It's an honour
Search Australian Honours
You can search the Australian Honours database on this website. There are options to perform a simple search based on name, announcement or medal/award type or an advanced search which searches all the database fields in any combination.
Australian Honours system
Like nearly every other country in the world, Australia has a system of honours and awards so its citizens can be recognised for excellence, achievement or meritorious service and contributions to our society. Honours help define, encourage and reinforce national aspirations, ideals and standards by identifying role models. We give honours to recognise, celebrate and say thank you to those who make a difference, those who achieve their best and those who serve others.
History
Australia’s distinctive honours system began in 1975 with the creation of the Order of Australia, to recognise service to the nation or humanity, as well as the Australian Bravery Decorations and the National Medal.
There are 58 awards in the Australian honours system and these are administered by various organisations. You can find out more about the history of our awards system on this site.
Australian honours are unique in that they were designed for the community to make nominations. The Australian honours system is free of patronage or political influence. Anyone can nominate an Australian citizen for an honour.
Awards
In this section you will find information the Australian Honours system, including:
- Full listings of the Awards in our honours system, including how they are:
- How to nominate and/or apply for awards
- How and when to wear a medal.
- Post-nominal entitlements for particular awards.
- A pictorial guide to awards - the Australia’s Honours poster.
You can also find information about:
You can also read stories about our Honoured Australians and search the Australian Honours database.
Information on Australian Flags and Symbols
You can also click on the links below for information on Australian flags and symbols:
- Australian National Anthem
- Australian National Flag
- Australian Flags
- Australian National Symbols
- Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Information is also available about Anniversary Messages from the Prime Minister, the Governor-General or The Queen.