King's Birthday 2023 Honours List
The Governor-General today announced Honours and Awards for 1,192 Australians, including awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service.
“Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. Recipients have made substantial contributions and had a significant impact at the local, national or international level. Some are volunteers, others have had a remarkable impact in professional roles – many have done both. They are all inspiring and their service is valued by us all,” the Governor-General said.
“Learning about the wide-ranging service of recipients, which spans almost every field of endeavour imaginable, is uplifting and makes me enormously optimistic for our country. Collectively they speak to who we are now and who we can be in the future.”
Notably, for the first time since the Order of Australia was established in 1975, the majority of recipients in the General Division are women. Similarly, there is gender parity or better at the three highest levels in the Order.
“While we can take a moment to acknowledge the significance of achieving gender parity in our Honours, it should not be a cause for pause. We reflect on our progress, and then recommit our efforts to ensure nominations reflect our diverse and strong community.”
“Each recipient has something in common: someone nominated them. The Order of Australia belongs to each of us because nominations come from the community. In honouring today’s recipients, I also encourage all Australians to consider nominating someone they admire who has had a significant impact in the community.”
In addition to the 920 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (6 AC, 46 AO, 246 AM and 622 OAM), today’s Honours list includes:
- 19 recipients of awards in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (3 AO, 11 AM and 5 OAM)
- 199 Meritorious awards
- 54 Distinguished and Conspicuous awards
This list also includes 73 Australians recognised for their contribution in support of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These individuals will also be included in an ongoing and permanent COVID-19 Honour roll.