Celebrated Olympian Cathy Freeman has been awarded Australia’s highest accolade for her contributions, as part of the 2026 Australia Day honours list.

Freeman, a proud Kuku Yalanji woman, has been named a Companion of the Order of Australia. This prestigious recognition highlights her exceptional service to athletics, her involvement in the reconciliation movement, and her influence as a community role model inspiring young people across the nation.

The Olympic gold medallist, who had previously received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2001, joins 949 other Australians who have been honoured this year. This diverse group includes former premiers, community leaders, and innovators in mental health.

Among the youngest honourees is Nicholas Alexander Pearce, aged 32, co-founder of HoMie Streetwear Store. Pearce’s initiative supports youth experiencing homelessness and financial difficulties.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Janina Archabuz and Derrick Hammon, both 99, are acknowledged for their dedicated community service in Melbourne and Canberra, respectively.

Cathy Freeman’s iconic victory in the 400m race at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games remains a defining moment in her illustrious career. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

Recipients are acknowledged across categories: awards in the Order of Australia (General and Military divisions), meritorious awards and recognition for distinguished and conspicuous service in the Australian Defence Force. The general division is based on nominations from the public.

“As the list so vividly showcases, so many Australians continue to give the best of themselves across many endeavours, in the interest of others,” said Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

“It is rewarding to see an increase in the number of awards, which reflects more nominations and recognition of the many Australians who inspire the best in all of us.”

Here are some key recipients on this year’s list.

Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)

Freeman is among 10 Australians in the general division receiving an AC honour — the highest-ranked award in the Australia Day honours system — including three leading scientists, two former politicians and two chief justices.

Leading cancer epidemiologist, emeritus professor Bruce Konrad Armstrong, has been recognised for “eminent service to medical research, to environmental and genetic cancer epidemiology, to screening service development, to academia, and to public health administration”.

Former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is also on the list for her “eminent service to the people and Parliament of Queensland, particularly as Premier, to educational equity, to multiculturalism, and to public health”.

Annastacia Palaszczuk served as Queensland premier from 2015 to 2023. Source: AAP / Jono Searle

Mathias Cormann, who served as finance minister under the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, has also been recognised with an AC.

Cormann is now secretary-general at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)

This year, 38 people have received AO honours, including former NSW premier Kristina Keneally and former South Australian premier Steven Marshall.

Former Labor politician Steven Marshall was the South Australian premier between 2018 and 2022. Source: AAP

Seven medical researchers and experts are also on the list, including Dr David Forbes, associate professor David Dossetor, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg and professor Anne Buist for their research on mental health.

Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

Former Australian Football League (AFL) executive general manager inclusion and social policy Tanya Hosch is one of 160 people in the general division appointed to the Order of Australia this year, for her “significant service to the community through social policy, and as an advocate for diversity and inclusion”.

Hosch was the first Indigenous person and second woman appointed to the AFL executive, and a recipient of South Australian of the Year in 2021.

Former AFL executive Tanya Hosch has been awarded for her service to communities. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

During her time at the AFL, she implemented the AFL’s enhanced First Nations strategy and was a strong advocate for the AFL’s Gender Action Plan.

During the Voice to Parliament Referendum in 2023, Hosch was a strong ‘Yes’ advocate who joined the launch of the campaign just two weeks after a leg amputation.

“I wanna keep working towards the elimination of racism, [it] does so much damage to not just our community but to us all as a country, to see the country come to greater awareness about its history and accepting how much it still needs to do better,” said Hosch in an interview with NITV Living Black in 2024.

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)

Several multicultural leaders are among the 472 people awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division.

Melbourne-based clinical neuropsychologist Dr Judy Tang has been awarded the OAM for her service to mental health, cultural diversity, equality and ageing.

Tang has been a strong advocate for multiculturalism and LGBTIQ+ communities, and has been volunteering to promote and advocate for equality for migrants for over a decade.

Dr Judy Tang spends over a decade on championing multicultural and LGBTIQ+ communities. Source: SBS News / Phoebe Deas

“It’s nice to be recognised for all the volunteer work that I’ve been fortunate enough to contribute to the community and society,” Tang told SBS News.

In NSW, Satwant Singh Calais, a prominent Sikh community leader who co-founded Sikh Youth Australia, has also received the OAM.

He told SBS News that he was surprised and humbled to receive the medal.

“I think it’s not so much a recognition of what I’ve done, but it’s a recognition of a community that actually works together to achieve the same goals that we’ve achieved over the last few years at Sikh Youth Australia,” he said.

Satwant Singh Calais is the president and co-founder of Sikh Youth Australia. Source: SBS News / Phoebe Deas

Calais started volunteering for migrant communities while at university, when he noticed many international students in Hobart struggle to engage with local communities.

He then established the Overseas Student Service at the University of Tasmania, where he collaborated with social workers to offer support and mentoring to newly arrived students.

He then took the same idea to Sikh Youth Australia,where he wanted to empower young Sikh people to be “who they are”.

“It’s an honour to do the service,” he said. “For a voluntary organisation working for 26 years where we don’t get any income from anyone else except for our own participants, it’s been a challenge, but it’s been a wonderful journey,” he said.

Dr Felix Ho, who won the Northern Territory Australian of the Year, is a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia. Source: SBS News / Josh van Staden

In the Northern Territory, Hong Kong-born medical practitioner Felix Ho has been awarded the OAM, after being named the Northern Territory (NT) Australian of the Year.

Ho is known for his decades-long volunteering for St John Ambulance Australia, where he leads the national youth portfolio to support over 3,000 young people aspiring to be the next generation of first responders.

In a recent interview with SBS News after receiving the NT Australian of the Year award, he looked back on his upbringing as a migrant.

“I’m an immigrant, and Australia has accepted me and my family for all its faults,” he said.

“Now recent events have highlighted some challenging times, especially for Australia as well as around the world,” he said, encouraging people to show compassion and learn about their neighbours. “We are all different, but that’s what gives us strength.”

Order of Australia council says gender balance ’cause for concern’

While offering its congratulations to the 680 Australians included in the 2026 Australia Day Honours list, the Council of the Order of Australia said the fact that only 184 of them were women was “a cause for concern”.

“The recipients come from all parts of the country and their service, achievements and impact are remarkable. All are deserving of recognition through our nation’s honours system for their service to the Australian community,” it said in a statement sent to media.

“However, the gender balance of this year’s honours list more broadly is both a cause for concern and, the Council hopes, a prompt for community action.”

It pointed out that OA honours were the result of public nominations, and this had led to a “significantly larger pool of nominations for men” eligible for consideration.

“Many more nominations are still being received for men than women and the Council must consider the nominations for Australians that are in the system,” it said.

“There is no doubt there are as many outstanding women contributing to our communities as there are men,” the council said, adding that the equal number of men and women appointed Companions of the Order this year was a reflection of that.

The council urged Australians to nominate more women for the list, saying that the online nomination process was simple and help was available to navigate it.

“We encourage all Australians to look around their community, their workplaces, and the whole of our society, identify the women, as well as the men, who make a difference and whose impact is profound and nominate them so they can be celebrated through the Order of Australia.”

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