Core to the mission of the Royal Society of New South Wales is its role in the fostering of recognition, and the honouring of achievement and excellence. It does so through its Awards and Fellowship Programs.

The honour of Distinguished Fellow  of the Royal Society of New South Wales is awarded to internationally distinguished contributors to science, art, literature, or philosophy. The criteria for election as a Distinguished Fellow are listed in Rule 11 of the Society’s Rules. The number of Distinguished Fellows, who may use the gazetted postnominal DistRFSN, is limited to 25 at any time.

There is a separate page that recognises the late Distinguished Fellows of the Society. 

The membership category of Fellow recognises the substantial contribution made by members of the Society who are leaders in their fields. Candidates for Fellowship may be proposed by any Member or Fellow of the Society. 

Nominations are considered by the Fellows and Members Assessment Committee against criteria defined in Rule 10 of the Society’s Rules.  Fellows may use the gazetted postnominal FRSN. 

 The Fellows page on this website lists all active Fellows of the Society and provides brief biographical information about each.

The Royal Society of New South Wales has long recognised distinguished achievements in various fields of knowledge through its Awards. Some are amongst the oldest in Australia while others are more recent. From its Act of Incorporation in 1881, the Society’s mission has been to encourage “studies and investigations in Science, Art, Literature and Philosophy”. In 2023, the Society determined to broaden and streamline its Awards portfolio to recognise recent and evolving fields and disciplines, and emerging as well as established stars.

From 2023, the Society’s Awards are made in two main classes reflecting the Society’s history: Career Excellence Medals and Disciplinary Awards and Medals; with additional Awards, Scholarships and Citations, including Internal Awards for distinguished service to the Society.

External nominations are most welcome for all but the Internal and Discretionary Awards which are determined by the Council of the Society. Conditions and nomination forms are listed on each Award’s individual webpage, on which some guidance notes are provided.

Nominations for all available Awards open on 1 July each year and close on 30 September. Awardees are announced by the end of that calendar year with the formal presentations of their Awards in the following year, usually at the Society’s Annual Diiner. All nominations require a nominator, a seconder, and the acceptance of the nominee.

Information about historical Awards and their winners prior to 2023 are available from this link.