National Emergency Medal

About the award

The National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011 were approved by Her Majesty The Queen in October 2011.

The National Emergency Medal shall be awarded to members of relevant organisations or individuals who rendered sustained service during specified dates in specified places in response to nationally-significant emergencies within Australia; or to other persons who rendered significant service in response to such emergencies that did not satisfy the criteria of 10 (4) (e) and (f) of the Regulations.

How it is administered

The National Emergency Medal is administered by the Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat at Government House and provides secretariat support to the National Emergency Medal Committee.

The independent Committee is made up of five members, including two ex-officio members appointed by the Minister with responsibility for the Australian honours system, and three community members appointed on the Minister’s advice by the Governor-General.

How it is awarded

Nominations for the National Emergency Medal for sustained or significant service may come from relevant organisations or from the community: either from individuals or groups.

Sustained service:

The Governor-General may approve an award for sustained service, on the recommendation of the Secretariat.

Relevant organisation/s
The chief officer of the organisation should provide schedule/s to the Secretariat, certifying that the nominee/s has met the criteria and has made a sustained contribution in direct response to the nationally-significant emergency.

Individual/s
Nominations for sustained service from or for individuals should be accompanied by evidence demonstrating that the criteria have been met.

The inaugural meeting of the National Emergency Medal Committee was held on 13 December 2011 and, in accordance with Regulation 10(4) a-f, the Committee determined the following criteria for each nationally-significant emergency:

Victorian Bushfires 2009

Service performed during this nationally-significant emergency will be recognised through the clasp, “Vic Fires 09”;

  1. service must be in the protection of lives and property, or in the service of interests, that are not their own, in direct response to the emergency, including support that enables or facilitates the emergency response;
  2. the geographical area is the State of Victoria;
  3. the qualifying period begins on 28 January 2009 and ends on 5 March 2009; and
  4. the minimum duration of service that a person is required to have completed to qualify is:
    • paid service on 14 days, including at least two days in the period beginning on 7 February and ending on 14 February 2009
    • unpaid service on 7 days, including at least one day in the period beginning on 7 February and ending on 14 February 2009
Queensland Floods 2010-11 and Cyclone Yasi

Service performed during the Queensland Floods and Cyclone Yasi will be recognised through the clasp, “Qld 2010-11”:

  1. service must be in the protection of lives and property, or in the service of interests, that are not their own, in direct response to the emergency, including support that enables or facilitates the emergency response;
  2. the geographical area is the State of Queensland;
  3. the qualifying period begins on 21 December 2010 and ends on 14 February 2011; and
  4. the minimum duration of service that a person is required to have completed to qualify is:
    • paid service on 28 days; or
    • unpaid service on 14 days

Please note: days served do not need to be consecutive and may be a mixture of paid and unpaid.

Significant service:

The Governor-General may approve an award for significant service, on the recommendation of the Committee.

Upon receipt, nominations will be presented to the National Emergency Medal Committee by the Secretariat for consideration. Persons may be considered for significant service in response to such emergencies when it appears that they do not satisfy the Regulations 10 (4) (e)-(f). The Committee will consider whether the person’s service:

  • was part of the response efforts to the nationally-significant emergency;
  • assisted with the protection of lives and property; and
  • was extraordinary.
Medal design

National Emergency Medal

A stylised representation of Australia’s national floral emblem, the wattle, is the central symbol of the National Emergency Medal. The image around the central image is of flowering wattle, representing the accomplishments and sacrifices made by Australians in the service of others in times of crisis. The back of the medal repeats the ring of flowering wattle, and details the award and recipient.

Medal ribbon

The National Emergency Medal ribbon colours match the colours of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal ribbon. The colours of the ribbon are gold and eucalyptus green. Gold symbolises the Australian sun, optimism and hope. Eucalyptus green complements the symbolism of the medal design.

The seven gold coloured bands represent Australia’s six states, with the seventh representing the territories.

A stylised representation of Australia’s national floral emblem, the wattle, is the central symbol of the National Emergency Medal.

Post nominal

There are no post-nominal entitlements.

Order of Wear

The Medal is worn in The Ordering of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards immediately after the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal.

Introduced into the Australian Honours System

2011, first issued 2012.

Announcement

Awards are not gazetted, however, if approval is obtained from the awardee their name will appear on the official Australian honours website: www.itsanhonour.gov.au, maintained by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Contact Information

Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat,
Government House, Canberra

T: 02 6283 3607, 02 6283 3678 or 02 6283 3657
E: nem@gg.gov.au

 

Last updated 06 February 2012