Actuaries Belong In Lights

The Australian Honours and Awards system provides the people of Australia the opportunity to recognise and say ‘thank you’ to those whose efforts make our communities and our nation a better place.

Through the Order of Australia, Bravery Decorations and other awards we recognise and celebrate outstanding Australians – ordinary people who do extraordinary things for their local community and for Australia.

Perhaps the best part of the Australian system is that it is 100% nomination based. All people that receive awards have been nominated by their peers. This means that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from or whether you’re known to millions or just a few. If you have constantly put others ahead of yourself, served tirelessly and made a difference you can be nominated and recognised by a grateful nation.

Past actuarial awardees include:

• Andrew Bowden 1965 ISO, Companion of the Imperial Service Order (Imperial) – Public Actuary for South Australia
• Sid Caffin 1978 AO, Commonwealth Actuary
• Bob Glading 2000 AM 
• Michael Rice 2020 AO
• Greg Taylor 2000 AO
• Peter Vinson 2000 OAM
• John Walsh 2011 AM
• Alf Pollard 1990 AO
• Richard Madden 2018 AM
• John Pollard 2019 AM
• John Rolfe 2019 (UK Member)

We know that many actuaries play an important part in making our communities and our nation a better place, and it would be great to see that contribution recognised more widely. You can nominate someone you have seen making a contribution at any time through this website.

Many other awards have been cancelled for 2020, due to the Coronavrius. However, it is worth remembering they exist for next year and future years when we can nominate our deserving members for their contribution to the community and the financial services sector. 

Awards include (but are not limited to):

Australian Insurance Awards from ANZIIF  – generally nominations occur around June.
These annual awards for the insurance sector include the  Insurance Leader of the Year and Young Insurance Professional of the Year, which many actuaries could be eligible for.

AFR Women of Influence – generally nominations occur around June.
Previous winners who are actuaries have been Elayne Grace and Kirsten Armstrong.
Each year, these awards recognise the most influential, inspirational and visionary women who contribute to and advocate for a more equitable society through their skills and talents.

Women in Financial Services – generally nominations occur around June.
These annual awards include Investment Professional of the Year, InnovatorLife Insurance Executive of the Year and Superannuation Executive of the Year.

Women in Finance – these awards are going ahead this year, although nominations have already closed.
These annual awards are include some categories (such as innovation, mentoring, Fintech and Director) where actuaries could be nominated.

AFR Boss Young Exec of the Year – generally entries are around March each year.
These awards are for Australia’s top executives under 35, in all sectors.

And finally another very important award in Australia is the Australian of the Year – closing date is 31 July each year.

The titles are Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero.  The selection criteria are:

• Significant contribution to the Australian community and nation
• An inspirational role model for the Australian community
• Demonstrated excellence in their field
• The Local Hero award acknowledges a significant contribution at local community level

We encourage you to think about your fellow actuaries who you admire, why they deserve to be recognised for their work and to start nominating them.

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