Phillips was among the Australians honoured in the 2021 Queen's Birthday awards for their service to sport.

"For people who work in the sports industry for a long time, you don’t do what we do for awards, but this is a great honour and humbling to receive it," Phillips said.

"The award reflects the really terrific people who I have worked with over the years in both the Olympic and Commonwealth Sport Movements, where people step up every day, and they know their job is to do the best they can for Australia’s athletes.

"While this is a great honour to receive the award personally, from my point of view, it is very much a recognition of my family and the role that they have played in my journey over the 30 years.

"The strong support of my family and the sacrifices they have made has provided me the opportunity to do what I love.

"So while I get the honour, I certainly share it with all of them."

Phillips has served as CGA chief executive since 2015, with his six years in the role coinciding with a home Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast during 2018, where he served on the Organising Committee Board.

He previously worked for nine years as the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive, as well as a member of the organisation’s Executive Board and the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Board.

Phillips was responsible for managing the AOC’s relationship with its 40 member National Sports Federations, the national network of Institutes of Sport and other national and international sporting organisations.

He has been involved in the planning, management and leadership of 12 Australian Olympic teams across Summer and Winter Olympics from Barcelona 1992 to Sochi 2014.

Phillips is the most capped Olympic Team official in Australian sporting history.

Phillips is a current member of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Sports Committee.

"On behalf of Commonwealth Games Australia, our Board, our sport partners and our staff, I congratulate Craig on being made a Member of the Order of Australia," Houston said.

"The Member of the Order of Australia is a fitting tribute for Craig’s three decades of dedicated service to Australia’s elite sport industry and a testament of his passion for sport.

"This award acknowledges Craig’s commitment to Australia’s elite sport industry and his passion and focus on ensuring the best outcomes for Australian athletes."

Phillips has outlined his aim to help ensure a strong legacy from the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, as well as preparing for Birmingham 2022 amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.