Prof McGorry has received the honour for his distinguished service to medicine and mental health - particularly youth mental health - as a leading clinician, scientist and advocate for reform.
"It's obviously a great honour," Prof McGorry said, adding that the award represented the effort of "a lot of great people" he worked alongside.
"I've got fantastic colleagues and we've been working on these issues for years. I'm just the fortunate representative of a whole movement really."
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Melbourne-based Prof McGorry is founder and executive director of the nation's largest youth-focused mental health organisation ORYGEN Youth Health which provides clinical services as well as undertaking training and research.
A tireless advocate for mental health, he is urging the federal government to recognise the dire need for an overhaul of services with a huge injection of new funding.
"I'm quite frustrated with the lack of support for this huge gap in the health system," Prof McGorry said.
He also described himself as an "absolutely dyed in the wool republican" though, he added, it would have been "churlish" to not accept the Queens birthday honour.
"I would have been much happier to have received it on Australia Day," Prof McGorry said.
"That doesn't really worry me, though. I think the substantive issue is when is Australia going to grow up and become a republic?"
