Doug Cross, chair of the volunteer Nelson Bay Australia Day committee, said the decision to cancel the event was made after organisers considered the NSW Government's current health advice amid the Omicron spread and the large numbers of vendors and attendees that were expected to attend the Fly Point celebrations this year.

"The committee were not able to sufficiently mitigate the COVID risk," Mr Cross said.

"My committee have been planning the event for the past 10 months and are bitterly disappointed with the cancellation of the event.

"It was only a few weeks ago we received feedback that local families were really looking forward to being able to attend a local, family friendly event and we were expecting the day to be one of the best attended events ever.

"We will however continue to explore options to enjoy Australia Day that are manageable within the health guidelines.

"We are sponsoring a prize for the best dressed yacht for the Australia Day cruise run by the Port Stephens Yacht Club."

Port Stephens Council will forge ahead with Australia Day festivities in Raymond Terrace on Wednesday, January 26 with events, markets, demonstrations and the official proceedings - the presentation of the annual awards and citizenship ceremony - to be held in Riverside Park from 8am to 1.30pm.

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There will be a RAAF flypast in Riverside Park throughout Australia Day.

Sixteen individuals and groups have been nominated for the 2021 Port Stephens Annual Awards. On Australia Day, the Port's 2021 Citizen of the Year will be named.

The council will also host a pool party at Lakeside Leisure Centre on Australia Day with the Raymond Terrace pool free to enter from 10am to 4pm where members of the community can swim, listen to local performers and take part in fun water activities.

"Festivities on Australia Day will have something for everyone," Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer said.

"Council is partnering with the Rotary Club of Raymond Terrace to host a family fun day at Riverside Park, with a marching band, great Aussie barbecue, demonstrations by NSW Fire and Rescue and the Rural Fire Service, market stalls and lots more.

"Our citizenship ceremony will be held at Raymond Terrace and I'm honoured to be able to officially welcome our region's 17 newest Australians as they take the pledge in front of friends and family."

Clinical radiologist Dr Houman Ebrahimi, who practices at Alto Imaging in Salamander Bay, has been named as the Port's 2022 Australia Day Ambassador.

Dr Ebrahimi, who assists people living with chronic pain, is a research radiologist at HMRI Imaging Centre and a conjoint lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at University of Newcastle.

"His tireless service to the Port Stephens community and passion for helping people makes Dr Ebrahimi a wonderful choice for ambassador," Cr Palmer said.

Dr Ebrahimi said he was honoured to take on the role of Australia Day Ambassador.

"We are actively working with other healthcare providers, community leaders and politicians to improve healthcare in Port Stephens and have used our successful interventional pain management service as an example of what can be achieved when patients and medical professionals work together to provide a multidisciplinary approach to complex problems like chronic pain," he said.

"My family migrated to Australia as refugees from Iran in 1988, so I am honoured to be able to give back to the community that has helped me get to where I am."

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