Australia, Order of, is Australia‘s highest award for service to the country or to humanity. The British monarch, who serves as Australia’s official head of state, leads the Order. Australia’s governor general, who represents the monarch, administers the Order. Appointments to the Order are announced on Australia Day (January 26) and on the monarch’s official birthday in June. The date of the official birthday may be different from the king or queen’s actual birthday.
The Order of Australia has two divisions: the general (or civil) division and the military division. Each division has the following four levels, from lowest to highest: Medal of the Order (abbreviated OAM), Member of the Order (AM), Officer of the Order (AO), and Companion of the Order (AC).
The emblem of the Order is a medal that resembles a wattle blossom. The medal hangs from a royal blue ribbon decorated with gold mimosa blossoms. The crown of St. Edward, the crown traditionally worn at the coronation of British monarchs, is featured at the top of the medal. Each level of the Order has its own medal design. The OAM, AM, and AO medals are made of gold-plated silver. The AC medals are gold.
For the Order’s general division, individual citizens or groups can nominate people for consideration. The Council for the Order of Australia then reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the governor general. The council is an independent agency with members representing each Australian state and territory. It also includes community representatives and public office holders. For the Order’s military division, Australia’s defense minister makes recommendations to the governor general.
For many years, Australians were recognized under the British honors system. The Order of Australia was established in 1975 as Australia’s own national honor system. At that time, the Order had three levels: Member, Officer, and Companion. The following year, the Medal of the Order was added to both divisions. In addition, knighthoods and damehoods were added as the highest level of the general division. In 1986, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Bob Hawke, knighthoods and damehoods were discontinued. They were reintroduced in 2014 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Tony Abbott. In 2015, Abbott’s successor, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, again discontinued knighthoods and damehoods.
See also Knights and knighthood; Medals, decorations, and orders.
