On this day, the King’s Birthday Honours will be announced.
The Order of Australia Awards are announced twice yearly, on Australia Day and the King’s Birthday.
There are a number of levels or classifications within the Australian Honours scheme. These are OAM, AM, AO and AC. A fifth level, the AK/AD, was created when the awards were first instituted. This was discontinued and briefly reintroduced by the Abbott Government.
The OAM is a medal in the general division of the Order of Australia. There is no restriction on the number of OAMs that can be awarded. AM represents a Member of the Order of Australia, AO is an Officer, AC represents a Companion of the Order.
The AK/AD is a Knight or Dame of the Order.
This year is special as it represents the 50th year of the Order of Australia.
The new Order was formally established on February 14, 1975.
As the Order states, ‘the Order of Australia, instituted by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 February 1975 was established as an Australian society of honour for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service’.
The Order is administered by the Honours Secretariat, which is part of the Governor General’s office.
The process commences with a nomination. Anyone can nominate an individual for recognition under the scheme. The nominee must be a living person. Deceased people cannot be nominated. A nominee can be honoured posthumously, with an award, if the nomination was made before they died.
The process is confidential, and the nominee must not be approached or notified of the nomination. A sensible policy, saving embarrassment or disappointment in the event the nomination is unsuccessful.
Honourees and nominees come from all walks of life. They can include volunteers in local organisations, sportsmen and women, elite athletes, entertainers, business leaders, people from the arts, farmers and community leaders.
A number of locals across the region have been honoured.
For those interested or wishing to nominate, here is a link to the Order of Australia site: tinyurl.com/3jd9v2zu
By Peter Sutton
Murrumbeena, Victoria
14°C