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
Legal offices
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:
Professional
Fellowship, Membership and Associate Membership of Professional Institutions.
Other offices
Australian Army Corps abbreviations (RAAC, RAE, RAInf, etc.) are <u>not</u> recognised as postnominals although they are occasionally seen.
Notes
References
See also