The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, was inaugurated following the death of Sir Bernard Heinze in 1982. The award is in the form of a medallion and is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia. The Award honours the memory of Sir Bernard Heinze (1894 – 1982), who for 31 years was Ormond Professor of Music at the University of Melbourne, and one of the major pioneers of orchestral life in Australia.