'We need to do more': Less than a fifth of Order of Australia recipients from diverse backgrounds

Some say Australia needs to do more to honour those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

South Australian painter Vincent Namatjira, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2020 for his service to Indigenous visual art and the community. Credit: Jackson Lee/PR Image

Key points

• Order of Australia honours are primarily given to white men.
• Advocates say diversity must be further promoted.
• They're calling on Australians to nominate CALD candidates.

Diversity advocates have called on Australian citizens to honour more people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, to better represent Australia's multicultural make-up.

The 40,000 Australians who have received an Order of Australia Honours (AO) award since 1975 are primarily white men. The award is given for outstanding achievement and service.

SBS News can reveal that from 2017-21, just 17.2 per cent of nominees were born overseas.

The concern among advocates is not with the honours system itself, but with who is voting.

"We need to do more to encourage people from those communities to nominate," Mohammad Al-Khafaji, CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia, told SBS News.

Anyone can nominate someone to receive an AO, but Mr Al-Khafaji said many CALD communities aren't aware of the awards.

"We all need to do more to educate the community about the awards, how they work, and who can nominate, to ensure nominations are reflective of the population," he said.

"If we commit ourselves to nominating one great Australian from a CALD background each year, that will make a difference."

Shelley Reys, chair of the Council for the Order of Australia, said there has been "some good progress in recent years" for women, who received 46 per cent of honours in 2022.

"While this increase is welcome, it’s still not enough," Ms Reys wrote in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald published on Monday.

According to Ms Reys, "more men nominate (56 per cent of all nominations) and 70 per cent of the nominations made by men are for (other) men".

"Women nominate less often (44 per cent) but nominate men and women equally – so encouraging both men and women to nominate women will make a difference."

Australian Actor Hugh Jackman (third from right) with other recipients after he was appointed a Companion in the General Division for eminent service to the performing arts in 2019. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE

Nominees from CALD backgrounds are even more scarce than women, despite almost 27.6 per cent of Australians being born overseas, according to data from the most recent Census.

The governor-general's office revealed that less than one-in-five recipients come from CALD backgrounds.

In 2022, the governor-general's office became responsible for promotion and outreach in relation to the Order of Australia.

"This reflected the Governor-General’s priority that the Order reflect the diversity of our community. The objective is for parts of our community that have been historically underrepresented in nominations (and therefore awards) to be better represented," a spokesperson for the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General told SBS News.

“For this to happen we need to encourage more nominations from the community for Australians from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Governor-General David Hurley has met with multicultural leaders and the office is working with community organisations to "raise awareness and encourage engagement".

“The work is ongoing and we will continue to engage with culturally diverse communities to raise awareness, encourage nominations and, ultimately, ensure the Order of Australia reflects all parts of our community,” the spokesperson said.

How to nominate someone for an Honour

Anyone can nominate someone to be recognised through the Order of Australia. Nominations can be submitted at any time during the year.

You can do so by filling out this online form.

Nominations are generally processed in order of receipt and the nomination process can take between 18 months and two years, according to the governor-general's office.

To nominate someone, you must provide examples of how they have demonstrated "outstanding qualities" and "what they have done to make things better for others".

You must also state four referees, and all nominations are confidential.

Should honours be given on 26 January?

The honours are presented on Australia Day, 26 January, and the Queen's birthday holiday, in June.

Australia Day has been marked with a public holiday on this date for nearly three decades. While it is a day of celebration for some, for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people it is a day of mourning and is referred to as Invasion Day or Survival Day.

On 26 January, 1788, is the day Sir Arthur Phillip raised the British flag at Warrane (Sydney Cove) to claim the land as a British colony.

It is a day that marked the beginning of a "long and brutal colonisation of people and land," said Ron Glynn McDonald, from First Nations not-for-profit Common Ground.

Nèha Madhok from racial and economic justice organisation Democracy in Colour told SBS News that more CALD people should be nominated for honours, and the date of the ceremony should be changed.

"While it’s definitely important for there to be more people of colour represented in our national honours, these events must not be held on January 26," she said.

"Doing so only serves to create division between First Nations people and people of colour.

"We can find a day to celebrate local heroes that isn’t also a day of immense sorrow and mourning for First Nations people."