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Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
Subcategory of Order of Australia
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Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2021

recipient Tim Cahill For distinguished service to football as an elite player at the national and international level, and to charitable and sports organisations.
recipient Greg Chappell For distinguished service to cricket as a leading player, captain, coach and administrator at the elite level, and to a range of charitable foundations.
recipient Andrew Markus
recipient Kay Saunders For distinguished service to tertiary education, particularly to history, as an academic and author, to professional associations, and to the community.
recipient Chrissie Parrott For distinguished service to the performing arts, particularly to dance, as a performer, choreographer and director, and through mentoring roles.
recipient Russell Boyd For distinguished service to the visual arts as a cinematographer of Australian feature films and television productions.
recipient Christine Nixon For distinguished service to law enforcement, to women in policing, and to tertiary education.
recipient Baden Offord
recipient Anne Twomey For distinguished service to the law, to legal education, and to public education on constitutional matters.

Year: 2020

recipient Ted Baillieu For distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Victoria, particularly as Premier, and to international engagement.
recipient Larissa Behrendt  For distinguished service to Indigenous education and research, to the law, and to the visual and performing arts.
recipient J. M. Bennett For distinguished service to the law through prolific authorship of biographies of eminent members of the legal profession.
recipient Sam Lipski For distinguished service to the community through the promotion of strategic philanthropy, to education, and to Australia-Israel relations.
recipient Campbell Newman For distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Queensland, particularly as Premier, and to local government.
recipient Barry O'Farrell For distinguished service to the people and Parliament of New South Wales, particularly as Premier, and to the community
recipient Keith Urban For distinguished service to the performing arts as a singer and songwriter, and to charitable organisations.
recipient Amanda Vanstone
recipient Hugo Weaving For distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, and as a mentor of young writers, directors and film makers.
recipient Robyn Williams For distinguished service to science as a journalist, radio presenter and author, and to education.
recipient Bronwyn Bishop For distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the people of New South Wales, and to women in politics.
recipient Michael Clarke For distinguished service to cricket as a player at the national and international level, through leadership roles, and to the community.
recipient Marcia Langton For distinguished service to tertiary education, and as an advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
recipient Robyn Nevin For distinguished service to the performing arts as an acclaimed actor and artistic director, and as a mentor and role model.
recipient Graham Richardson For distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to the media as a political commentator, and through philanthropic support for a range of community organisations.
recipient Jan Sardi For distinguished service to the film and television industries as a screenwriter and director, and to professional guilds.
recipient Ryan Stokes For distinguished service to business, particularly in the media, mining and construction sectors, to cultural institutions, and to mental health and sporting groups.

Year: 2019

recipient Elena Kats-Chernin

For distinguished service to the performing arts, particularly to music, as an orchestral, operatic and chamber music composer.

recipient Banduk Mamburra Wananamba Marika

For distinguished service to the visual arts, particularly to Indigenous printmaking and bark painting, and through cultural advisory roles.

recipient Kylie Minogue
recipient Kevin Sheedy
recipient Magda Szubanski

For distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, comedian and writer, and as a campaigner for marriage equality.

recipient Rex Wild
recipient Rosie Batty For distinguished service to the community as a campaigner and advocate for the prevention of family violence.
recipient Ian Johnston
recipient Rachael Kohn
recipient Cunxin Li For distinguished service to the performing arts, particularly to ballet, as a dancer and artistic director.
recipient Natasha Stott Despoja For distinguished service to the global community as an advocate for gender equality, and through roles in a range of organisations.
recipient Meryl Tankard For distinguished service to the performing arts as a dancer, actor, producer, innovative choreographer and theatre director.
recipient Sigrid Thornton For distinguished service to the performing arts as a film, television and stage actor, and to professional arts organisations.
recipient Graeme Turner For distinguished service to higher education through pioneering work in the field of cultural studies and the humanities

Year: 2018

recipient Ian Darling

For distinguished service to documentary film production, to the performing arts, education and community engagement, and to social welfare organisations through philanthropic endeavours.

recipient Liz Ellis

For distinguished service to netball as an elite player and coach, through support and advocacy for young women, as a contributor to the broadcast and print media industries, and to the community.

