Speech delivered on 16 April 2026, at Rydges Southbank, Brisbane

Opening remarks

• Acknowledgement of Country – Turrbul and Yuggera people 

• I'd also like to acknowledge:

  o    Major General Barry Nunn AO (Retd), Chair of the Order of Australia Association 
  o    The Hon Vicki O’Halloran, President of the Order of Australia Association
  o    Dr Helen Nugent AC, Chair of the Order of Australia Association Foundation
  o    Ms Ronda Nix OAM, Chair of the Queensland Branch of the Order of Australia Association – and my thanks to Ronda for the invitation to speak today
  o    Members of the Association, partners and distinguished guests.

Well, it’s wonderful to be here in Brisbane for the Association’s national conference.  Quite frankly, it was an invitation that I couldn’t refuse – this room is full of talented, committed, creative, generous people … working across a huge range of skills, passions and vocations … contributing so much to our collective life in Australia.  

You’re a reminder that people in the Order of Australia don’t stop when they’re recognised.  More often than not, recognition is, in fact, a spur for further service and contribution to community.

And so it’s my privilege to be here and, equally, a privilege to lead the Council for the Order of Australia, the body that considers nominations and makes recommendations to the Governor-General as to who gets to join you as members of the Order.  These are people who go ‘above and beyond’ and show us, as Australians, what courage, tenacity and commitment looks like.

In the knowledge that many of you are nominators yourselves, what I’d like to do this morning is give you some insight into how the Council approaches its work, and what we can be focussing on, together.

Finally, as good friends of the Order, I’d like to give you some ‘back-room’ insights into what we’re challenged by and what we’re doing to address them.    

The first matter is that of gender imbalance that persists in our Honours lists as I know it’s front of mind for many of us, and something that’s been a subject of discussion in the media.

The second is the backlog of nominations that the Honours Secretariat is currently dealing with that has extended the time from nomination to outcome.

The third and final is some information about the Council, some clarity on how we deliberate, and what we consider when we look to award some of our finest Australians.

Addressing the gender imbalance

Firstly, then: gender. This is an issue that has received a lot of attention.

As you’re all well aware, the major factor in who is recognised in the Order is nominations. Without outstanding people being nominated, they can’t be recognised.

So, when we consider gender balance, it is important to look at the nominations themselves. Let me give you a high-level summary of what we know with these four facts.

1. Far more men than women are being nominated.
2. Men nominate more often than women.  
3. And men tend to nominate other men.
4. Of the women that nominate, they tend to nominate men (although in recent years that has changed).

In my view, this is shocking.  And it’s one of our greatest challenges because it’s not merely a matter of refining our internal priorities and processes.  It will require a cultural shift about how the nation views women and their value.  I’m talking about a cultural shift across industries and institutions, across social networks and community organisations, about how we, as Australians, view and value women.

So let’s get ‘under the hood’ and look into the detail.

We all know that there are just as many deserving women as there are men in our community.

Women who are doing extraordinary things – in medicine and science and engineering; law and literature and policymaking; in care and advocacy and justice; in sports and the arts; in education; in their neighbourhoods, networks and communities; and in the corporate sector.  Everywhere, there are great women going ‘above and beyond’.

And so the problem has never been that women aren’t doing enough. The problem is that women aren’t being seen in the same manner that we see men, and therefore, nominated in the same numbers as men. 
And that is something Australians need to change.  And it’s something that you can contribute to by nominating deserving women - and using your sphere of influence - by encouraging others to nominate deserving women, too.

We need to work towards a future where every Honours list truly reflects the diversity of our community. Acknowledging high achievement sends our thanks to those who have made a valuable contribution. And it gives all Australians a sense of what’s possible.  What courage, skill and dedication looks like across our whole community.

The many ways Australians go above and beyond on the world stage or in our local neighbourhoods.

Reducing the time from nomination to outcome

Now, onto the second issue: the time from nomination to outcome.

As I mentioned, I’m aware that many of you are keen nominators. On the back of my address today, I hope you’ll be motivated to nominate deserving women, as well as men. However, should you nominate someone this evening, I won’t see that nomination for three to five years.  

In many ways this is good news; such is the popularity of Australia’s eminent award and I’m thrilled by this.  In other ways, it presents our second challenge, and that is, how we can turn nominations around in a more timely manner.  Put simply, our work needs to match the public’s enthusiasm.

From my perspective, the ideal period for a nomination process to play out is 12–18 months.
As it stands currently, a nomination you make tonight, under the same process, might not conclude until 2029, or even later. That’s because the system has a backlog of more than 8,000 nominations.  And the number of nominations has surpassed the capacity of the Secretariat to research them and the Council to consider them.

And so today, I am pleased to announce that we’ve been successful in gaining financial support from the commonwealth government and I’d like to thank Minister Gorman, an active and enthusiastic Council member representing the Prime Minister, for supporting this growing number of nominations.

In addition, we have adjusted the Secretariat’s procedures and at the same time, we’ve adjusted the way in which Council operates, including the establishment of a sub-committee to triage our assessments.

All of these new actions balance efficiency with rigour.

It will drastically increase the throughput of nominations to Council.  And importantly, it will ensure that the current careful research of each nomination continues because, as we all know, the integrity of the Order is paramount and must be maintained.

