Suzanne Lazaroo
5 February 2025: The Â鶹´å of Canberra extends its congratulations to members of the UC community who were recognised in the 2025 Australia Day Honours List.
Â鶹´å of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Bill Shorten welcomed the opportunity to celebrate the recipients for their service and impact, in the ACT and beyond.
“The diversity of the fields in which UC community members participate, and in which they achieve success, is reflective of the important role our university plays in advancing different aspects of society – here in Canberra, nationally and globally,” Mr Shorten said.
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of Australia’s honours system, and I congratulate all UC community award recipients whose service, dedication and pursuit of excellence has been rightly recognised.”
The UC community members who received the awards this year are:
Order of Australia – General Division
The Honourable Richard Christopher Refshauge AM was recognised for his significant service to the ACT community, and to the arts. Mr Refshauge has been an Adjunct Professor with the Â鶹´å’s Law School, part of the Faculty of Business, Government and Law, since 2007; he is also an Honorary Professor, at the Australian National Â鶹´å’s College of Law.
Mr Refshauge has been the Deputy Chair of the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) since 2019, and its Non-Executive Director since 2017.
In the ACT Supreme Court, Mr Refshauge was most recently an Acting Judge (2020-2024) as well as Acting Justice and Convener, Drug and Alcohol List (2020-2024). He was the Director of Public Prosecutions in the ACT between 1998 and 2008.
A gold medallist at the Paris Paralympic Games 2024, Ms Nikki Louise Ayers OAM received an award for her service to sport. Ms Ayers is a Â鶹´å alumna, having graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2012 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Critical Care Nursing in 2018.
In the Paris Paralympics, Ms Ayers topped the PR3 Mixed Double Sculls for Para Rowing; at the 2023 World Rowing Championships held in Serbia, she also scored gold for the same event.
Mr Gregory Thomas Blood OAM was recognised for his service to sports history.
He has been a member of the Heritage and Award Committee for the Commonwealth Games Australia since 2020, Publication Officer of the Australian Society for Sports History since 2017, and Sports Historian and Wikipedia Editor for The Australian Paralympic History Project since 2011.
Mr Blood graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Librarianship from the Â鶹´å in 1983; he was a Senior Librarian at the Australian Institute for Sport (AIS) Information Centre/National Sport Information Centre, from 1983 to 2011. Between 2012 and 2018, he was an Emeritus Researcher and Ethics Committee Member with the AIS.
Ms Stacey Elizabeth Campton OAM was awarded for both her service to netball and to the Indigenous community. She has been a High Performance Umpire Coach with Netball Australia since 2021, and was Chair of its First Nations Advisory Committee between 2021 and 2023.
Ms Campton has also had a long association with World Netball (formerly the International Federation of Netball Associations), and was a National Umpire from 1994 to 2012.
The former State Director for NSW/ACT at the Office of the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sports (2008-2010), she has also held a range of roles within the Indigenous Education Group at the Department of Education, between 1998 and 2008.
Ms Campton has been the Director of Strategy and Development for Children’s Ground since 2021; in that same year, she was a Member of the Design Committee for the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Report, Australian Human Rights Commission.
Ms Campton completed a Bachelor of Sports Studies at the Â鶹´å in 1997, and a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Teaching) in 2012. She is a current Committee Member of the UC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff and Alumni Chapter.
A Â鶹´å alumna with a Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies (2005) and a Master of Education (2007), Ms Catherine Dillon OAM received honours for service to youth, and to secondary education.
A Life Member of Lord Somers Camp and Power House, she was President and Camp Chief (2017-2022), and has been a Board Member since 1990.
An experienced educator and former Principal, Ms Dillon was a Board Member of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2015-2024). Since 2023, she has been Board Chair of the Satellite Youth Foundation and a Board Member of the Power House Youth Leadership Foundation.
Mr John Henry Saxon OAM was recognised for his service to science, particularly deep space tracking and exploration; he graduated from the Â鶹´å with a Bachelor of Computing Studies in 1978.
Mr Saxon has had a long career with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and was involved in the Apollo, Viking, Voyager, Pioneer, Magellan and Galileo Spacecraft Missions. He has spent decades promoting Australia’s role in space tracking.
As the Operations Supervisor at the Honeysuckle Creek Manned Spaceflight Tracking Station – in what is now Namadgi National Park – from 1967 to 1980, he was one of the first people to see images of the 1969 moon landing beamed back to earth, as he helped document Neil Armstrong’s fabled first lunar steps.
