ELIZABETH R

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth:

TO ALL to whom these Presents shall come,

GREETING:

WHEREAS by Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of Australia, bearing date at St. James’s the fourteenth day of February 1975, We did establish a society of honour known as the ‘Order of Australia’ and made other provision with respect to membership and the Constitution of the Order:

AND WHEREAS We are minded to establish a new category of membership and a new award within the Order and to make further and other provision with respect to eligibility, membership and the Constitution of the Order:

KNOW YOU that We, by these Presents, declare Our pleasure that the above-mentioned Letters Patent of the fourteenth day of February 1975 be amended, but without prejudice to anything lawfully done thereunder, as set out in the Schedule:

AND WE DO ordain that appointments to a category in the Civil Division of the Order made before the date of these Our Letters Patent shall be treated as having been made to that category in the General Division of the Order.

IN WITNESS whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent.

GIVEN under the Great Seal of Australia at Our Court at St. James’s on 24 May 1976

By Her Majesty’s Command,

MALCOLM FRASER

Prime Minister

Schedule

Amendments of the Constitution of the Order of Australia

1. Section 1 is amended—

 (a) by omitting ‘Civil’ (wherever occurring) and substituting ‘General’;

 (b) by omitting sub-section (3) and substituting the following sub­section:

 ‘(3) Appointments to the Order shall be as Knight or Dame, Companion, Officer, or Member.’; and

 (c) by adding at the end of the following sub-section:

 ‘(5) There shall be a Medal of the Order called the “Medal of the Order of Australia”.’.

2. Section 2 is revoked and the following section substituted:

 ‘2. The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia shall be the Chancellor of the Order and the Principal Knight or Dame, as the case may be, in the General Division.’.

3. Section 4 is amended—

 (a) by omitting from paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) ‘Executive Council’ and substituting ‘Federal Executive Council’;

 (b) by omitting from paragraph (c) of sub-section (1) ‘Department of the Special Minister of State’, and substituting ‘to the Department of Administrative Services’;

 (c) by omitting from paragraph (e) of that sub-section ‘Australia’ and substituting ‘the Commonwealth of Australia’; and

 (d) by omitting from sub-section (2) ‘his’.

4. Section 5 is amended—

 (a) by adding after ‘Order’ in paragraph (a) ‘and for the award of the ‘Medal of the Order’; and

 (b) by omitting from paragraph (c) ‘he’ and substituting ‘the Governor-General’.

5. Section 7 is revoked and the following section substituted:

 ‘7. The Governor-General may appoint such other officials for the Order as are, in the Governor-General’s sole discretion, considered to be necessary for the purpose.’.

6. Section 8 is amended by omitting ‘his’ and substituting ‘that person’.

7. Section 9 is amended by omitting ‘to the Order’ and substituting ‘as members of the Order and awards of the Medal of the Order’.

8. The heading before section 11 is amended by omitting ‘CIVIL’ and substituting ‘GENERAL’.

9. Section 11 is revoked and the following sections and heading substituted:

 ‘11. (1) Australian citizens, including members of the Defence Force, are eligible to be appointed to the Order as members in the General Division.

 ‘(2) Persons other than Australian citizens are eligible to be appointed to the Order as honorary members in the General Division.

 ‘(3) The Medal of the Order in the General Division may be awarded to Australian citizens and other persons.

Order of Australia—Knights and Dames in the General Division

 ‘11A. (1) Appointments as Knights or Dames, or honorary Knights or Dames, in the General Division shall be made for extraordinary and pre-eminent achievement and merit in service to Australia or to humanity at large.

 ‘(2) Notwithstanding sub-section (1), a distinguished person who is not an Australian citizen may be appointed an honorary Knight or Dame in the General Division where it is desirable that the person be honoured by Australia.

 ‘11B. Where a person ceases to hold office as Governor-General, he or she shall continue to be a Knight or Dame, as the case may be, in the General Division.

