This is a story from our series about Australians who have nominated people for recognition in the Order of Australia. Because the nomination process is confidential, these stories are being told anonymously.  

“Why I nominated someone I admired for recognition” 

“When I reflect on the lives of the people I meet and the wonderful work they do, I can’t help but be humbled by them. They seem to be people who are so grateful that their home, Australia, has given them an opportunity to follow their commitment toward doing good work or championing an important cause on behalf of our community.    

"Without exception, none of these people are seeking any recognition or profit; they seem to know that the work they do is ‘the right thing to do’.  This is so true for the person I nominated for the Order of Australia honour.  Perhaps that bit of reflection on my behalf made me think: ‘You know what? Let’s give ourselves the opportunity to celebrate this person and their life’s work for community.’  And having gone through the nomination process I can now see that there is no better way to celebrate a person’s good works than to be honoured by the Australian community itself.    

"I didn’t really think about the nomination process itself, I just jumped into the information on the Governor-General’s website without having seen any background to what I had to do.  My only experience was witnessing the Awards in previous years.  That is what gave me the idea.  

"And you know what … the process is not onerous at all.  The system ‘saves your form’ so you can easily go back to it when you have a little time think about what you want to say about the person. Editing is easy.  I think this is a good thing because I guess that the team of people assessing a nomination are hoping to see some evidence of commitment to a cause or work that has really helped the local community.  From surf club to volunteering to science. All of these endeavours need Australians who have been able to commit to making their organisation a better place or their field of expertise enriched.    

"I was asked if I would nominate again, and it’s a good question. I have not thought about this at all.  But, yes, I would.  I know an older lady who has quietly worked as a volunteer helping some of the community with food parcels.  If no one nominates her soon I will.  

"The whole process takes a long time, and so it should.  Fortunately, the person I originally nominated was recognised with an honour, but I too then had an unexpected surprise - from their reaction. It was an absolute delight to witness their joy at receiving their well-deserved award; they were completely surprised, stunned and overjoyed.  It gave them pause for thought about their own life.  I hadn’t thought at all about how I would feel seeing the nominee receive the Honour, but I must admit it felt great to be the person who started the whole process.”