In 1995 the Fiji Government instituted the Order of Fiji. The President is the Chancellor of the Order and, as such, is charged with the administration of the Order. There is a Secretary of the College of Honour who is a civil servant appointed under the Government OMRS guideline.
Appointments to the Order of Fiji are made by the President on the advice of the Fiji College of Honour — a council appointed by the President to examine all nominations for admission to the Order and, independent of the Government, to make recommendations to the President direct.
Nominations may be made at any time by any person or organisation by writing direct to the Secretary of the College of Honour at the State House. Lists of appointments to the Order are made annually and Investitures held at the State House Suva on dates decided by the President.
Although the Order is intended primarily as a means of recognising achievement or meritorious service by citizens of Fiji it is available also to non-citizens as honorary appointments where the nominees may have rendered outstanding service to Fiji or to humanity at large.
There is a Military Division of the Order marked by distinctions in the badge and riband. Appointments to the Military Division are made by the President on the recommendation of the Minister responsible for defence.
The Order has four levels:
Companion of the Order of Fiji (CF) — for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Fiji or to humanity at large.
Officer of the Order of Fiji (OF) — for distinguished service of a high degree to Fiji or to humanity at large.
Member of the Order of Fiji (MF) — for meritorious service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group.
Medal of the Order of Fiji (MOF) — the Order has an associated medal to be awarded for service worthy of particular recognition.
Posthumous awards are not made in the Order and, although an individual may achieve promotion within the Order from one level to another, there is no provision for multiple awards of the same level. The Medal of the Order is however not one of the "levels" and a recipient can therefore be appointed to the Order proper in addition.