The list recognised a total of 949 Australians
The NSW legal profession was significantly represented in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List with the inclusion of NSW judges and long-term Law Society of NSW members.
AO recipients are as follows:
AM recipients are as follows:
Those who received the OAM are as follows:
A 23-year NSW Law Society member, Conway was named the founding CEO of the Workforce Gender Equality Agency in 2011. She was once a senior judicial member of the New South Wales Equal Opportunity Tribunal, which preceded a NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal division.
Wilder was once principal at Baker McKenzie. He was part of the Law Society for 27 years and was honoured for his service to the law and his energy and environmental sustainability work. He chaired the NSW Climate Change Council and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Fagan was recognized for her services to sport, broadcasting and the law. She has served as a magistrate in the Law Society’s Mock Trial Competition and mentored law students as part of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia in addition to her achievements in bobsledding and the skeleton. She was once on the shadow Australian Team for the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.
Maher is an NSW Children’s Judge who has been honoured for services to women and children as well as the law. She worked with Legal Aid NSW and was the solicitor in charge of the Children’s Legal Service.
“I’m grateful to her Honour for her service to the profession on The Law Society’s Children’s Legal Issues, and Criminal Law Committees and for her work supporting women and children as a director of both Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia and Women’s Legal Services NSW”, said Law Society president Ronan MacSweeney.
Taylor was honoured for services to town planning and the law. She was part of the Law Society for 45 years.
FCFCOA judge Aldridge was part of the Law Society’s advocacy specialist accreditation committee. MacSweeney noted that Aldridge had held federal judicial office for nearly 15 years.
A 40-year member of the Law Society, Cook was recognized for services to the banking industry and the law. She chaired the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW and sat on the Law Society’s specialist accreditation committee. She retired at the end of last year as National Australia Bank’s group executive, customer and corporate services.
A Local Court judge, Dick helped pioneer circle sentencing, wherein Indigenous elders help the court with sentencing while offender and victim are both present. He has sat in Local Courts on the South Coast and Eden-Monaro regions.
Howard was on the Law Society council for seven years. He chaired the Council of Law Reporting for NSW and helped administer the Law Society’s Fidelity Fund.
A former Local Court magistrate, Lulham sat in Local Courts in Broken Hill, Moree and the Downing Centre. He also chaired the Young Offenders Review Board.
Local Court judge Nash was recognized for his services to local government and the legal profession. He was once mayor of Randwick and part of the Law Society’s environmental planning and development law committee. He also co-authored A practitioner’s guide to the Land and Environment Court of NSW.
Tapsell was named a life member of the Law Society in 2012. The former acting District Court judge was on the Canon Law panel assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
“The appearance of several current and former members of the Law Society in this year’s list, reinforces the foundational role that the rule of law plays in guaranteeing our democratic freedoms, and the leadership roles many solicitors perform above and beyond their legal careers”, MacSweeney said.
This year's King's Birthday Honours List comprised 949 individuals. Notable recipients include former senator Natasha Stott Despoja, broadcaster Fran Kelly, author Gerald Murnane, Indigenous trailblazer Pat Turner and classical pianist Simon Tedeschi.
