Owing to an editing error, we inadvertently sent out last year’s King’s Birthday Honours story. Please read about the 2026 recipients below. We apologise for the mistake.
Leaders in the field of cardiology have been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours for their significant contributions to the community, both in Australia and abroad.
Associate Professor Andrew Wilson has been awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) in recognition of his outstanding public service in clinical leadership and patient safety.
A practising interventional cardiologist, he is currently the chief medical officer at Safer Care Victoria and was recognised for his leadership in statewide coordination roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was leader of the Victorian Respiratory Protection Program, ensuring infection prevention measures were implemented consistently in health services in the state to protect frontline workers. He and his team achieved compliance rates of more than 95%.
He said the honour represented the group of people he worked with during the pandemic.
“Particularly the people in the health department and the sector – they don’t get a lot of recognition. It was an incredibly stressful time for everyone, and I saw the people within the department that I was working with were doing a great job.”
Associate Professor Wilson was also recognised for his commitment to systems reform, including his leadership of the Victorian Clinical Quality Registries Program.
Alongside his chief medical officer role, he continues to serve as a cardiologist at St Vincent’s Health Melbourne and holds an academic appointment at the University of Melbourne.
Balancing clinical work with a more systems-focused department role is a challenge, but also an opportunity to provide a bridge between the government and the medical world, he said.
There was a lot of scope for others to take a similar career path to his, he said, advocating for his medical colleagues to “lean in to systems work” and collaborate with the government and health departments.
Reflecting on the honour, Associate Professor Wilson paid tribute to his parents, who were both doctors. He also emphasised the commitment of those he worked with, particularly at the height of the pandemic.
“I would like to pay tribute to my colleagues both in the government and outside. All of this was about collaboration and working together,” he said.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Alan Gale has been awarded the the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his work as a cardiothoracic surgeon and service to the community, including as a founding surgical member of Open Heart International.
The Australian humanitarian organisation, formerly Operation Open Heart, assembles volunteer teams of surgeons, doctors, nursing staff and educators to travel to locations including Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu to assist local medical staff and deliver surgical procedures.
Associate Professor Gale’s work there spanned from 1987 to 2014, and in 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Officer of the Order of Fiji for performing free open-heart surgeries in the region [link here]. He and his colleagues made regular trips across the Pacific Islands and Asia to complete hundreds of cardiac operations.
He also held roles at Sydney Adventist Hospital, Queensland Health and the University of Queensland, where he was the founding convenor of the advanced surgical anatomy course.
He spent nine years as the director of clinical education at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. He was also a committee member of the Pacific Island Program at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and was awarded the RACS International Medal in 2007.