National Emergency Medal - Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A range of service personnel, both paid and voluntary, may be recognised with the National Emergency Medal, including:

• emergency service personnel;
• federal, state and local government employees;
• private sector employees; 
• volunteer and community groups; and
• private citizens.

Sustained service is awarded to those who have rendered sustained service in the declared nationally-significant emergency for the purpose of the Medal. The criteria for sustained service describes what constitutes ‘sustained service’ for each emergency and is determined by the National Emergency Medal Committee, in considering advice from relevant organisations and jurisdictions. 

The sustained service criteria for each nationally-significant emergency can be found here:

• Floods February 2022
• Bushfires 2019-20
• North Queensland Floods 2019
• Tropical Cyclone Debbie 2017
• Queensland Floods 2010-11 and Cyclone Yasi
• Victorian Bushfires 2009

Significant service is awarded to those who rendered significant service in the nationally-significant emergency. The significant service criteria stipulates that the service must be extraordinary. The Committee considers each nomination on a case-by-case basis before making a recommendation to the Governor-General. Applicants do not need to meet the sustained service criteria to be eligible to apply for significant service (e.g. minimum duration of service, eligible dates of service). 

Successful applicants through both the sustained and significant service channels are awarded the same medal and relevant emergency clasp.

No. You do not need to be on the frontline of the emergency response to be eligible for the National Emergency Medal. You must have rendered sustained or significant service during the nationally-significant emergency. The service must be in the protection of lives and property; or in the service of interests, that are not your own; in direct response to the declared emergency.

If you believe your service meets the criteria and was in direct response to the emergency, including support that enables or facilitates the emergency response, we encourage you to put forward an application.  

Details about applying for the National Emergency Medal can be found here.

Yes. The National Emergency Medal Committee may advise the Secretariat whether the service requirements for the award of the Medal for sustained service may be waived for a person who:

• died during the nationally-significant emergency; or
• was evacuated during the nationally-significant emergency due to illness or injury.

The Committee determines the outcome on a case by case basis.

For more information, refer to Section 4 10 (5) (a) and (b) of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

No. The Committee considered the criteria and reviewed feedback for past declared emergencies, and determined that individuals physically located outside a declared geographical area may still be eligible for the National Emergency Medal, provided the service rendered was in direct response to the emergency in a declared area.

Yes. The minimum duration of eligible service required to qualify for the award of the Medal for sustained service is outlined in the Declarations for each declared national emergency.

To note:

• days served do not need to be consecutive;
• service may be a combination of paid and unpaid service; and
• service may include up to two days of travel time.

For more information, refer to the criteria for each declared national emergency.

Yes. Up to two travel days may be counted towards the minimum duration of service; one on either side of the deployment.

A ‘day’ for the purposes of the National Emergency Medal refers to a calendar day. Generally, a minimum of four hours of service per day is required.

No. The awards are not exclusively for Australian citizens. Anyone who renders service in direct response to the nationally-significant emergency, including support that enables or facilitates the emergency response, can apply for the National Emergency Medal. 

No. There is no minimum age requirement to be eligible for the National Emergency Medal. Anyone of any age who renders service in direct response to the nationally-significant emergency, including support that enables or facilitates the emergency response, can apply for the National Emergency Medal.

Yes. You may apply for the National Emergency Medal again if you render service in another nationally-significant emergency.

If you have previously been awarded the National Emergency Medal, please note that you will not receive another physical medal. You will only receive the relevant emergency clasp, which will attach to the ribbon of the medal you were previously awarded.

No. You can only receive one clasp for each declared national emergency.

No. The clasps for sustained and significant service for each emergency are the same. You can only receive one clasp for each nationally-significant emergency. 

If you submit a significant service application but have enough days and meet the sustained service criteria, the Secretariat may process your application as sustained service.

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The following information is required for each applicant in an application:

• Service number (or AGS number);
• Title;
• First name;
• Middle name;
• Surname; 
• Date of birth;
• Gender;
• Deceased;
• Dates of service;
• Geographical location of service;
• Role/position during the nationally-significant emergency; and
• Description of service.

It is expected that your agency head (e.g. Chief Officer, Secretary, Director-General) sign the covering letter. Alternatively, there may be another suitable recommending authority with the delegation to verify service, such as the Honours and Awards branch of the organisation or the Local Disaster Coordinator. If uncertain, please contact us.

We only require one covering letter per application submission, regardless of how many individuals are on the application.

Yes. We recommend the agency that is able to verify the service of applicants (dates of service, location, roles, etc.) to submit the applications. In most cases, this will be the agency that headed the deployment. 

No. Applications for the National Emergency Medal may be submitted at any time. 

Yes. There is no limit to the number of applications that agencies can submit. 

No. The application template is locked, to secure the input of data for bulk applications processed by the Secretariat. Please do not attempt to unlock the application template or add additional columns in the document. Please rely on templates provided on our portal for information and guidance. NOTE: Please do not copy and paste onto the templates from our portal – it will corrupt the data and your application will be unable to be processed.

Service numbers are not mandatory; however, they assist the Secretariat to process applications efficiently. If you are unable to provide a service (or AGS) number, please leave this field blank.

Please leave the geographical area field blank on the application.

You do not need to provide all dates of service during the nationally-significant emergency; the minimum number of days to meet the criteria is sufficient.

