Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service. Before the establishment of the order, Australian citizens received British honours.

The order is divided into general and military divisions, with the following grades in descending order of seniority: Honorary awards in all grades may be made to deserving non-citizens - these awards are made additional to the quotas.
 * Knight and Dame of the Order of Australia (AK and AD – General division only - quota of 4 per annum);
 * Companion of the Order of Australia (AC - quota of 25 per annum);
 * Officer of the Order of Australia (AO - quota of 100 per annum);
 * Member of the Order of Australia (AM - quota of 225 per annum); and
 * Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM - no quota).

History
The Order was established on 14 February 1975 by letters patent of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, and countersigned by the then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The original Order had only three grades: Companion (AC), Officer (AO), and Member (AM).

On 24 May 1976, the further categories of Knight (AK), Dame (AD), and Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) were established by the Queen on the advice of Whitlam's successor, Malcolm Fraser.

Following his 1983 election, Prime Minister Bob Hawke advised the abolition of the Knight and Dame categories. On 3 March 1986, the Queen co-signed letters patent revoking the categories of Knight and Dame. Existing Knights and Dames were not affected by this change. Following his election in 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott advised the Queen to reinstate the categories of Dame and Knight. In March 2014, the Queen co-signed letters patent to bring this into effect. The Queen of Australia is Sovereign Head of the Order while the Governor-General is Principal Companion/Dame/Knight, (as relevant at the time), and Chancellor of the Order. The Governor-General's Official Secretary is Secretary of the Order.

The Order of Australia is modelled closely upon the Order of Canada, though the Order of Australia has been awarded rather more liberally, especially in regard to honorary awards to foreigners. To date, only 18 non-Canadians have been appointed to the Order of Canada, while more than 275 non-Australians have been appointed to the Order of Australia, with more than 30 to the "Companion" grade.

Appointment
The Order consists of four grades and the medal, in both general and military divisions. Knighthood and Damehood of the Order are made in the general division only.

While State Governors can present the Officer, Member and Medal of the Order of Australia to their respective state's residents, only the Queen of Australia or Governor-General can present the Knight/Dame and Companion grades of the Order.

The different grades of the Order are awarded according to the recipients' levels of achievement:


 * Knight/Dame

General Division – 'Extraordinary and Pre-eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large'. Military Division – Not awarded in the military division. There is a quota of four per year excluding honorary appointments.


 * Companion

General Division – 'Eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large'. Military Division – 'Eminent service in duties of great responsibility'. Excluding honorary appointments, no more than 25 Companions are appointed in any calendar year.

General Division – 'Distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or to humanity at large'. Military Division – 'Distinguished service in responsible positions'. The quota is set at 100 Officers appointed in any calendar year.
 * Officer

General Division – 'Service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group'. Military Division – 'Exceptional service or performance of duty'. The quota is set at 225 Members appointed in any calendar year.
 * Member

General Division – 'Service worthy of particular recognition'. Military Division – 'Meritorious service or performance of duty'. There are no quota limits on awards of the Medal of the Order.
 * Medal of the Order of Australia

Any person may nominate any Australian citizen for an award. The nominations are reviewed by the Council for the Order of Australia, and then approved by the Governor-General. The Order is awarded on Australia Day and on the Queen's Birthday public holiday in June, when public announcements are made about new awards, on the occasion of a special announcement by the Governor-General, (usually honorary awards), and on the appointment of new Governors-General.

People who are not Australian citizens may be awarded honorary membership of the Order at all grades.

Appointments to the Order are not made posthumously; however, if a nominee dies after accepting an appointment but before the relevant announcement date, the appointment still stands and it is announced as having effect from no later than the date of the nominee's death.

Awardees may subsequently resign from the Order, and also may have their award cancelled by the Governor-General.

