Australia Day Honours 2026: Two early childhood leaders recognised nationally

Two long-time contributors to early childhood education have been recognised in the Australia Day 2026 Honours List, highlighting the national impact of work that often happens quietly, in services, research settings and community organisations. 

Victorian early childhood leader Dr Anne Mary Kennedy has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), with the citation noting “significant service to early childhood education, and to the community.” 

Dr Kennedy’s contribution spans research, practice and professional learning. She is Co-Executive Director of Research and Practice at The Parkville Institute, since 2021, and is described as a consultant, trainer, writer and researcher. 

Her career also includes roles in initial teacher education and frontline practice, with the honours documentation noting she is a former teacher educator at Monash University, and has been a teacher and child care director. 

Dr Kennedy sustained involvement across sector organisations and system-level work, including:

• Board Member, The Front Project, since 2020
• Board Member, Australian Education and Research Organisation (AERO), since 2021
• Honorary Fellow, Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, 2015–2025
• Participation in national and Victorian government advisory groups connected to early learning initiatives and measurement frameworks 

For the ECEC sector, this citation is notable because it explicitly recognises the breadth of early childhood work, where practice improvement, leadership, pedagogy and evidence-building intersect, rather than spotlighting a single program or short-term initiative.

Perth-based Ms Jillian Fay Cameron has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), with the citation recognising “service to early childhood education.” 

Ms Cameron’s has been recognised for her work supporting early learning and early development in the community, including her contributions to Regional Early Education and Development Inc., where she has served as:

• Consultant during the organisation’s establishment, 2015–2018
• Volunteer, since 2018

Her professional background includes roles within the Department of Education Western Australia in guidance and special education functions across the 1970s and 1980, and the notes also list her as a former Director of the Western Australian Lady Gowrie Centre.
She is additionally noted as having served as a Board Member of Save the Children Australia, 2012–2019. 

The Australia Day Honours are announced across multiple levels of the Order of Australia, which includes AC, AO, AM and OAM. In 2026, the Governor-General’s office noted 680 recipients in the General Division of the Order of Australia, including 160 AMs and 472 OAMs, placing these two awards within a large national cohort of service recognition. 

For the early childhood education and care sector, honours like these can do a few practical things:

• Lift visibility of early learning leadership, especially roles that influence quality through research, professional learning and sector governance. 
• Reinforce the value of sustained community contribution, including regional capacity-building and long-term volunteering that strengthens early years ecosystems. 
• Provide a public reference point for the kinds of sector contributions that are often hard to capture in a single metric, mentoring, advisory work, ethics and leadership development, and service-building over time.