History

The Star of Courage was instituted on 14 February 1975 and is awarded for conspicuous acts of bravery in situations of extreme danger. The decoration recognises individuals who placed their own life in danger in order to save the lives or property of others.

Although this decoration is primarily awarded to civilian, it can also be awarded to military personnel. It may be issued to Australian citizens or Foreign citizens. A total of 166 have been awarded, most recently in July 2018.

The Star of Courage is the second highest ranking bravery decoration in the Australian honours system.

The award is a silver seven-pointed star with the Crown of St. Edward attached to the top point. The obverse of the star features the Commonwealth Coat of Arms surmounted by the Federation Star. The reverse of the medal is blank. The ribbon suspension bar features the inscription ‘FOR BRAVERY’. The ribbon has a magenta centre stripe with a blood-red stripe on each edge.

Recipients are entitled to use the postnominal letters ‘SC’.