The additional investment and changes to the administration of the Order will mean clearing the backlog, reducing the amount of time from nomination to outcome, and ensuring that we recognise and celebrate people that have gone above and beyond.
We have a plan, we now have the resources, and I am confident that by 30 June 2027, Council will have been able to consider all of the existing backlog of 8000 nominations that are currently in the system.

So while I can’t stand here and say that the person you nominate tonight will be included in the 2027 King’s Birthday honours list, I can, however, say that in a year’s time, we will assume the ideal timeframe of 12–18 months.

The operations of the Council

Finally, this morning, I want to give you a flavour of what it’s like for the Council when we sit down together to consider nominations.

For those that aren’t aware, the Council comprises eight community representatives, a representative from each state and territory, as well as representatives from the Chief of the Defence Force, The Prime Minister, and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, who serve as ex-officio members of Council.

Each person brings diverse perspectives and experiences and their unique and important lens over every nomination

And each works incredibly hard and takes their role very seriously. They devote months to prepare for each of our two meetings across the year, representing large slices of personal time across the Christmas and new year period when most people are enjoying family time.  

Why do we do that? Because recognise that we’re custodians of a system with a 50-year history.

We’re conscious of the weight of our responsibility, we’re respectful of the past, mindful of the present and conscious that our work also goes to the future of the Order.  And we’re conscious that as we go about our work, we represent all of you, as people recognised in the Order, maintaining how your contribution is valued.

Our discussions are frank and respectful, and I’m sure you’ll appreciate that confidentiality is critical.

Sometimes there is consensus but often there are differing views and robust debate.

Our challenge is to be as objective and consistent as possible in what is, by design, a merit-based system, albeit one where we, the Council, are required to make decisions based on the information we have at hand.

To help that decision making process there are several steps: 

1.    First, a nomination goes through a rigorous, independent research process, which involves clarifying someone’s contribution, reference checking, seeking further references if required, and so on. This is a critical part of the Secretarial process.
 
2.    Then the nomination is provided to Council for consideration where we make an assessment, and where each Council member applies - what I referred to earlier - as their unique lens over the information. This demonstrates how important it is for Council members to represent different parts of our society and the Order itself.

3.    At that point, Council may request further information or investigation, or make a decision.

4.    When the list is complete, we then make our recommendations to the Governor-General and seek her approval of the list.

5.    The award would then be announced in the next list, be that the Australia Day or King’s Birthday honours list.

Of particular note is The Order’s constitution which provides the basic structure for our decision-making and the recommendations we make to the Governor-General:

• Companions are individuals who, and I quote, are recognised ‘for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large.’
• Officers are honoured for ‘distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or to humanity at large’
• Members are recognised for ‘service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group’
• And, the OAM encompasses ‘service worthy of particular recognition’.

But nothing is black and white; there is always room for the Council to exercise judgement within these categories.

Another example of exercising judgement might be a term I’ve used many times this morning, and this is “above and beyond”.  What does this mean, exactly? 

1.    First, meritorious work is not necessarily voluntary work.  One might be paid - and paid very well - in their day job – and that doesn’t exclude them from consideration. If we were to exclude people from being recognised for doing their job, we would automatically exclude, for example, a brilliant medical researcher whose work has saved lives or a nurse who has been paid but in her role has transformed health care in a remote community

2.    We avoid awarding people for doing a good job.  Someone may be a terrific school principal who’s well respected and highly competent, for example, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gone above and beyond.  But if that school principal invented a literacy program that changed the lives of hundreds of students in a demonstrative way, that may be considered above and beyond what might otherwise be expected of them in their role.

Another example might be someone who is a terrific business person, whose company has been very successful, but that too wouldn’t mean that they’ve gone above and beyond.

3.    If someone has done a good job, and is paid well, we’ll ask ourselves, ‘how has this person gone beyond that of their peer’?

For example, is their impact greater than that of others in similar roles, have they volunteered their time, have they mentored or shaped younger generations, have they led something that’s innovative or life-changing for others, has their work been delivered in exceptionally difficult or challenging environs, is their impact so profound that it is exceptional when compared to others in the same field.

4.    In testing ourselves, we might picture the nominee standing with their colleagues and ask ourselves, ‘if awarded, how would their peers react’?  Would they regard the honour as appropriate recognition of a peer for doing more than just showing up?

None of this is easy, and no system is perfect, but as Chair, I am indebted to my fellow Council members for their rigour, commitment and professionalism.
 
Closing remarks

As Chair, I want the Order of Australia to be as inclusive as possible and to reflect and celebrate everything that we are as a people, and as a nation.

We all know the saying: ‘you can’t be what you can’t see.’  I look forward to a day when, through the Honours system, every young Australian – regardless of their gender, or other characteristic – can look at the Honours list on Australia Day or The King’s Birthday, and see themselves.

Because when someone sees themselves, a new world opens up – a world of endless possibility.  Imagine if young people, of all backgrounds, could see themselves, and their futures, in the Honours lists.

Then our nation’s highest honours and awards would reflect the fullness of who we are, in all our wonderful diversity.

That’s the day I’m looking forward to, and I hope you’ll join me, and the Council, in that endeavour.

Thank you.