Dozens of medical professionals across Australia have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List, with a wide spectrum of specialties represented alongside courageous patient advocates and pioneering researchers.

The 949-strong list, announced by Governor-General Sam Mostyn on Sunday night, included 74 Australians recognised from 97 nominations considered in the field of medicine, among them 53 men and 21 women.

In gastroenterology, the late Professor Katie Allen, the Liberal Party member for the federal electorate of Higgins in Victoria from 2019 to 2022, was posthumously appointed an AO. Professor John Olynyk received an OAM for contributions including the world’s first published study on expression of the haemochromatosis gene HFE in humans, published in the NEJM in 1999.

Professor Katie Allen

South Australian haematologist Dr Noemi Horvath was also among the recipients. A Hungarian refugee who initially learned English from Walt Disney comics, she has practised as a clinical haematologist and haematopathologist since 1975 and been an investigator on more than 100 clinical trials. She received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

She said she drew inspiration from the transformation in survival within her subspecialty of myeloma. “When I started, the median survival was about 18 months. It’s now around eight years,” she told the limbic.

Now in her fifth decade of practice, she shows no sign of stopping. “That’s sort of one of the reasons for not retiring. It’s a bit like a detective novel, you know — what’s going to happen at the end?”

Perth haematologist Dr David Joske received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for pioneering integrative oncology and co-founding Solaris Cancer Care, which offers complementary therapies to cancer patients across three Western Australian centres. Dr Luke Coyle, haematologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, also received an OAM.

Kate Vines

In oncology, patient advocates featured prominently. Dr Andrea Smith, herself living with metastatic breast cancer, received an OAM in recognition of her work co-founding Metastatic Breast Cancer Action Australia. Dr Jon Graftdyk, diagnosed with stage IV ALK-positive lung cancer in 2022, also received an OAM, in part for his work establishing ALK Positive Australia. Kate Vines, diagnosed with metastatic medullary thyroid cancer in 1991, received an AM for co-founding Rare Cancers Australia, which has connected more than 3,000 patients and carers through support groups.

In dermatology, University of Queensland’s Professor H. Peter Soyer was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for four decades of work in dermoscopy and melanoma detection. He described the recognition as humbling and attributed success to collective effort.

“Here in Australia we work together, across disciplines, with epidemiologists, statisticians, data scientists, computer scientists and engineers,” he said. “We don’t stay in our own silo.”

Professor Soyer flagged overdiagnosis and inequity as the two central challenges in melanoma. “The challenge is not simply finding more disease. The challenge is finding the disease that matters.”

Professor H. Peter Soyer

Associate Professor Anne Howard received an AM for a career working across Melbourne’s major teaching hospitals, establishing pioneering clinics for women’s dermatological conditions and serving as the first female president of the Australasian College of Dermatologists in 2005. Dr Tanja Bohl also received an AM for her work in vulval disease, and South Australian Dr Lachlan Warren received an OAM for dermatology outreach across remote Australia.

Newcastle rheumatologist Dr Gabor Major, who arrived in Australia in 1957 as a refugee from Hungary, received an OAM for establishing rheumatology as a recognised specialty. He built the Rheumatology Unit at Royal Newcastle Hospital in 1984 and remains clinically active.

“Every day I enjoy the clinical challenge,” he told the limbic. “One of the attractions of rheumatology is often there’s a fair bit of complexity to the clinical problems.”

In endocrinology, Western Australian Professor Timothy Davis was appointed an AO for distinguished service to diabetes and infectious disease research, and Queensland’s Emeritus Professor Harold David McIntyre also received an AO for his contributions to obstetric medicine and diabetes in pregnancy.

Melbourne nephrologist Dr Dov Degen received an OAM for mental health advocacy. Living openly with bipolar disorder, he has campaigned to destigmatise mental illness among doctors. “I want mental health challenges to be treated on par with physical illnesses,” he said, adding he would use the award as a platform for policy change.

In general practice, doctors recognised included Queensland’s Dr Shane Sondergeld for significant service to rural and remote medicine, and Western Australia’s Dr Sean Stevens, co-founder of The Good GP podcast.