recipient Marilyn Lake

For distinguished service to higher education, particularly to the social sciences, as an academic, researcher and author, and through contributions to historical

recipient Geoffrey Robertson

For distinguished service to the law and the legal profession as an international human rights lawyer and advocate for global civil liberties, and to legal education as an academic and publisher.

recipient Joseph Assaf

For distinguished service to multiculturalism, and to business, as a supporter of community education projects for people from linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to cultural harmony and inclusion.

recipient Susan Butler

For distinguished service to the community as a lexicographer and author, as a facilitator of academic discourse on Australian English language, and to commercial publishing.

recipient Kurt Fearnley

For distinguished service to people with a disability, as a supporter of, and fundraiser for, Indigenous athletics and charitable organisations, and as a Paralympic athlete

recipient Tom Gleisner

For distinguished service to the media and television industries as a writer, producer, actor and presenter, to children living with cancer, and as a supporter of young people with autism spectrum disorders.

recipient Kate Grenville

For distinguished service to the literary arts as an author, to the tertiary education sector, to professional societies, and as an advocate for the publishing industry.

recipient Jenny Kee

For distinguished service to the Australian fashion industry as a textile artist and clothing designer, and through contributions to the environment and conservation.

recipient Christine Milne

For distinguished service to the Australian and Tasmanian Parliaments, and through domestic and global contributions to the protection and preservation of the natural environment.

recipient Alitja Rigney

For distinguished service to education, particularly through providing opportunities for youth, and to the promotion and protection of Indigenous language, culture and heritage.

recipient Christian Thompson

For distinguished service to the visual arts as a sculptor, photographer, video and performance artist, and as a role model for young Indigenous artists.

recipient Gungwu Wang
recipient Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt

For distinguished service to tertiary education in the field of action research and learning as an academic, author and mentor, and to professional bodies.

Year: 2017

recipient Mary Ann Bin-Sallik

For distinguished service to tertiary education as an academic, author and

administrator, particularly in the area of Indigenous studies and culture, and as a role

model and mentor.

recipient John Brumby

For distinguished service to the Parliament of Victoria, to economic management

and medical biotechnology innovation, to improved rural and regional infrastructure,

and to the community.

recipient Nick Cave For distinguished service to the performing arts as a musician, songwriter, author and actor, both nationally and internationally, and as a major contributor to Australian music culture and heritage.
recipient Mick Fanning

For distinguished service to surfing as a professional competitor at the national and

international level, and as a supporter of a range of charitable foundations.

recipient Andrew Forrest

For distinguished service to the mining sector, to the development of employment and

business opportunities, as a supporter of sustainable foreign investment, and to

philanthropy.

recipient Patricia Grimshaw For distinguished service to the social sciences and to the humanities through researching, documenting and preserving Australian history, and the roles of women in society.
recipient Paul Kelly For distinguished service to the performing arts and to the promotion of the national identity through contributions as a singer, songwriter and musician.
recipient Anne O'Donovan For distinguished service to literature through the Australian publishing industry, as a mentor to authors, editors and publishers, and through sustained support for homeless youth.
recipient Larry Sitsky For distinguished service to the arts as a composer and concert pianist, to music education as a researcher and mentor, and through musical contributions to Australia's contemporary culture.
recipient Mark Webber For distinguished service to motor sport as a competitor and ambassador, and to the community through fundraising and patronage of a range of medical and youth support organisations.
recipient Stephen Page For distinguished service to the performing arts and contemporary dance, through enriching Australia's cultural environment, and by presenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts to the world.
recipient Collette Dinnigan For distinguished service to the clothing manufacturing industry as an internationally renowned fashion designer and entrepreneur, as a supporter and promoter of Australian wool, and to women as a role model.
recipient Patricia Cameron for work in promoting educational participation and achievement of Indigenous students, and preserving culture and traditional knowledge.
recipient Jimmy Barnes

Works About this Award

High Honours for Indigenous Trio 2017 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 14 June no. 653 2017; (p. 14)
Art Awakening Leads ‘Indigenous Renaissance’ Stephen Fitzpatrick , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 13 June 2016; (p. 7)
Top Honour for Moffatt 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 27 January no. 618 2016; (p. 8)
'Aboriginal artist Tacey Moffatt has been created an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in this year's Australia Day Honours list...'
Ouder of Australia Has Plucked a Gong Ashleigh Wilson , Matthew Westwood , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 26 January 2016; (p. 17)
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