Staff, alumni and affiliates of the University of Sydney have been recognised for their achievements in the 2026 Australia Day Honours list.

Announced on 26 January, the Australia Day Honours recognise and celebrate Australians for distinguished and conspicuous service.

Australian of the Year

Alumna and astronaut Katherine Bennell‑Pegg has won the prestigious 2026 Australian of the Year award, recognised for her extraordinary contributions to space science, her leadership within Australia’s growing space sector and her commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Mark Scott AO congratulated Bennell-Pegg on the honour: "Katherine Bennell-Pegg has not only made outstanding contributions to the visibility and advancement of Australia’s space sector but has been a tireless advocate for gender equity in science and engineering, including in space-related fields. We celebrate this recognition of her as an inspiring leader and role model."

Read more about Bennell-Pegg's achievement here.

Senior Australian of the Year

Faculty of Medicine and Health alumnus Professor Henry Brodaty (MBBS ’70), one of Australia’s most respected dementia researchers and clinicians, has been named Senior Australian of the Year in recognition of his decades-long commitment to improving the lives of people living with dementia and their carers.

Vice‑Chancellor and President, Professor Mark Scott AO congratulated Professor Brodaty on the honour: “Professor Henry Brodaty’s career has been defined by compassion, clinical excellence and an unwavering commitment to improving care for people living with dementia and those who support them. His research, leadership and advocacy have shaped dementia care in Australia and internationally, and this recognition rightly acknowledges the profound impact of his life’s work.”

Australia Day Honours

A complete list of staff and alumni recognised can be found below. A full list of those recognised in the 2026 Australia Day Honours can be found at the Governor-General’s website.  

Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Mark Scott AO, congratulated all recipients on behalf of the University.  

“These awards recognise remarkable individuals whose dedicated service to the community, through ongoing contributions and inspirational leadership, aim to makes lives better. We are proud of your achievements and honoured by your association with the University,” Professor Scott said.

Staff

Companion of the Order of Australia

• Emeritus Professor Bruce Konrad Armstrong
  For eminent service to medical research, to environmental and genetic cancer epidemiology, to screening service development, to academia, and to public health administration.

Officer of the Order of Australia

• Professor John Cannon (BSc '65, MSc '67, PhD '71)
  For distinguished service to tertiary education, to mathematical computation, to cryptography, and to the development of algebraic software systems.
• Associate Professor David Romney Dossetor
  For distinguished service to psychiatry, particularly neurodevelopmental mental health in children and adolescents, and to paediatric clinician education.
• Professor Robyn Daneale Gallagher
  For distinguished service to nursing academia, to cardiovascular health and disease prevention research, to rehabilitation, and to tertiary education.

Member of the Order of Australia

• The Honourable Geoffrey John Bellew
  For significant service to the judiciary and the law, to the legal profession, and to rugby league.
• Professor Ian Kerridge (BA '90)
  For significant service to ethics research and training, and as a clinician and author.
• Conjoint Professor Nicholas Lintzeris
  For significant service as a clinical researcher in addiction medicine.
• Professor Nicholas Manolios (PhD (Med) '90)
  For significant service to medicine in the field of immunology and rheumatic diseases.

Medal of the Order of Australia

• Professor Annamarie Rustom Jagose 
  For service to tertiary education.

Alumni

Companion of the Order of Australia

• The Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Scott Bell (BA '88, LLB '90)
  For eminent service to the judiciary and to the law, to legal education and training, and to the arts as an administrator and benefactor.

Officer of the Order of Australia

• Mr Graham John Bradley (BA '72, LLB '72)
  For distinguished service to corporate governance, to arts leadership, and to sport and education.
• Ms Anne Inkeri Hollonds (BSocStud '84)
  For distinguished service to family, children and community safety, wellbeing and human rights, and to policy, research and practice.
• Mrs Penelope Alice Seidler (BArch '64)
  For distinguished service to the visual arts as an administrator, patron and benefactor, to heritage preservation, to conservation, and to architecture.

Member of the Order of Australia

• Ms Kim Elizabeth Anderson (BA '80)
  For significant service to literature, and to the publishing industry.
• Associate Professor Robert Joseph Bauze (MBBS '64)
  For significant service to orthopaedics and trauma care as a clinician and administrator.
• Emeritus Professor Christopher Raymond Bellenger (BVSc '67, PhD '76)
  For significant service to veterinary science, to tertiary education, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.
• Professor Stephen Chiu Ho Li (MBBS '89, MPH '04)
  For significant service to multicultural community health, to public pathology, and to the community.
• Mr Maxwell James Connery (LLB '59)
  For significant service to social welfare, and to choral music.
• Dr Ronald Frederick Edwards (MEd(Honours) '83)
  For significant service to the environment, and to the community.
• Mr Peter Charles Grey (BEc '71)
  