For example, where the minimum duration of sustained service for a nationally-significant emergency is five days, the five periods in the application template will sufficiently capture the minimum duration of service required, even if all five days were non-consecutive.

The dates of service, type of service rendered and location of service must be verified by the Chief Officer (or other recommending authority) of the organisation, prior to submission to the Secretariat. 

It is the responsibility of the agency to provide accurate dates and to ensure that individuals on an application meet the sustained service criteria for the relevant emergency. 

To note, you do not need to provide all dates of service in the eligible period; the minimum number of days to meet the criteria is sufficient.

If you rendered service as a member of a government agency, community group or emergency services agency during the nationally-significant emergency, we recommend you contact your primary service organisation to be considered for the National Emergency Medal. The Secretariat requires applications for those who rendered service with a group, agency or organisation to come from the relevant primary service organisation.

Your primary service organisation will consolidate applications, verify each applicant’s service and submit the applications to the Secretariat for processing.

For those who did not render service as a member of a government agency, community group or emergency services agency, please go to the online portal to submit your nomination.

The following information is required:

• Service number (or AGS number);
• Title;
• First name;
• Middle name;
• Surname;
• Date of birth;
• Gender;
• Deceased;
• Dates of service;
• Geographical location of service;
• Role/position during the nationally-significant emergency; and
• Description of service including activities carried out; and
• Name and contact details of the local government agency, independent community group or emergency services agency with who you were deployed by or registered with, as a volunteer.

We need as much information as possible to verify the service of the applicant. Please provide written evidence from a local government agency, independent community group, emergency services agency or other relevant persons, to verify the applicant’s service. This should be on their letterhead and include the following information:

• Role/position during the nationally-significant emergency;
• Description of service, including specifics of activities carried out; and
• Length of service and location service was carried out.

If you meet the sustained service criteria and minimum duration of service with one group, agency or organisation, please contact them in the first instance, to be included in a schedule submission from that agency.

For those individuals who only meet the sustained service criteria through an accumulative total of service with more than one agency, please complete the application form via the online portal. Noting the written evidence requirements above, as this will be required from each agency to verify the accumulative service.

No. Applications for the National Emergency Medal may be submitted at any time. 

Your online nomination will save as a draft. Drafts do not expire. Once submitted, you will be unable to edit further and the nomination will be visible on the portal. 

Applications are generally processed within 12-18 months, however may take longer. Nominations will be processed in the order in which they are received from organisations.

All applications are assessed for eligibility. Additional information is sought if necessary. Relevant agencies may be contacted to confirm service, if required.

The Secretariat, then makes a recommendation to the Governor-General for the award of the medal.  

For more information on the functions of the Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat, refer to Section 5 12 (4) of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

For more information on sustained service, refer to Section 4 10 (4) and (5) of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

All applications are assessed for eligibility. Additional information is sought if necessary. Relevant agencies may be contacted to confirm service, if required.

Applications by organisations are received on schedules for nominees who have already been verified by the Chief Officer or recommending authority of the agency.

The Secretariat then prepares each nominee’s significant service application for consideration by the National Emergency Medal Committee. The Committee considers each application on a case-by-case basis, before making a recommendation to the Governor-General for the award of the Medal.

For more information on the functions of National Emergency Medal Committee, refer to Section 4 10 (1) to (7) the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

For more information on significant service, refer to Section 4 10 (6) and (7) of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

If you applied for the National Emergency Medal on behalf of another person, you will be advised of the outcome in writing.  

If you applied for the National Emergency Medal as a private citizen or volunteer, you will be advised of the outcome in writing.  

If your service was rendered as part of a group, agency or primary service organisation, the outcome advice will be directed to the head of your agency, or specified recommending authority. 

The Secretariat does not manage the presentation of medals for recipients.

The presentation of the National Emergency Medal is managed by the primary service organisation.

If your application for sustained service is unsuccessful, please seek advice from your group, agency or primary service organisation who can review your dates of service and amend accordingly. You may then apply again if the dates meet the criteria.

You may also apply again through significant service, if you meet the significant service criteria. 

For more information on sustained and significant service, refer to Section 4 10 (4) to (7) of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

Yes. You can seek an appeal and the National Emergency Medal Committee may reconsider a nomination. However, for this to occur, you are required to provide substantial additional information or advice that was not previously considered. 

Please note, not all appeals are successful will be considered by the National Emergency Medal Committee.

In establishing the criteria for sustained service for each nationally-significant emergency, the National Emergency Medal Committee seeks advice from the relevant jurisdiction and from organisations deploying staff or volunteers to each of the disasters.

The National Emergency Medal Committee then provides advice to the Minister about whether the emergency should be declared a nationally-significant emergency.

The Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Minister, declare the emergency to be a nationally-significant emergency for the purposes of the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

More information on the functions of the National Emergency Medal Committee can be found here and in the National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011.

The National Emergency Medal was instituted in 2011. The National Emergency Medal Regulations 2011 provide that a recommendation for a nationally-significant emergency should only be made if the emergency happened during the previous three years. As such, earlier emergencies, such as Cyclone Tracy 1974, do not fall within the scope of the Regulations.

No. For the purpose of the National Emergency Medal, the COVID-19 pandemic is not a declared nationally-significant emergency.