at its establishment, the order of australia included three grades: companion (ac), officer (ao) and member (am), and two divisions: civil and military. on 24 may 1976, the grades of knight (ak) and dame (ad), and the medal of the order of australia (oam), were established by the monarch on the advice of prime minister malcolm fraser, and the civil division was renamed the general division. knight and dame of the order of australia superseded companion of the order as the highest grade, however knight and dame are only awarded in the general division of the order.