Australia’s distinctive honours system started back in 1975, and today the Order of Australia recognises services to the nation, and to humanity.

Like the UK’s system, Australian Honours reward role models in the community, and further afield, and encourage moral values everyone can aspire to. Anyone can nominate a person they think is worthy of an Australian Honour but only exceptional people are honoured.

We help families, organisations and individuals to put forward a comprehensive, accurate and in-depth presentation of their nominee’s achievements in order to give them the best chance of getting the recognition they deserve.

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Australian Honours Nominations

Anyone can nominate someone to be recognised through the Order of Australia. This can be a friend, family member, professional body or community organisation – in short anyone who knows the nominee well. 

Nominees must be Australian citizens or permanent residents, and alive at the time their nomination is submitted to the Secretariat.

You can’t nominate yourself but you can nominate a family member. However, in these cases, we emphasise also sourcing letters of support from other people not related to the nominee who are familiar with their contributions and achievements.

Nominations are assessed by the Honours and Awards Secretariat, considered by the Council of the Order of Australia before recommendations are made to the Governor-General.

Benefits of Receiving an Honour

There are many benefits to receiving an Australian Honour. Along with the prestige and legacy that comes with receiving such a high-level award, many nominees have reported the following benefits that have made a real difference and opened many doors:

  • Pride and respect from peers for receiving such well-deserved recognition
  • A raised personal profile and enhanced reputation
  • A greater degree of trust and acceptance of ideas, work and projects
  • Help with fulfilling personal and business potential
  • The ability to attract new business or personal opportunities

Very few awards carry the same gravitas or are as globally recognised and respected.

About the Australian Honours Process

The Australian Honours system is 100% nomination based. Nominations should include:

  • Examples of how they have demonstrated outstanding qualities
  • What they have done to make things better for others
  • The role(s) or area(s) in which they have excelled
  • The period of time, or dates of service (if known)
  • Evidence of other awards or recognition received by the nominee

Awards Intelligence can help you nominate someone for an Australian Honours award by professionally handling the whole process for you. Our consultants will work with you to craft a compelling nomination that effectively captures and presents your nominee’s achievements.

“From the first interaction with Mark, the team were very impressive, organised and helpful. They explained everything extremely clearly and the communication was excellent. The team that worked with me were professional and very supportive. I very much enjoyed working with Angela, as her energy, positivity and passion throughout this process was a real highlight. Overall, it was a pleasure to work with all of them and I recommend the team highly to anyone wishing to use similar services.”

Royal Honours Client, Sandringham service, October 2024

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Our guide to royal honours sets out how our services work, our approach to crafting an honours nomination, and how our globally recognised experts will give you the best chance of success.

Australian Honours FAQs

Below are answers to the most commonly asked questions about Australian Honours nominations and the awards process. If you have a question that isn’t addressed here, please contact our team.

When is the best time to make a nomination?

As soon as possible! Honours nominations are considered all year long. However, the honours process involves a consideration period of around 18–24 months from receipt of your nomination so it is important to get the nomination in the queue as soon as possible. Too many people wait to make a nomination and are disappointed when an unexpected change or delay prevents their nominee from getting the honour they deserve. Honours are announced on Australia Day and the King’s birthday in June.

What will the finished Australian Honours nomination look like?

A highly-detailed and colourful account of the nominee’s achievements: Our approach differs from most applications in that we would treat your nomination very much like a national newspaper personal profile, whereas the tendency is to approach it like a CV, which does not stand out to the judging committee. In summary, our nominations are very colourful and capture the interest of the judges, providing evidence of the nominee’s achievements through the use of photos, press articles, reports etc.

Why should I use a professional service to make a nomination?

To give your nomination the best chance of success: As with most things in life, if you do something enough times you become very good at it, so working with us will significantly increase your chances of success given that we have probably drafted more successful honours nominations than anyone else in the world. Our clients have enjoyed success right up to knighthood level.

And to save valuable time: Working with us will save you a considerable amount of time as the nomination process can be long and detailed. Our nominations are based on in-depth research of the nominee and contain as much clear and obtainable information about their achievements as possible. Gathering the necessary material, evidence and letters of support for a nomination is a time-consuming process, but is essential for such a prestigious award; a high level of information ensures that the nominee’s chances of success are as high as possible.

Can you give me an example of some of your winning nominations?

We never knowingly divulge who we work with on honours nominations. We will also treat your nomination with the same level of confidentiality. However, you can view examples of the feedback we have received from clients recently on our testimonials page. 

What are the different levels of the Australian Honours system?

The Australian Honours system has five distinct levels:

  • Knight / Dame of the Order of Australia (AK / AD)
  • Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
  • Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
  • Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
  • Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)

 

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