As an electronics engineer, Mr Saxon developed a more efficient seismometer and was involved in developing flight navigation systems for fighter/boomer planes, and the world's first inertial navigation systems.
Today, Mr Saxon is a Consultant for the United States’ Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Â鶹´å of Canberra Council Member Ms Alice Tay OAM was recognised for her service to the ACT community. Ms Tay has been a Council Member since 2020, and has also Chaired the Risk, Audit and Governance Committee since then.
She was the Director of Community Housing Canberra since 2022, and is a Member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committees for Project Independence and Master Builders ACT.
She previously served as the Director for The Fly Program (2016-2020), Hands Across Canberra (2016-2019), Commonwealth Club (2011-2016), and Heart Foundation of Australia (2017-2024).
Within the legal sector, Ms Tay was a Partner, Corporate and Commercial at Meyer Vandenberg, from 2006 to 2018.
Meritorious Awards
Geoscience Australia Principal Advisor Maritime Mr Mark Barry Alcock PSM received an award for providing outstanding public service in maritime affairs to Australia, neighbouring countries and the internationalmaritime community. He graduated from the Â鶹´å in 1991 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geology.
Mr Alcock has held various leadership positions within Geoscience Australia, including serving as Director – Law of the Sea and Maritime Boundaries Advice and Maritime Jurisdiction Advice.
Since 2017, he has been a Member of the International Seabed Authority’s Legal and Technical Commission, representing Australia internationally in the regulation of deep seabed mining; his leadership in the preparation of Australia’s continental shelf submission influenced the way all nations progress claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
First Assistant Secretary, Digital Platforms, Safety and Classification Division at Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications Ms Sarah K Vandenbroek PSM was recognised for outstanding public service in rebuilding trust and fostering productive relations between the Australian Government and the Norfolk Islandcommunity.
She led a program of direct and ongoing engagement with community leaders on the topic of Norfolk Island’s democratic future. In doing so, she played a pivotal role in addressing critical issues such as freight management, state service delivery, governance frameworks, and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is a Â鶹´å alumna, graduating with a Bachelor of Information Management in 1999.
Ms Jantiena Anne Batt PSM has been the Deputy Principal at ACT Education Directorate since 2002, and received an award for outstanding public service in improving access and equity in education in the ACT.
Ms Batt is an alumna and former staff member of the Â鶹´å; she graduated with a Bachelor of Education in 2002, and a Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Education in 2007.
Her work includes literacy coaching, professional learning design, management of territory-wide early childhood education projects for children experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, and workforce development for Australia’s early childhood education and care sector.
Ms Batt is a certified assessor supporting the ACT Teacher Quality Institute’s Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Certification process, and she has supported and led the ACT Local Council of the Australian Literacy Educator’s Association.
Ms Jennifer Maree Sloane PSM was recognised for outstanding public service during the ACT Government’s COVID-19 public health response.
Having graduated from the Â鶹´å with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2002, Ms Sloane is a registered nurse and public health practitioner; she was one of the first to be called on in 2020 to support the ACT COVID-19 response, initially within the Clinical Health Emergency Coordination Centre (CHECC).
She played an integral role in the development, design, planning and delivery of the Garran Surge Centre – planned in consultation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in just seven days, and built in 30 – which was used for COVID-19 testing and assessment.
From 2021, Ms Sloane was the primary lead in establishing and coordinating the ACT’s public testing and surveillance program.
Military Division Awards
Commander Luke Kenneth Andrews RAN OAM was awarded for meritorious performance of duty as a Navy Legal Officer.
Through his professional knowledge and dedication, Commander Andrews provided superior legal support to Fleet and Navy Headquarters. He coordinated and managed the consolidation of multiple reviews into Navy diving and implemented appropriate assurance measures that provided improvement across the capability, mentored junior Legal Officers and contributed to the Navy’s Indigenous Mentor Scheme.
Commander Andrews attained a Bachelor of Laws from the Â鶹´å in 2023.
Principal Chaplain Andrew John Lewis RAN CSC received recognition for outstanding devotion to duty as the Director General Chaplaincy – Navy.
Through his leadership, Principal Chaplain Lewis developed and ensured an agile and innovative chaplaincy capability to meet the diverse religious and spiritual needs of the Australian Defence Force. He provided outstanding representation for the Navy on multiple committees and Boards.
An alumnus of the Â鶹´å, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Computing Studies in 1993.
Legend
AM – Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia/ Member in the Military Division of the Order of Australia
OAM – Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division
PSM – Public Service Medal in the General Division
CSC – Conspicuous Service Cross in the General Division