The innovative camp located in the Western Australian Wheatbelt town of Kulin helps children from all walks of life turn their lives around in a farming environment. 

The award win was a surprise for Dupagne who said working with troubled and traumatised youth drove her to keep going.

"Many of our young people were refugees who have been through torture situations in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria," Dupagne said.

Since 2013 Camp Kulin has accepted young people referred from the Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors, after resettling in Australia as refugees from Iran and Sri Lanka. 

Dupagne said the children that had been in countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Syria had a very different way of life to what we are used to here in Australia.

"They have been confronted with things that kids normally would not expect to see here,” she said.

Camp Kulin also boasts a 95 per cent success rate in children going on to become volunteer camp counsellors themselves.

The 35 year old who originally hails from the city of Perth moved to Kulin three years ago to start the camp and credits her success to more than 200 volunteers who have donated over $300,000 of their time to the camp.

Dupagne will receive $10,000 to complete a project or initiative that will benefit rural people or industries as part of the award.  She hopes to build on the success of the Camp Kulin program by developing a subsidised camp for women from regional WA to develop leadership skills and promote change in their own communities.

The award is an initiative of the RIRDC and is supported by the Department of Regional Development, the Department of Agriculture and Food, the CBH Group, ABC Rural and Westpac Agribusiness.

Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan who attended the event said women are really stepping up in the regions.

“Consider the contributions of past Rural Women's Awards winners like Kalyn Fletcher, who is using research and innovation to develop new crops in the North-West, or Catherine Marriott, leading the cattle industry on animal welfare and 21st century industry practices,” MacTiernan said.

"Tanya Dupagne joins this prestigious group and I look forward to seeing Tanya continue to contribute to our regional communities,” she said.

Dupagne is now in the running for the National Rural Women's Award, to be announced in Canberra later this year.