The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then prime minister Gough Whitlam. Before the establishment of the order, Australians could receive British honours, which continued to be issued in parallel until 1992.
| Order of Australia | |
|---|---|
Insignia of knights and dames of the Order of Australia | |
| Awarded by the Governor-General of Australia | |
| Type | National order |
| Awarded for | Achievement and merit in service to Australia or humanity |
| Founder | Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on the advice of Gough Whitlam |
| Sovereign Head | Charles III, King of Australia |
| Chancellor and Principal Companion | Samantha Mostyn, Governor-General |
| Grades |
|
| Former grades | Knight/Dame (AK/AD) |
| Website | Official website and nomination portal |
| Statistics | |
| First induction | 14 April 1975 |
| Total inductees | Total as of July 2024[update]
|
| Ribbons: general division; military division | |
Appointments to the order are made by the governor-general, "with the approval of The Sovereign", according to recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia. Members of the government are not involved in the recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards.
The King of Australia is the sovereign head of the order, and the governor-general is the principal companion and chancellor of the order. The governor-general's official secretary, Gerard Martin (appointed 1 July 2024), is secretary of the order.
Levels of membership
The order is divided into a general and a military division. The five levels of appointment to the order in descending order of seniority are:
- Knight and Dame of the Order of Australia (AK and AD – no longer awarded);
- Companion of the Order of Australia (AC);
- Officer of the Order of Australia (AO);
- Member of the Order of Australia (AM);
- Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Honorary awards at all levels may be made to non-citizens. These awards are made additional to the quotas.
Insignia
The order's insignia was designed by Stuart Devlin.
The badge of the Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing a single flower of mimosa. At the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word Australia below two branches of mimosa. The whole disc is topped by the Crown of St Edward. The AC badge is decorated with citrines, blue enamelled ring, and enamelled crown. The AO badge is similar, without the citrines. For the AM badge, only the crown is enamelled, and the OAM badge is plain. The AK/AD badge is similar to that of the AC badge, but with the difference that it contains at the centre an enamelled disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia. The colours of royal blue and gold are taken from the livery colours of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the then national colours.
The star for knights and dames is a convex golden disc decorated with citrines, with a blue royally crowned inner disc bearing an image of the coat of arms of Australia.
The ribbon of the order is royal blue with a central stripe of mimosa blossoms. Awards in the military division are edged with 1.5 mm golden bands. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet and male AMs and OAMs wear them on a ribbon on the left chest. Women usually wear their badges on a bow on the left shoulder, although they may wear the same insignia as males if so desired.
A gold lapel pin for daily wear is issued with each badge of the order at the time of investiture; AK/AD and AC lapel pins feature a citrine central jewel, AO and AM lapel pins have a blue enamelled centre and OAM lapel pins are plain.
