Honouring our colleagues – can you help? Wednesday, 01 June 2016

Article written by Engineers Australia Canberra President 2016 Alan Thompson FIEAust CPEng(Ret) EngExec

Engineers continue to make huge contributions to the well-being of Canberra and Australia as a whole. 

I personally believe that engineers who make a major contribution deserve to be recognised, and there are two ways this can be achieved.

Firstly, Engineers Australia periodically recognises individuals by awarding them Honorary Fellow status.  This is wonderful recognition within the profession, and if you have colleagues who you believe would be worthy recipients, please advise me, and the Divisional Committee.

Secondly, our colleagues can be recognised through the Australian Honours system. This approach could bestow a significant honour on a fellow EA member, and can also raise the profile of the entire engineering profession.

The Honours system is overseen by the Council for the Order of Australia.

The Council is an independent body which receives and assesses nominations for the awards. The Council is supported by a Secretariat attached to Government House in Canberra.

There are four main awards: OAM, AM, AO, and AC. Each year announcements are made about award recipients on Australia Day, and on the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June.

Importantly, the whole system is based on “nominations”, and this is where you could become involved.

If you believe one of your colleagues would be a worthy recipient of an Australian Honour, then please consider nominating them.  The nomination process requires a little research about the individual you are nominating, and you will also need to identify some supporting referees.

However, there is really useful guidance on the Honours web-site called Its an Honour”.

Some years ago I was a member of the Honours Council, and it was very noticeable that the medical profession, lawyers and academics were active in nominating their colleagues.  Sadly, engineers have been less diligent, so my request to you is to now think about nominating suitable recipients.

A fellow EA member could be a strong contender for an honour, if they have made a substantial contribution to Australian life through the engineering profession, and/or technical / scientific advances, and/or humanitarian work, and/or community and sporting bodies. 

However, it is important to consider two key points:

  • an Australian Honour is only awarded to individuals who have delivered “above and beyond the norm” … just doing a paid job is not enough.
  • self-nominations are not considered.

Over to you….. please think about your colleagues.