Insignia
The badge of the Order of Australia is a convex disc (gold for AKs, ADs and ACs, gilt for AOs, AMs and OAMs) representing the Golden Wattle flower. At the centre is a ring, representing the sea, with the word 'Australia' below two branches of golden wattle. 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 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 blue with a central stripe of golden wattle flower designs; that of the military division has additional golden edge stripes. AKs, male ACs and AOs wear their badges on a necklet; 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.

The Order's insignia were designed by Stuart Devlin.

Royal members of the Order

 * HM Queen Elizabeth II of Australia: Sovereign Head of the Order
 * HRH The Prince of Wales: Knight (AK)
 * HRH The Duke of Edinburgh: Honorary Companion (AC) (Military Division)

Officials of the Order

 * Sovereign Head of the Order: Queen of Australia (Elizabeth II)
 * Chancellor and Principal Knight: Governor-General of Australia (General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC)
 * Secretary: Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia (Stephen Brady CVO)

Knights and Dames


The categories of Knight (AK) and Dame (AD) of the Order were created by Letters Patent issued by the Queen of Australia on 24 May 1976, on advice from the Fraser Liberal-National government. They were discontinued by her on 3 March 1986 on advice from the Hawke Labor government. Existing knights and dames were not affected by the removal of the category from the Letters Patent.

During this period, twelve knights and two dames were created, of whom ten of the knights and both of the dames are now deceased.

Following his appointment as prime minister in 2013, Tony Abbott announced the Queen had accepted his advice to again amend the Letters Patent to re-establish the categories of Dame and Knight. This came into effect on 25 March 2014, at which time he announced that Governor-General Quentin Bryce had immediately become a Dame in her capacity as Chancellor of the Order, and that the Governor-General-designate General Peter Cosgrove would become Chancellor and Principal Knight on his taking up the appointment of Governor-General on 28 March. Up to four knighthoods may be awarded each year. Knights and Dames will be appointed by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia after consultation with the Chair of the Order of Australia Council.

Educational background of recipients of highest awards
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 that "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". The hard-copy article also published a table of the schools which were ranked in the top ten places:

Order of Australia Association
On 26 January 1980 recipients of awards in the Order formed the Order of Australia Association. This organisation seeks to aid the members of the order in their pursuits related to the development and maintenance of Australia's culture and traditions. The organisation also attempts to increase awareness of those honoured by the order, since many of their number are not household names, despite their contributions. Branches of the association can be found in all the states and territories of Australia.

Honorary awards
Awards in 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 11 July 2010, the Australian Honours website listed appointments for 34 Honorary Companions, 67 Honorary Officers, 86 Honorary Members of the Order of Australia and the award of 88 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
 * Honorary Officer:
 * Ali Alatas, Mel Gibson, Maina Gielgud, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Clive Lloyd, Lord Morris of Manchester, US General David Petraeus, Jerzy Toeplitz, 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
 * 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

Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) on 14 March 1981. As he is not technically an Australian citizen, this would have required the award to be honorary. To overcome this issue, his appointment was created by amendment to the Constitution of the Order of Australia by special Letters Patent signed by The Queen. Hence, the Prince of Wales is a full member in the General Division, not an honorary appointment.

On the other hand, his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is an Honorary Companion of the Order.

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.

Appointment process
A nomination for an Order of Australia award starts with an Australian citizen filling in a confidential form and submitting it to the Honours Secretariat at Government House in Canberra. This form is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

The nomination forms are given to the Council for the Order of Australia. Who attends meetings of the council and reasoning as to why a nomination either did or did not result in an appointment is confidential. The council makes recommendations to the governor-general, who presents the order's insignia to new appointees, The council may also advise the governor-general to remove an individual from the order.

Announcements of all awards, cancellations and resignations appear in the Commonwealth Gazette. People awarded honours have the option of not having the information appear on the "It's an Honour" website.

Precedence
"Imperial" honours awarded after 5 October 1992 have been classed as "Foreign awards", and hence have lower precedence than all Australian awards. (Note, however, that the (original/imperial/British) Victoria Cross, and awards of the monarch, have retained their order of precedence.)