Award criteria in detail
The different levels of the order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement:
| Award | Criteria (general division) | Criteria (military division) | Quota (per year) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knight/Dame (AK/AD) (No longer awarded) | "Extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large." | Not awarded | 4 | 2014–15 |
| 2 | 1976–86 | |||
| Companion (AC) | "Eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large." | "Eminent service in duties of great responsibility." | 35 | 2016 to present |
| 30 | 2003–16 | |||
| 25 | 1975–2003 | |||
| Officer (AO) | "Distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or to humanity at large." | "Distinguished service in responsible positions." | 140 | 2016 to present |
| 125 | 2003–16 | |||
| 100 | 1975–2003 | |||
| Member (AM) | "Service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group." | "Exceptional service or performance of duty." | 605 | 2019 to present |
| 365 | 2018–19 | |||
| 340 | 2016–18 | |||
| 300 | 2003–16 | |||
| 225 | 1975–2003 | |||
| Medal (OAM) | "Service worthy of particular recognition." | "Meritorious service or performance of duty." | No quota | |
- Chancellor and Principal Companion: Governor-General of Australia (Sam Mostyn)
- Secretary: Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia (Gerard Martin)
King Charles III, when he was Prince of Wales, was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not an Australian citizen, even though he was the heir to the Australian throne at the time, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment was created by an amendment to the constitution of the Order of Australia by special letters patent signed by the Queen, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
In March 2014 the knight and dame levels, which had been abolished in 1986 by Prime Minister Bob Hawke, were reintroduced to the Order of Australia by Tony Abbott. At the same time, Abbott announced that future appointments at this level would be recommended by the prime minister alone, rather than by the Council of the Order of Australia, as is the case with all lower levels of the order. In accordance with the statutes of 2014, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was created a Knight of the Order by letters patent signed by the Queen on 7 January 2015, on Abbott's advice. Prince Philip's knighthood was announced as part of the Australia Day Honours on 26 January 2015 and his appointment attracted criticism of what Abbott described as his "captain's call". Abbott responded by announcing that future recommendations for appointments as Knights and Dames of the Order would be determined by the Council of the Order of Australia.[citation needed]
Honorary awards
Awards of the Order of Australia are sometimes made to people who are not citizens of Australia to honour extraordinary achievements. These achievements, or the people themselves, are not necessarily associated with Australia, although they often are. On 1 July 2024, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 46 Honorary Companions, 118 Honorary Officers, 174 Honorary Members of the Order of Australia and the award of 199 Honorary Medals of the Order of Australia. Notable honorary awards include:
- Honorary Companion
- All Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia are notable – see List of Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia
- See also: Category:Honorary companions of the Order of Australia
- All Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia are notable – see List of Honorary Companions of the Order of Australia
- Honorary Officer
- Ali Alatas, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, Mel Gibson, Maina Gielgud, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Clive Lloyd, Lord Morris of Manchester, U.S. General David Petraeus, Admiral Harry Harris, Jerzy Toeplitz, Julius Tahija, Edo de Waart, Malcolm Williamson, Googie Withers and James Wolfensohn
- Fred Hollows, then a New Zealand citizen, was offered an honorary Officership in 1985, but declined the award; he became an Australian citizen in 1989, and in 1991 was appointed a substantive Companion of the Order
- Romaldo Giurgola was appointed an honorary Officer in 1989; this became a substantive award in 2000 when he adopted Australian citizenship
- See also: Category:Honorary officers of the Order of Australia
- Ali Alatas, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, Mel Gibson, Maina Gielgud, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Clive Lloyd, Lord Morris of Manchester, U.S. General David Petraeus, Admiral Harry Harris, Jerzy Toeplitz, Julius Tahija, Edo de Waart, Malcolm Williamson, Googie Withers and James Wolfensohn
- Honorary Member
- Harriet Mayor Fulbright, Lord Harewood, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Robyn Williams.
- Terri Irwin was appointed an Honorary Member in 2006; this became a substantive award when she became an Australian citizen in 2009
- See also Category:Honorary members of the Order of Australia
- Harriet Mayor Fulbright, Lord Harewood, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Robyn Williams.
Gender breakdown
Since 1975, just over 30 per cent of recipients of an Order of Australia honour have been women (this has become particularly prevalent within the ABC to report on this). The number of nominations and awards for women is trending up, with the 2023 Australia Day Honours resulting in the highest percentage of awards for women to date (47.1 per cent, 47.9 per cent in the general division). Advocacy groups such as Honour a Woman and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency have called for greater effort to be made to reach equal representation of men and women in the order.
Sociology of recipients of highest levels
In December 2010, The Age reported a study of the educational backgrounds of all people who had received Knight/Dame and Companion level awards at that time. It reported: "An analysis of the 435 people who have received the nation's top Order of Australia honours since they were first awarded in 1975, shows they disproportionately attended a handful of elite Victorian secondary schools. Scotch College alumni received the highest number of awards, with 19 former students receiving Australia's [then] highest honour".
