New Australian honours are created by The King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Since 1975, new awards have progressively been added to the system.
Why honours are created
New honours are created for two reasons:
- A need to recognise a category of people in the community is identified – for example, the Australian Fire Service Medal, which was created in 1988.
- A need to recognise participants in particular military operations is identified – for example, the International Force East Timor Medal, which was introduced in 2000.
Longstanding practice has been for the establishment of a new honour in the Australian honours system to require a strong case that national recognition is appropriate and that existing awards do not suffice.
How new honours are created
The process of introducing a new award involves a number of stages:
- In-principle agreement – when the government decides to seek to create an honour, in-principle agreement is sought from The King.
- Consultation – Government House Canberra, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and other relevant parties agree on factors such as nomination and assessment processes, medal and ribbon design and where the award will appear in the Order of Precedence.
- Approval - the Letters Patent, Regulations, medal design and Order of Precedence are approved by The King.
- Implementation - contracts are placed for manufacture of the medal and relevant administrative arrangements implemented.
Public announcement
The Prime Minister generally makes a public announcement following The King’s formal approval of an award.
The Letters Patent and the Regulations are then published on Australian Honours and Awards | Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia (gg.gov.au)
Letters Patent
The Letters Patent is the official document issued by The King granting the right for a particular award to be instituted.
Regulations
The Regulations set out the terms and conditions of an award including factors such as medal design and eligibility criteria.