Australian Postnominals - how to use them

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Have you ever seen someone's name with a string of letters/abbreviations after it and wondered what they meant? Most people recognize that MD stands for Medical Doctor and CPA means Certified Public Accountant. Those are called postnominals and consist of abbreviations or initials.

Postnominals are written without periods. If a person has more than one, a comma is inserted between them. When there are several postnominals after someone's name, the highest honour is the closest to the person's name and the lowest the farthest away.

Postnominal initials associated with honours granted by the Sovereign take precedence over other postnominal initials. The special nature of the Victoria Cross (VC), the George Cross (GC) and the Cross of Valour (CV) requires their postnominals to come before all others. The list below is in alphabetical order.

POSTNOMINAL INITIALS	HONOURS AND AWARDS
VC	Victoria Cross
GC	George Cross
CV	Cross of Valour
AC	Companion of the Order of Australia
AD	Dame of the Order of Australia
AFC	Air Force Cross
AFM	Air Force Medal
AFSM	Australian Fire Service Medal
AK	Knight of the Order of Australia
AM	Member of the Order of Australia
AO	Officer of the Order of Australia
APM	Australian Police Medal
ARRC	Royal Red Cross (2nd Class)
BEM	British Empire Medal
BM	Bravery Medal
CB	Companion of the Order of the Bath
CBE	Commander of the Order of the British Empire
CGM	Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
CH	Companion of Honour
CMG	Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
CSC	Conspicuous Service Cross
CSM	Conspicuous Service Medal
CVO	Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
DBE	Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
DCB	Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath
DCM	Distinguished Conduct Medal
DCMG	Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
DCVO	Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
DFC	Distinguished Flying Cross
DFM	Distinguished Flying Medal
DSC	Distinguished Service Cross
DSM	Distinguished Service Medal
DSO	Companion of the Distinguished Service Order
GBE	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
GCB	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
GCMG	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
GCVO	Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
GM	George Medal
ISO	Companion of the Imperial Service Order
KBE	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
KCB	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
KCMG	Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
KCVO	Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
KG	Knight of the Garter
KT	Knight of the Thistle
LG	Lady of the Garter
LT	Lady of the Thistle
LVO	Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order
MBE	Member of the Order of the British Empire
MC	Military Cross
MG	Medal for Gallantry
MM	Military Medal
MVO	Member of the Royal Victorian Order
NSC	Nursing Service Cross
OAM	Medal of the Order of Australia
OBE	Officer of the Order of the British Empire
OM	Order of Merit
PSM	Public Service Medal
QFSM	Queen's Fire Service Medal
QGM	Queen's Gallantry Medal
QPM	Queen's Police Medal
RFD	Reserve Force Decoration
RRC	Royal Red Cross (1st Class)
RVM	Royal Victorian Medal
SC	Star of Courage
SG	Star of Gallantry

For more information visit the Australian government website
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/

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