The Governor-General has announced the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List, recognising 949 Australians for outstanding contributions across community service, public life, industry, academia, the arts and sport
Among the recipients, sixteen Greek and Cypriot Australians have been identified, reflecting the enduring and wide-ranging contribution of the Hellenic community to Australian life.
The list includes 703 recipients in the General Division of the Order of Australia (5 AC, 40 AO, 183 AM and 475 OAM), 34 in the Military Division, 149 meritorious awards and 63 conspicuous service awards.
Members of the Order of Australia (AM)Ms Marika Calfas (NSW) was honoured for significant service to the transport and shipping industry, logistics and infrastructure.
Chief Executive Officer of NSW Ports since 2015, she has held leadership roles across Infrastructure NSW, Ports Australia and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, and since 2025 serves as Vice President for Asia-Southeast and Oceania at the International Association of Ports and Harbours.
Her family roots span Kastellorizo, Cairo and Pyrgos in the Peloponnese.
The Very Reverend Dr John Chryssavgis was recognised for significant service to the Orthodox Christian Church, education and ecological awareness.
Theological Advisor to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew since 2002 and Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne since 2012, he has held academic positions at the University of Sydney and Hellenic College Holy Cross in Boston, where he currently serves as Executive Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute.
Professor Peter Parashos (VIC) was honoured for significant service to dentistry, particularly endodontology, and to tertiary education.
He served as Chair and Professor of Endodontics at the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Dental School from 2012 to 2021 and is an Honorary Life Member of both the American Association of Endodontists and the Australian Society of Endodontology.
Professor Matthaios Santamouris (NSW) was recognised for significant service to architecture, energy and environmental quality.
Born in Athens to parents from Tinos and Crete, he holds the Anita Lawrence Chair of High-Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales and has an H-Index of 127.
He received an Honorary PhD from the University of Cyprus and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the PLEA Organisation, both in 2024.
Medals of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Mr Panagiotis (Peter) Andrinopoulos (VIC) was recognised for service to the Greek community of Melbourne.
Coordinator of the Australian Greek Welfare Society PRONIA since 2012, he has also served as author, publisher and community organiser, including as a board member of the Antipodes Festival.
Dr Constantine George Berbatis (WA) was honoured for service to the community of Perth.
Of Evia and Lesbos heritage, he served as Secretary of the Hellenic Council of Western Australia for over two decades and as President of the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
A Winston Churchill Fellow (1976), he has been a lifelong patron of Greek education and community institutions in Western Australia.
Mrs Rachel Marie Condos-Fields (QLD) was recognised for service to youth and the community.
Of the Greek island of Symi and from a family of sponge divers, she is Founder and CEO of WattleNest and Director of Business Development at World Youth International.
She received the Global Women Changing the World Award in London in 2024 and was named among the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Australian Sport by News Corp Australia.
Mr Peter Dourios was honoured for service to the Greek community of Melbourne.
Born in Theologos on Thasos and raised in Kavala by tobacco-worker parents, he has served as President of the Australian Greek Ex-Servicemen’s Association since 1996 and previously as a committee member and junior president at the South Melbourne Football Club.
Ms Anna Kyriakides Maas (VIC) was recognised for service to the museums and galleries sector.
A Cypriot Australian from Limassol, she has directed the Skepsi Gallery since 2000 and works as an Approved Valuer of Australian Studio Ceramics under the Australian Cultural Gifts Program.
Mrs Ghestimani Paschalidis-Chilas (NSW) was honoured for service to the multicultural community of New South Wales.
Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury City Community Centre since 2021, she served as President of the Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia (2023–2025), Chairperson of the Refugee Council of Australia (2008–2011) and as a Canterbury City councillor.
She is a recipient of the NSW Government Woman of the Year Award (2018) and the Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 Award (2019).
Mr Andrew Peter Satsia (ACT) was recognised for service to the community of Canberra.
Born in Larnaca, Cyprus, in 1970 and arriving in Australia in 1976, he served nine years as President of the Hellenic Club of Canberra and has practised as a barrister, solicitor and notary public since 1996.
He currently chairs Independent Liquor Retailers.
Mr Matthew Vertzonis CSM RFD (NSW) was honoured for service to veterans and their families.
Of Alexandrian Greek heritage with family roots in Lemnos, Thessaloniki and the Greek island of Chios, he served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army Reserve (1971–2017), was President of Club Willoughby (2020–2023) and coordinates ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day events in the Willoughby area.
He holds the Conspicuous Service Medal (2011) and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Commendation Award (Gold).
Ms Theano (Tina) Viney (QLD) was recognised for service to the beauty and aesthetics industry.
Of Greek-Egyptian heritage, with her father from Imbros and her mother from Rhodes and Kalymnos, she has led the Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network (APAN) as CEO since 1998 and contributed to curriculum development at several Australian universities.
Public Service Medals (PSM)
Ms Maria Marantos (VIC) received the Public Service Medal for outstanding service in gambling harm minimisation and regulatory reform.
Over nearly two decades, she led the development and statewide rollout of YourPlay, Australia’s first voluntary pre-commitment system for electronic gaming machines, and oversaw major reforms at Crown Melbourne following the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence.
Mr Achilleas Nicholas Shizas (NSW) received the Public Service Medal for outstanding leadership and integrity in co-establishing the Operation Protego Integrity Taskforce within the Australian Public Service.
His work set a new benchmark for cross-agency integrity collaboration and safeguarded both public funds and the credibility of government institutions.
Ambulance Service Medal (ASM)
Ms Vanessa Olympia Schafranek (QLD) received the Ambulance Service Medal for more than 23 years of dedicated pre-hospital care in Queensland.
The daughter of a Greek mother from Kalamata and an Austrian father, she serves as Officer in Charge of the Tully Ambulance Station and has played a key role in disaster response and recovery across five major tropical cyclones, from Larry (2006) to Jasper (2023).
Recipients will attend investiture ceremonies at Government House in their respective state or territory in the coming months.
