Order of Australia

Order of Australia
Order of Australia ;
	Insignia of knights and dames of the Order of Australia
Awarded by the Governor-General of Australia
Type	National order
Eligibility	All living Australian citizens
Awarded for	Achievement and merit in service to Australia or humanity
Status	Currently constituted
Founder	Elizabeth II
Sovereign Head	Charles III, King of Australia
Chancellor	Samantha Mostyn, Governor-General
Grades	Companion (AC); Officer (AO); Member (AM); Medal (OAM); ; Awarded in:; General Division; Military Division; As an Honorary award;
Former grades	Knight/Dame (AK/AD)
Statistics
First induction	14 April 1975
Last induction	2024 King's Birthday Honours
Total inductees	Total as of July 2024 AK/AD – 19; AC – 647; AO – 3593; AM – 13099; OAM – 30511; More info below
	; Ribbons: general division; military division; ;

The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service.^[1] 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.

Appointments to the order are made by the governor-general, "with the approval of The Sovereign",^[a] according to recommendations made by the Council for the Order of Australia.^[3] Members of the government are not involved in the recommendation of appointments, other than for military and honorary awards.

The Monarch of Australia is sovereign head of the order,^[1]^[4] while the Governor-General of Australia is the principal companion and chancellor of the order. The governor-general's official secretary, Paul Singer (appointed August 2018), is secretary of the order.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

^ ^a ^b "Companion of the Order of Australia". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Australian Government. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
^ Taylor, Greg (2020). "Knighthoods and the Order of Australia". Australian Bar Review. 49: 332–3.
^ "Constitution of the Order of Australia". Federal Register of Legislation. 16 April 2018. section 9. Appointments (including honorary appointments) to the Order and awards of the Medal of the Order shall be made, with the approval of The Sovereign, by Instrument signed by the Governor‑General and sealed with the Seal of the Order.
^ "Order of Australia". gg.gov.au. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[its-honour-2] "Companion of the Order of Australia". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Australian Government. Retrieved 25 June 2024.

[3] Taylor, Greg (2020). "Knighthoods and the Order of Australia". Australian Bar Review. 49: 332–3.

[5] "Constitution of the Order of Australia". Federal Register of Legislation. 16 April 2018. section 9. Appointments (including honorary appointments) to the Order and awards of the Medal of the Order shall be made, with the approval of The Sovereign, by Instrument signed by the Governor‑General and sealed with the Seal of the Order.

[DPMCHonoursOrder-6] "Order of Australia". gg.gov.au. 21 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

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