The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia has announced Honours to 992 Australians, including 669 in the General Division of the Order of Australia, and awards for meritorious, distinguished and conspicuous service.
The Governor-General His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) said:
“On behalf of all Australians, I congratulate the Australians recognised in today’s Honours List. Recipients share some common traits – including selflessness, excellence and a commitment to service. They’re from different backgrounds, their stories are each unique, and each has served in different ways. This diversity is a strength and each has impacted their community and made it better.“
The recipients’ achievements span various fields such as community service, science and research, industry, sport, the arts and more.
The Queen’s Birthday 2022 Honours List also includes the following thirteen Indian-Australians:
| Title/Rank | Given Names | Surname |
| Professor | Suresh Kumar | BHARGAVA |
| Mrs | Asha | BHAT |
| Clinical Professor | Sameer | BHOLE |
| Mrs | Babette Avita | FRANCIS |
| Dr | Jacob | GEORGE |
| Dr | Marlene | KANGA |
| Dr | Smita | SHAH |
| Mr | Kersi | MEHER-HOMJI |
| Mr | Ravi Inder Singh | NIJJER |
| Dr | Sathya | RAO |
| Ms | Patricia Janet | RODRIGUES |
| Mrs | Gurpreet Pinky | SINGH |
| Mr | Hector Simon | SOANS |
Professor Suresh Bhargava AM
Among the Indian-Australian recipients, Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava is a world-renowned interdisciplinary scientist with decades of leadership in academia and industry and a lifelong commitment to Australia’s relations with India. He has always had a lifelong commitment to connecting India and Australia. Through advisory roles with Australian PMs, Premiers and Governors on Indo-Australian relations, he has been a founding architect of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund.
Asha Bhat OAM
Asha Bhat leads the award-winning regional Southern Aboriginal Corporation (SAC), which provides services and programs that address the Noongar peoples’ needs and aspirations in cooperation with other community and business organisations.
Prof. Sameer Bhole AM
Prof. Sameer Bhole is the Director of the Oral Health Alliance, a partnership between UQ’s School of Dentistry and Metro-North Oral Health Service. He has vast experience in Dentistry which spans his work in private practice, Government (Public) Oral Health Services, Universities, Dental Associations, and dental professional bodies in Australia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and India. Over the years, he has dedicated his career to improving oral health for disadvantaged populations with a specific focus on health inequities, access barriers and social determinants of health.
Babette Francis AM
Babette Francis is the National and Overseas Co-ordinator of Endeavour Forum Inc. – an NGO with special consultative status with the Economic & Social Council of the UN. Mrs Francis is the Australian representative of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer. She lived in India during the Partition of the sub-continent into India and Pakistan.
Dr Sathya Rao OAM
Dr Sathya Rao is a pioneer in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and his passion for research, evidence-based practice and teaching has inspired hundreds of health professionals to specialise in this area within Australia and overseas.
Gurpreet Pinky Singh OAM
Gurpreet Pinky Singh is president of the Australian Punjabi Welfare Association (APWA) and has been proactively working for the welfare and safety of the Punjabi community in Queensland, Australia. She is also the Immigration and Citizenship Policy Chair for the Liberal National Party (LNP) and fought the 2020 elections from Brisbane’s McConnell. She was actively involved in raising funds and awareness about the tragic killing of Indian-origin bus driver Manmeet Alisher in 2016.
Kersi Meher-Homji OAM
Kersi Meher-Homji, who is of Indian Parsi descent, is an Australian journalist, author and biographer. He is is the author of 15 cricket books including The Waugh Twins, Cricket’s Great Families, Cricket’s Great All-rounders, Six Appeal, Nervous Nineties, Cricket’s Conflicts and Controversies (foreword by Greg Chappell).
Dr Smita Shah OAM
Dr Smita Shah who is the Director of Prevention Education and Research Unit at the Western Sydney Local Health District and Clinical Professor at the Sydney Medical School’s Faculty of Medicine and Health arrived in Australia in the early 1980s to work at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Dr Jacob George OAM
Dr Jacob George, the former Consultant Psychiatrist at Royal Derwent Hospital and former Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service of Tasmania, has been recognised for his service to the community of Tasmania.
Dr Marlene Kanga AO
Dr Marlene Kanga who is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and Imperial College London has been recognised for her advocacy for women in STEM and leadership roles in engineering and technology organisations. In 2014, she was also the recipient of Member of Order of Australia and in 2019 won both the CHEMECA Medal and the Institution of Engineers India Centenary Award.
Mr Hector Simon Soans OAM
Mr Hector Simon Soans is the first President of the Australian Residents Anglo-Indian Association (ARAIA). He is a well-known philanthropist in New South Wales and his flowing script “ITP” is the most recognised financial institution in Australia. He was earlier honoured as a Patron of ARAIA for his Vision to preserve Anglo-Indian identity.
On giving the 2022 Queen’s Honours, the Governor-General added:
“The Order of Australia belongs to all Australians. In addition to the characteristics of selflessness, excellence and service, each recipient in the Order has something else in common: someone has taken the time to nominate them for recognition.”
In addition to the 669 recipients of awards in the General Division of the Order of Australia (8 AC, 33 AO, 200 AM and 428 OAM), in Honours list includes:
- 37 recipients of awards in the Military Division of the Order of Australia (1 AC, 2 AO, 16 AM and 18 OAM)
- 201 Meritorious awards
- 85 Distinguished and Conspicuous awards
Other features of the list include:
- 45.9 per cent of awards in the General Division to women
- 43.6 per cent of awards in the General Division for community service
- 92 Australians were recognised for their contribution in support of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic (these recipients will be added to the COVID-19 Honour roll).
If you know anyone from the Indian-Australian community, please do consider nominating them for recognition. Nominations are generally processed in order of receipt and the nomination process can take between 18 months and two years. All nominations are confidential, and the nominated person should not be advised of the nomination or approached for information.
