Grace Brennan, the founder of Buy from the Bush and George Chapman, a first aid trainer, have been nominated for Australian of the Year and Senior Australian of the Year respectively.

Mr Chapman, who was short-listed in the final four after being nominated to an original pool of 3000 entrants, admits he was 'shocked' to receive the nod.

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"It's a great honour to be nominated," Mr Chapman said.

"Though it was a bit of a surprise, if I'm honest."

Mr Chapman was nominated primarily for his work with the Red Cross' Heartsafe campaign, through which he and others have raised funds to install 150 defibrillators throughout Dubbo and Wellington.

"Those devices are lifesavers, they really are, I'd love to see every property have one each, I'd love to see someone in every town do it, they should be in every major shopping centre," Mr Chapman said.

"Thanks to what we've done, we've saved two lives so far, those two lives are worth more to me than any award I could receive, believe me."

Mr Chapman said that thanks to the 150 devices Wellington and Dubbo were now effectively 'heart-safe'.

While the work in the immediate surroundings is done, Mr Chapman said he wouldn't be hanging up his boots anytime soon, and will continue in his work as a first aid trainer.

"First aid training is essential for everybody, at least one member of every family should be first-aid trained," Mr Chapman said.

"It saves so much anxiety, if something happens at home, you know what to do while you wait for medical aid to arrive."

"I'll continue training for as long as I can."

Mr Chapman is also at the forefront of an effort to host a conference in Dubbo where all manner of medical practitioners will train the public about first aid training, with it expected to be held once COVID-19 is no longer a concern.

Ms Brennan was nominated for the top honour through her work with Buy from the Bush, an initiative that connects city based consumers to rural businesses during the drought.

The campaign has helped drought-hit businesses endure the worst effects of the arduous conditions and materially improved business' fortunes to the tune of $5 million in the first six months of activity alone, with 21% of business able to hire new staff.

The NSW recipients will be announced in a live-streamed event set to be held on Monday, November 9 on the Australian of the Year Facebook page.