• For significant service to public administration, to international trade, and to business.
• Ms Gail Iris Hambly (BEc '73)
  For significant service to the media and communications sector, to the arts, and to the legal profession.
• Dr Sarah Louise Hill (BSc '99, MURP '00, PhD '18)
  For significant service to public administration, to urban planning, and to public policy.
• The Late Mr Robert George Hirst (BA '78)
  For significant service to the performing arts through music.
• Ms Jennifer Holmes (MHlthSc(Hlth Informatics) '03)
  For significant service to community health through alcohol and drug use prevention and treatment initiatives.
• Dr Michael Jeffrey Hooper (MBBS '68)
  For significant service to endocrinology, and to biomedical musculoskeletal research.
• Ms Sylvia Falzon (MHRM&IR '99)
  For significant service to community health, to corporate governance, and to the museums and finance sectors.
• Dr Susan Jacobs (BSc(Med)(Hons) '84, MBBS '86, BA '86)
  For significant service to women's health in the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology.
• The Honourable Peter Lind Johnstone (LLB '73)
  For significant service to the law and to the judiciary, to legal standards, and to indigenous youth.
• The Honourable David Kirby (BA '64, LLB '67)
  For significant service to the judiciary, and to the law.
• Dr Fiona Elder Stewart (MBBS '78)
  For significant service to anatomy as a surgical clinician, researcher and educator, as an academic, and to the community.
• Dr Thomas Nathaniel Tseng (BDS '83)
  For significant service to dentistry.
• Dr Andrew Pilcher Wines (MBBS '94)
  For significant service to orthopaedic surgery, and to the community.

Medal of the Order of Australia

• The Late Dr Christopher John Armitage (BA '65, LLB '69)
  For service to the judiciary, and to the church.
• Mrs Maree Gwendoline Browne (BA '81)
  For service to tertiary education.
• Dr Kevin John Cameron (BMus '94)
  For service to music, and to education.
• Dr Gordon Robert Campbell (MBBS '62)
  For service to obstetrics and gynaecology.
• Ms Janice Lynette Collingwood (BA' 61)
  For service to community history, and to the arts.
• Mr Paul Laurence Crennan (BEc '77, LLB '80)
  For service to the law, and to community of Bathurst.
• Mr Richard Alan Dougan (BA '79)
  For service to the community through a range of organisations.
• Mr David Booth Fitzsimons (BE(Civil) '71)
  For service to community social welfare, and to youth.
• Dr Brian Charles Harper (DipTCP '57, BE(Civil) '53)
  For service to engineering.
• Mr Stephen Thomas King (DipVisArts '79, BVA '81)
  For service to the visual arts as a sculptor.
• Dr Edmund Stuart Marel (MBBS '81)
  For service to orthopaedic medicine.
• Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Hume Minchin (BA '65, DipEd '66)
  For service to tertiary education.
• Ms Anita Rebecca Mitchell (MBA '15)
  For service to town planning and urban development.
• Mr Anthony Rex Morgan (BA '73, BEc '77)
  For service to the insurance sector.
• Mr John Barker Spence (BA '72, LLB '75)
  For service to music and to education.
• Mr Michael John Rayner (BE(Civil) '75)
  For service to the community through a range of roles.
• Ms Miriam Anne Stiel (BA '94, LLB '96)
  For service to the law, and to the community.
• Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder (BA '74, DipEd '75)
  For services to children's literature.
• Mr Maurice Alan Renshaw (BPharm '72)
  For service to the pharmaceutical industry.
• Mr Bruce Vincent Townsend (Materia Medica (Pharmacology) '59)
  For service to the community of Raymond Terrace.

Public Service Medal

• Ms Marilyn Elizabeth Chilvers (BEc '78)
  For outstanding public service to NSW in data research and analysis.
• Clinical Associate Professor Philip John Crispin (MBBS '95)
  For outstanding public service in patient blood management and transfusion medicine.
• Ms Sarah Elizabeth Godden (BCom '02, LLB '04)
  For outstanding public service in the development and implementation of regulatory reforms.
• Dr Mary Elinor Mccaskill (BSc(Med)(Hons) '83, MBBS '86)
  For outstanding public service to NSW Health through leadership in patient care and safety.
• Ms Julie Ann Ravallion (MURP '96)
  For outstanding public service to environmental planning and natural resource management.
• Mr David John Sherley (BEc '79)
  For outstanding public service to local government and the Bathurst region.
• Ms Joann Wilkie (BEc '98)
  For outstanding public service to fiscal management in NSW particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian Police Medal

• Chief Inspector Rodney Christopher Pratt (GradDipCrim '94)

Australian Fire Service Medal

• Mr David Murray Philp (BE(Civil) '66)

Conspicuous Service Cross

• Sergeant Kirsti Anne Claymore (BTeach '01)
  For outstanding devotion to duty in the application of Defence Values and superior judgement to support service personnel and their families in adversity.