 ‘11C. The Governor-General may appoint to be Knights and Dames in the General Division, other than honorary Knights and Dames, not more than two persons in any calendar year.’.

10. The heading before section 12 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

11. Section 12 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ (wherever occurring) and substituting ‘General’.

12. Section 13 is revoked.

13. Section 14 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

14. The heading before section 15 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

15. Section 15 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ (wherever occurring) and substituting ‘General’.

16. Section 16 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

17. The heading before section 17 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

18. Section 17 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ (wherever occurring) and substituting ‘General’.

19. Section 18 is amended by omitting ‘Civil’ and substituting ‘General’.

20. After section 18 the following heading and section are inserted:

Medal of the Order of Australia—Awards in the General Division

 ‘18A. Awards of the Medal of the Order in the General Division may be made for service worthy of particular recognition.’.

21. Section 19 is amended by omitting ‘Civil Division’ and substituting ‘General Division or a nomination of a person for the award of the Medal of the Order in the General Division’.

22. Section 20 is amended by adding at the end the following sub-section:

 ‘(4) The Medal of the Order in the Military Division may be awarded to members of the Defence Force.’.

23. After section 23 the following heading and section are inserted:

Medal of the Order of Australia—Awards in the Military Division

‘23A. Awards of the Medal of the Order in the Military Division may be made for meritorious service or performance of duty.’.

24. Section 24 is amended by inserting after ‘Division’ in sub-section (1) ‘and awards of the Medal of the Order in the Military Division’.

25. Section 25 is amended—

 (a) by omitting from sub-section (1) ‘his’ and substituting ‘that person’;

 (b) by omitting paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) and substituting the following paragraph:

‘  ‘(a) the death of the person;’;

 (c) by omitting from paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) ‘his resignation’ and substituting ‘the resignation of the person’;

 (d) by omitting from paragraph (c) of sub-section (2) ‘his appointment’ and substituting ‘the appointment of that person’; and

 (e) by adding at the end the following sub-section:

 ‘(4) An award of the Medal of the Order may be cancelled by Ordinance, but an award that has been so cancelled may be restored by Ordinance.’.

26. The heading before section 25 is amended by adding at the end ‘AND CANCELLATION OF AN AWARD OF THE MEDAL’.

27. Section 26 is revoked and the following section substituted:

‘26. (1) A Knight or Dame, or honorary Knight or Dame, of the Order is entitled—

 (a) to have the letters “A.K.” or “A.D.”, as the case may be, placed after his or her name on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary; and

 (b) to wear as a decoration the prescribed insignia for Knights of the Order, or Dames of the Order, as the case may be.

 ‘(2) A Knight or Dame of the Order is entitled to use the title “Sir” or “Dame”, as the case may be, before his or her name.

 ‘(3) A Companion or honorary Companion of the Order is entitled—

 (a) to have the letters “A.C.” placed after his or her name on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary; and

 (b) to wear as a decoration the prescribed insignia for Companions of the Order.

 ‘(4) An Officer or honorary Officer of the Order is entitled—

 (a) to have the letters “A.O.” placed after his or her name on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary; and

 (b) to wear as a decoration the prescribed insignia for Officers of the Order.

 ‘(5) A Member or honorary Member of the Order is entitled—

 (a) to have the letters “A.M.” placed after his or her name on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary; and

 (b) to wear as a decoration the prescribed insignia for Members of the Order.

 ‘(6) A person who has been awarded the Medal of the Order is entitled—

 (a) to have the letters “O.A.M.” placed after his or her name on all occasions when the use of such letters is customary; and

 (b) to wear as a decoration the prescribed insignia for holders of the Medal of the Order.’.

28. Section 28 is amended by omitting sub-section (2) and substituting the following sub-section:

 ‘(2) Where a person ceases, otherwise than by death, to be a member of the Order or to be a holder of the Medal of the Order, that person shall forthwith return to the Secretary of the Order the insignia of the Order.’.