Seventeen Australians have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours for their contributions to education, including three recipients appointed as Members of the Order of Australia (AM) and 14 awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
The honours recognise outstanding service across primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational education, as well as contributions to school governance, curriculum development, mathematics education and community engagement.
Among those receiving the prestigious AM was South Australian educator Mr Luke Ashley Thomson, recognised for significant service to primary and secondary education and to independent schools.
Mr Thomson served as principal of Pembroke School from 2010 to 2022, following eight years as principal of Trinity College in South Australia. During his career, he also held leadership positions at Frankfurt International School in Germany and Woodcroft College in Adelaide.
Beyond school leadership, he played a prominent role in the International Baccalaureate community, serving on the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s Heads Council and Board, while also contributing to the Association of Independent Schools in South Australia and the Independent School Council of Australia.
Victorian mathematics educator Emeritus Professor Kaye Christine Stacey was also appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to tertiary and secondary education, and to mathematics.
Professor Stacey was a Foundation Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education and has been a leading figure in mathematics teaching and curriculum development for decades.
Her influence has extended internationally through her work with the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), where she chaired the International Mathematics Expert Group, and through invited presentations to mathematics educators across 18 countries.
Prof Stacey has also held leadership roles with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Academy of Science’s reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry project.
Also recognised at AM level was Mr Edward Richard Tudor OAM, honoured for significant service to secondary education governance and the not-for-profit sector.
Mr Tudor served as Headmaster of Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne from 1999 to 2013 and has continued to make significant contributions to educational governance. His leadership roles have included directorships and chair positions at Trinity College, the University of Melbourne, Hume Anglican Grammar School and the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.
Mr Tudor also chaired several major Victorian education review panels, including reviews of the Victorian Certificate of Education and the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning.
Meanwhile, recipients awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for their contributions to education were:
- Mr Anthony Larkin (Victoria) – service to secondary education and school sports.
- Mrs Juley Clarke (New South Wales) – service to primary education.
- Mrs Jennifer Mackay (Victoria) – service to primary education.
- Mrs Michele Denise Marquet (New South Wales) – service to primary education.
- Mr Colin Roy Axup (Victoria) – service to secondary education.
- Dr William Francis Donovan (ACT) – service to secondary education and the community.
- Ms Bernadette Gigliotti (Victoria) – service to secondary and vocational education.
- Mr Robert Norman Johnstone (Victoria) – service to the community and secondary education.
- Mrs Elisabeth Lesley Pickering (New South Wales) – service to secondary education and the community.
- Mr Franciscus Joseph Pikardt (New South Wales) – service to secondary education.
- Mr Brian Warwick Ralph (New South Wales) – service to secondary education.
- Dr Pauline Elizabeth Rule (Victoria) – service to history and secondary education.
- Dr Colin Kenneth Stewart (Queensland) – service to secondary media education.
- Mr Rodney Reginald Watson (Victoria) – service to secondary education and the community.
