These are all the things that have happened in the last 18 months to two years. And they've just looked at it and gone, we're not giving up.'

– Tiffany Garvie, February 2021

Tiffany Garvie, Gunggari, Mark and Jane Oakley’s burned-out train carriage, Wiseleigh, October 2020

'This train carriage was a bed and breakfast they had built up over the years. It was filled with antiques, gramophones and collectables; a 30-year Star Trek collection. All the wonderful things they had collected are gone. Grocon was going to take the train away and they said, "No, leave it. We’re going to rebuild."'

– Tiffany Garvie, February 2021

Aldona Kmieć, Maggie Marriott applying lipstick, Sale, December 2020

'Maggie has been surviving on the kindness of strangers contacted via social media. She has been accessing donations via the Salvos and St Vinnies charities. At times she has supported herself, working as a dog-sitter, but COVID made this unfeasible. With public facilities closed she didn’t have access to toilets. She was feeling completely locked out of everything. Trying to imagine her situation, I think she developed some kind of very strong survival persona to cope with all this.'

– Aldona Kmieć, February 2021

Aldona Kmieć, Di Deppeler at her bush property, Clifton Creek, December 2020

'Di is a prolific painter, art teacher and woodworker. Her house in the bush at Clifton Creek miraculously survived the bushfires. Here, Di is showing me how close the fire came to the house before it turned, leaving the surrounding area completely burned and her house untouched. And I said, "How come it didn’t burn?" She replied, "I just don’t know. It was the wind change or something."'

– Aldona Kmieć, February 2021

James Wiltshire, Matt Gledhill with some of his beehives in New South Wales, Jingellic, November 2020

'A lot of the farmers up here have properties on both sides of the river and many got stuck with the border closures. Matt literally lives on the river. He has bees on both sides and was a couple of hundred kilometres up in NSW dropping off beehives when the first lockdown hit. When he returned and crossed at Jingellic they asked for his permit, which he didn’t have. Luckily, he got through with his Victorian licence.'

– James Wiltshire, February 2021

James Wiltshire, Adam Wheeler on his horse, Cudgewa, June 2020

'Adam’s a bit of a horseman. He’s a regular competitor in The Man from Snowy River Festival. After the fires, the whole community was behind the festival. They thought it’d be the biggest one ever because everyone will come up and support the community and make a big deal, and help the town to get back on its feet. Obviously, COVID cancelled that. With both the fires and then losing the festival, they’ve been in a bad way up there.'

– James Wiltshire, February 2021