Geoffrey Joy OAM, who led St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill from 1977 to 1982 before spending more than two decades shaping Catholic education across NSW and the ACT, has been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours for a lifetime of service to Catholic education.
The honours were announced on 8 June, with 949 Australians recognised for outstanding contributions to their communities, professions and the nation.
Joy’s connection to Hunters Hill’s most prominent school runs back nearly five decades. St Joseph’s College, founded by the Marist Brothers in 1881, is the largest all-boys boarding school in Australia, and Joy served as its Headmaster during a significant period of the school’s modern development.
A career that extended well beyond the school gate
After his time at the Hunters Hill campus, Joy moved into the Catholic Education Office in Sydney, serving as Director of Finance from 1983 to 1992. He then took his experience to the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn, where he served as Executive Director of Catholic Education from 1993 to 2006, helping shape the structure and direction of Catholic schooling across both the ACT and New South Wales.
The Medal of the Order of Australia recognises service worthy of particular acknowledgement, and Joy’s record reflects the kind of sustained institutional commitment that rarely makes headlines but shapes the educational experience of thousands of students and families across generations.
Other Catholics recognised in the 2026 honours
Helen Conway was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to business and legal governance, gender equity, youth social welfare and the not-for-profit sector. She served as a board member of Catholic Healthcare from 1998 to 2007.
The late Phillip Joseph Duggan OAM, a parishioner of St Michael’s Parish in Lane Cove, was also recognised posthumously. Duggan held leadership roles with Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, served on parish finance committees and volunteered for many years with Matthew Talbot Hostel. He was widely known as co-founder of property management company Bright & Duggan.
Across Australia, the 2026 list also included figures associated with Centacare Brisbane, the St Vincent de Paul Society, parish pastoral councils and Catholic schools, reflecting the breadth of Catholic community service the honours system acknowledges each year.
Nominating someone you know
The King’s Birthday Honours are open to nominations from any Australian. Anyone wishing to nominate a person for future recognition can do so through the online portal, or by contacting the Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat at honours@gg.gov.au.
Published 8-June-2026