Lists of recipients in categories
| Dames of the Order of Australia | Australian dames | ||||
| Knights of the Order of Australia | Australian knights | ||||
| Companions of the Order of Australia | Honorary Companions | Former Companions | |||
| Officers of the Order of Australia | Honorary Officers | Former Officers | |||
| Members of the Order of Australia | Honorary Members | Former Members | |||
| Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia | Honorary Recipients of the Medal | Former Medal Recipients |
Order of Australia Association
On 26 January 1980 the Order of Australia Association was created as an incorporated body with membership open to award recipients. It is a registered charity, whose stated purpose is "[t]o celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship". It also supports the "community and social activities" of members and promotes and encourages the nomination of other Australians to the Order. The Order also runs a foundation that provides scholarships to tertiary students that show potential as future leaders and are involved in community activities. Branches of the association are in all the states and territories of Australia as well as the UK and the USA.
Total inductees
Total inductees as of July 2024[update].
| All levels | Knight/Dame (AK/AD) | Companion (AC) | Officer (AO) | Member (AM) | Medal (OAM) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil/General division | 44,484 | 19 | 580 | 3,198 | 11,635 | 29,052 |
| Military division | 3,101 | Not created | 26 | 296 | 1,360 | 1,419 |
| Honorary general division | 311 | 0 | 45 | 95 | 171 | |
| Honorary military division | 27 | Not created | 1 | 26 | 3 | |
| Total honorary awards | 537 | 0 | 47 | 121 | 174 | 199 |
| Total substantive awards | 47,332 | 19 | 606 | 3,494 | 12,995 | 30,471 |
| Total awards | 47,869 | 19 | 647 | 3,615 | 13,169 | 30,670 |
Precedence
The order of wearing Australian and other approved honours is determined by the government.
| Preceding | Level | Following |
|---|---|---|
| Member of the Order of Merit (OM) | Knight/Dame | Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) |
| Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) | Companion | Companion of Honour (CH) |
| Knight Bachelor | Officer | Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) |
| Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) | Member | Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) |
| Australian Intelligence Medal (AIM) | Medal | Order of St John |
References in popular culture
The award is parodied in the play Amigos, where the central character is determined to be awarded the AC, and uses persuasion, bribery and blackmail in his (ultimately successful) attempts to get himself nominated for the award.
During the 1996 season of the popular television programme Home and Away, the character Pippa Ross was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her years of service as a foster carer.
See also
- Commonwealth realms orders and decorations
- Order of New Zealand
- Order of the British Empire
- Légion d'honneur
Notes
- Before 1992 honours were presented to the Queen for her prior approval. Since changes implemented by the Keating government, the monarch is only informed after awards have been presented.
- Not including medals of the Order of Australia.
- The level of Dame/Knight was established in 1976, disestablished in 1986, re-established in 2014 and again disestablished in 2015; neither disestablishment affected existing awards.
- Resignation and cancellation have occurred up to the companion level – see Former Companions.
- The hard-copy article also published a table of the schools which were ranked in the top ten places:
Rank School Number of
ex-studentsPrivate Public Vic NSW Qld Tas SA WA 1 Scotch College, Melbourne 19 19 19 2 Geelong Grammar School 17 17 17 3 Sydney Boys High School 13 13 13 =4 Fort Street High School 10 10 10 Perth Modern School 10 10 St Peter's College, Adelaide 10 10 =7 Melbourne Grammar School 9 9 9 North Sydney Boys High School 9 9 The King's School, Parramatta 9 9 =10 Launceston Grammar School 6 6 6 Melbourne High School 6 6 Wesley College, Melbourne 6 6 Xavier College 6 6 Total 130 73 57 63 41 6 10 10 100% 56% 44% 48% 32% 5% 8% 8%
Further reading
- Fox, Karen (2022). Honouring a Nation: A History of Australia's Honours System. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian National University Press. ISBN 978-1-76046-500-1.
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