This is a list of post-nominal letters (letters after people's names) that have been nominated by orders from government, and letters from professional associations in Australia.
General conventions
In general, postnominals are arranged in the following sequence:
Honours promulgated by the Governor-General in the Commonwealth Government Gazette, e.g. Current National and former Imperial honours order of wearing, Honours and Appointments promulgated by a State Governor or Territory Administrator in the relevant State Government Gazette, e.g. Member of Parliament (MP), Fellows of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN), King's / Queen's Counsel (KC/QC), Senior Counsel (SC, but only where gazetted in the State or Territorial Gazette), and Justice of the Peace (JP), Those honorary qualifications requiring a report to the State, Territorial or Federal Parliament (such as Honorary Doctorates), Fellowships then memberships of professional and academic bodies (with those incorporated by an Act of Parliament or Royal Charter taking precedent), Degrees and diplomas, first grouped according to the corresponding Australian Qualifications Framework levels and ordered from highest-to-lowest, then in chronological order within those groups, Parliamentary and military designations.
Full-stops are not usually used in postnominals.
Orders and decorations
Orders and decorations Post-nominal Awarded since 6 Oct 1992 Awarded before 6 Oct 1992 Recipient of the Victoria Cross and Recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia VC VC Recipient of the George Cross GCIn the period 1975-1991, for Australian citizens and ADF personnel, a number of Imperial awards were replaced by Australian awards noted in the table below. Date Group Imperial award Australian award 1975 citizens George Cross (GC) Recipient of the Cross of Valour (Australia) (CV) 18 Oct 1989 citizens Royal Red Cross (RRC & ARRC) Nursing Service Cross (Australia) (NSC) 1991 ADF Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM)Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Star of Gallantry (SG)Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) (DSC) Recipient of the Cross of Valour CV CV Knight/Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter KG/LG KG/LG Knight/Lady of the Order of the Thistle KT/LT KT/LT Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath GCB Member of the Order of Merit OM OM Knight/Dame of the Order of Australia AK/AD AK/AD Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George GCMG Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order GCVO GCVO Knight/Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire GBE Companion of the Order of Australia AC AC Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour CH Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath KCB/DCB Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George KCMG/DCMG Knight/Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order KCVO/DCVO KCVO/DCVO Knight/Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire KBE/DBE Knight Bachelor (NB: Confers title of "Sir" – no postnominals) Officer of the Order of Australia AO AO Companion of the Order of the Bath CB Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George CMG Commander of the Royal Victorian Order CVO CVO Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE Recipient of the Star of Gallantry SG SG Recipient of the Star of Courage (Australia) SC SC Companion of the Distinguished Service Order DSO Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) DSC DSC Member of the Order of Australia AM AM Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order LVO LVO Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE Companion of the Imperial Service Order ISO Member of the Royal Victorian Order MVO MVO Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE Recipient of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) CSC CSC Recipient of the Nursing Service Cross (Australia) NSC NSC Member of the Royal Red Cross (1st Class) RRC Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross (UK) DSC Recipient of the Military Cross MC Recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross (UK) DFC Recipient of the Air Force Cross (UK) AFC Associate of the Royal Red Cross (2nd Class) ARRC Recipient of the Medal for Gallantry MG MG Recipient of the Bravery Medal (Australia) BM