The University of Newcastle's Family Action Centre has received a prestigious international award for its dedication to strengthening families in Australia.

The Family Action Centre is the 13th recipient of the Herb Lingren Strengthening Families Award. Previous recipients of the annual award include pioneers on research into family strengths in countries such as Mexico, Korea, the United States and China.

The award honours the late Dr Herbert Lingren of the University of Nebraska who dedicated his life to helping strengthen families as a counsellor and community educator. The award was presented to the Family Action Centre by John DeFrain, a Professor in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska.

Director of the Family Action Centre Ms Judi Geggie said Professor DeFrain praised the University, saying it had done an extraordinary job supporting and creating family and community-based activities.