Nominations have officially opened for the prestigious Asian-Australian Leadership Awards which celebrate the valuable contributions of the country's most influential and brightest young Asian-Australians and the role they play in shaping their industry.

Now in their sixth year, the awards are an initiative of Asialink at the University of Melbourne and Executive Search firm Johnson Partners and aim to elevate Asian-Australian leadership.

"The awards shine a light on the incredible leadership talent and potential of Asian-Australians and the important contributions to their field," said Asialink CEO Martine Letts.

"There is a real lack of recognition and focus on leveraging Asian-Australian grown talent.

"Australia needs to better nurture that talent and do better to embrace our cultural diversity, or Australia risks losing some of our best and brightest to overseas markets and industries like the medical tech space," Ms Letts warned.

While nearly one in five Australians have an Asian cultural heritage, data shows just 3% of senior management positions in Australian businesses are held by Asian-Australians.

Not so in Weddin Shire. Noreen Vu is the first under 40, Vietnamese, female (the trifecta) General Manager in local council in Australia.

The town is bucking the trend of data showing elsewhere in the country, staff who hail from English-speaking backgrounds are 60% more likely to be promoted to senior executive style roles.

As she marks two years in the role, Ms Vu says her focus has been to improve the council's "brand" in the local community, as well as help boost tourism and the local economy.

She was last year recognised as one of Australia's most influential Asian-Australians, named as a finalist in Asialink's Asian-Australian Leadership Awards.

The awards aim to elevate Asian-Australian leadership, with nominations just opening for this year across 11 categories in the fields of Arts and Culture, Sports, Corporate, Education, Science and Medicine, Public Sector and Government, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Legal and Professional Services, Community, Advocacy and Not for Profit and Media.

There is also a Lifetime Achievement category and an Under 25 Rising Star. To be eligible, nominees must be Australian citizens or permanent residents, identify as Asian-Australian and be under the age of 40. For the Under 25 Rising Star, nominees must be aged 25 or under in the year of nomination.

The Lifetime Achievement category has an uncapped age limit and is selected by the expert judging panel.

For more information visit www.asianaustralianleadership.com.au