BM Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) DSM DSM Recipient of the Public Service Medal (Australia) PSM PSM Recipient of the Australian Police Medal APM APM Recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal AFSM AFSM Recipient of the Ambulance Service Medal (Australia) ASM ASM Recipient of the Emergency Services Medal (Australia) ESM ESM Recipient of the Australian Corrections Medal ACM Recipient of the Australian Intelligence MedalAIMAIM Medal of the Order of Australia OAM OAM (Grade of the) Order of St John Varies Recipient of the Distinguished Conduct Medal DCM Recipient of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal CGM Recipient of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying) CGM Recipient of the George Medal GM Recipient of the Conspicuous Service Medal CSM CSM Recipient of the Australian Antarctic Medal AAM AAM Recipient of the Queen's Police Medal for Gallantry QPM Recipient of the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Gallantry QFSM Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (UK) DSM Recipient of the Military Medal MM Recipient of the Distinguished Flying Medal DFM Recipient of the Air Force Medal AFM Recipient of the Sea Gallantry Medal SGM Recipient of the Queen's Gallantry Medal QGM Recipient of the Royal Victorian Medal RVM RVM Recipient of the British Empire Medal BEM Recipient of the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service QPM Recipient of the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service QFSM Recipient of the Reserve Force Decoration RFD RFD
Legal offices Position Post-nominal King's Counsel KC Senior Counsel SC Bail Justice – Victoria BJ Justice of the Peace JPJustice of the Peace(Magistrates Court) JP(Mag.Crt) Duties of Justices of the Peace (Qualified) Handbook 4.1 (13)Justice of the Peace(Qualified) JP(Qual) Justice of the Peace(Commissioner of Declarations) JP(C.dec) Commissioner of Declarations C.Dec Special Justice (South Australia) SJ Civil Marriage Celebrant CMC
Academic awards Degree and diploma abbreviations are defined by the conferring university and vary from one to another. Consult the awarding university for the approved abbreviation.
Some loose general rules and examples include:
Degree Post-nominal Bachelor of "Speciality/Faculty" B"Speciality" e.g. BA, BSc, BCom, BBiosc, BE or BEng, BEd, BPharm, etc. Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery e.g. MBBS, BMed, BMBS, MBChBBachelor of Dental Surgery/ScienceBDS, BDSc, BDent Bachelor of Laws LLB Bachelor's degree with Honours B"Speciality"(Hons) Master of "Speciality/Faculty" M"Specialty" e.g. MA, MSc, MEd, MCom, etc. Master of Business Administration MBAMaster of Cyber SecurityMCyberSecMaster of Cyber Security, Strategy and DiplomacyMCSSD Master of Laws LLM Master of Philosophy MPhil [discipline] Master of Public Health MPH Master of Research MRes. Another research master's degree. Graduate Certificate in "Speciality/Faculty" GCert or GradCert e.g. GCertMkting Postgraduate Diploma of "Speciality/Faculty" PGDip"Speciality" or PostGradDip"Speciality" Graduate Diploma of "Speciality/Faculty" GDip"Speciality" or GradDip"Speciality" e.g. GDipMngt Juris Doctor JDDoctor of MedicineMDDoctor of Medicine and SurgeryMChDDoctor of Dental MedicineDMDDoctor of Dental SurgeryDDSDoctor of Clinical DentistryDClinDentDoctor of Podiatric MedicineDPM Doctor of Philosophy PhD Doctor of Veterinary Medicine DVM Doctor of Psychology DPsych Doctor of Public Safety DPS (c) = Doctoral Candidate Doctor of Business Administration DBA Professional Doctorate of "Speciality/Faculty" D"speciality" or "Specialty"D e.g. EdD, DEng Higher Doctorate of "Speciality/Faculty" D"speciality" or "Specialty"D e.g. DEng, DSc Fellowship in Music, Australia FMusA Licentiate in Music, Australia LMusA Associate in Music, Australia AMusA Professional Certificate of "Speciality/Faculty" ProfCert"Speciality" e.g. ProfCertDataSc
Professional Fellowship, Membership and Associate Membership of Professional Institutions. + Organisation Award Post-nominal Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellow FASSA ACS (Australian Computer Society) Associate AACS Member MACS Senior Member MACS (Snr) Fellow FACS Certified Technologist Certified Technologist (Cyber Security) CT (a CT is also entitled to use the post-nominal of IP3T) Certified Professional Certified Professional (Cyber Security)
Certified Professional (Safety Critical Systems) CP