The Australian states and territories have instituted a range of awards to recognise service and achievement of members of state and territory organisations. These include long service and bravery awards for police, ambulance, emergency service and corrective service personnel. An example is the ACT Emergency Medal instituted by the ACT to recognise those who were involved in fighting the 2003 bushfires. These awards are not included in the Australian system and are not to be worn with official awards on ADF uniform.
The administration of these awards is the sole responsibility of the respective states and territories. If you have any questions on these awards, you should contact the protocol branches of the states and territories. DH&A has no authority or responsibility in administering these awards.
Awards such as the National Medal which recognises long service in a range of organisations, including state and territory government organisations are part of the Australian system and are permitted to be worn on a uniform with other official awards.
- The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government has established an Emergency Medal to recognise service by uniformed emergency services and registered or sworn members of a uniformed response agency who perform magnificently in very dangerous circumstances or in a significant emergency in the ACT. The medal is initially being awarded for firefighting and recovery efforts during and after the January 2003 bushfires.
- In response to an offer by the ACT government for ADF personnel to accept and wear the ACT Emergency Medal on service uniforms, CDF advised the ACT government that as a federal body, the ADF must conform to Australia's national system of honours and awards when decorating its members. The ACT Emergency Medal and other state and territory awards (such as state police diligent and distinguished service medals) do not form part of the national system and therefore should not be worn on Commonwealth uniforms.
- Whilst it is acknowledged that state and territory awards are normally worn on the right breast, the ADF already has a number of defence awards that are worn on the right side. To add further accoutrements to this system would complicate the order of precedence.
- However, as this is such a significant recognition of service to the community, eligible personnel may wear the medal on the right breast when attending any official function of the ACT government in either civilian attire or in uniform. This is consistent with federal government policy in relation to wearing of awards that do not fit within the national system, such as some medals bestowed by foreign governments.
- ADF members who are offered the Emergency Medal by the ACT government may accept the award for restricted wearing under the above conditions.
Description
The G20 citation is issued to all ADF members deemed eligible who served on Operation PARAPET in November 2014.
The Directorate of Honours and Awards dispatched the G20 citations during 2017 on behalf on the Queensland Police.
Nominal Roll
To confirm your name is on the nominal roll, please contact YourCustomer.Service@defence.gov.au.
PMKeyS
Current Serving members can request the citation be recorded on the Recognised Achievements panel in PMKeyS by contacting their Unit Administration.
Wear
The citation is authorised for restricted wear at G20 events and Queensland Police Service events.
Description
NSW faced an unprecedented bushfire season during 2019 – 2020. The Premier of New South Wales has awarded a NSW Bushfire Emergency Citation to recognise the outstanding contribution of volunteers and service personnel who played a significant role in the emergency response effort to combat the bushfires.
What is included in the package?
The citation embellishment will include a signed letter from the Premier of NSW, a certificate bearing the name of the recipient and signed by the Premier of NSW, and a commemorative cap embroidered with the Waratah and ‘NSW Bushfires 2019-2020’.
When will I receive my citation?
The Directorate of Honours and Awards are working on dispatching all the award packages for eligible ADF, APS and Contractors on behalf of the NSW Premier. DH&A hope that all packages will be sent by the end of November 2022
Can I submit an application to determine if I am eligible?
Unfortunately applications closed in March 2021. As this is a NSW Premier & Cabinet award rather than a Defence award, new applications will not be accepted.
I lost mine, can I please have another?
As this is a NSW Premier & Cabinet award rather than a Defence award, replacement citations will not be available.
PMKeyS
The citation will be recorded on the Recognised Achievements Panel in PMKeyS and this is currently being processed by DHA. If the citation in not in PMKeyS by end of September 2022, current Serving members can request the citation be added, by contacting their Unit Administration or Orderly Room.
Wear
The Citation is only approved for restricted wear. Restricted wear is defined as wearing the citation pin on service uniform only when a recipient is attending an event for the authorising government body or organisation. This means that a recipient may only wear this on service uniform when attending an official event of the NSW Government.
The citation pin may be worn on the right lapel of civilian attire at any time.
The XXI Commonwealth Games Citation is issued to eligible ADF members who served on Operation ATLAS in April 2018.
The Directorate of Honours and Awards dispatched the citations in late 2019 on behalf on the Queensland Police.
Design
The citation features three panels of blue, yellow and red, with white striping either side of the central yellow panel. The colours of the citation represent the Gold Coast where the Games were held – surf (blue), sand (yellow) and sun (red).
The ribbon is surrounded by an antique silver metallic frame featuring the wording 'XXI COMMONWEALTH GAMES' at the top of the frame and '2018' at the bottom of the frame.
Nominal Roll
To confirm your name is on the nominal roll, please contact YourCustomer.Service@defence.gov.au.
PMKeyS
Current Serving members can request the citation be recorded on the Recognised Achievements panel in PMKeyS by contacting their Unit Administration.
Wear
The citation is authorised for restricted wear at Queensland Police Service events.
More Information
Click here for more information on the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.