A lack of nominations for the Order of Australia awards has seen a lack of diversity in the award process, according to Order of Australia Association Tasmanian Branch Northern Region chair Susan Shea OAM.
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While the Australia Day Awards and council awards often get spoken about, Ms Shea said that the Order of Australia honours are just as important because the nominations can come from everyday citizens.
"We always want to keep reminding people what it's all about so they nominate people," she said.
"All people that receive these types of awards are worthy, but there are others that are forgotten and people don't know how to go about nominating.
"It's an award for ordinary Australians. It's important to get the message out there so that there are more worthy nominations."
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Ms Shea said often the balance of nominations between women and men was out of tune with people's contributions.
"Often women get forgotten about and also multicultural communities and the Indigenous," she said.
"They are people who often get forgotten about.
"We have a lot of people who do a lot of good work in our region who just get forgotten about because people don't know how to go about it, or they assume that person already has an award.
"These awards are announced twice a year and they just happen to be announced on Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday public holiday.
"That might change sometime in the future, but it's important because of what they mean to everyday Australians."
Ms Shea says the proliferation of so many awards and ceremonies on or around Australia Day - Australian of the Year, council community awards - makes differentiating between them all confusing for some.
"We have to be able to let people know that the Order of Australia awards are the highest honours that you can receive and they are available to more people such as the Australian of the Year," she said.
"Any person can nominate and it's a completely independent process."
The Order of Australia recognises Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement.
There are four levels of award - a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
The Order of Australia also has a military division, with awards recommended to the Governor-General by the Minister for Defence.
Former Tasmanian director on the national board of The Order of Australia Association Dr Frank Madill AM said one of the most important aspects of the awards is the accessibility for everyday Australians.
"They aren't influenced by race, gender, politics, or anything you like," he said.
"The only qualification is being a citizen.
"When someone nominates a person they also need to submit four referees with names and contact points."
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