There was a rise in nearly 50 per cent in nominations for the Order of Australia last financial year, according to the office's 2018-19 annual report.

This led to 1127 people being recognised on Australia Day - the largest number since the Order of Australia was established in 1975.

It also led to a record number of women on the Queen's Birthday Honours list, accounting for 40 per cent of recipients.

There was a "significant" uplift in the number of women nominated too, which the Governor-General's office attributed to moves to simplify the nomination process the previous year.

But processing all the nominations still required a huge amount of resources.

The report said explore expenses were $875,000 - or 11 per cent - over budget because more casual staff were needed to keep up.

The office is looking fully digitise the nominations process, with work on the platform to continue as an "ongoing priority" this year.

A spokesperson from the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General said they received ongoing additional funding in last year's MYEFO 2018-19 and the forward estimates period to deal with the shortfall.

"This decision by government recognised the significant upward trend in nominations being received from the community for the Order of Australia," a spokesman said.

"This has resulted in more and more outstanding individuals being recognised for their contributions to their community. The ongoing funding also reflects additional outputs and responsibilities of the Office in supporting the Governor-General and preserving the historic properties."

The annual report noted there were "increasing cost pressures in maintaining the official properties".

Former NSW governor David Hurley was sworn in as Australia's 27^th governor-general in July. The former defence force chief replaced Sir Peter Cosgrove.