History

The National Emergency Medal was established in 2011 and is awarded to eligible individuals and organisations who render sustained service during a national emergency. In order to qualify for the Medal, service has to be rendered in a specific time period that is relevant to each emergency situation or event.

The obverse of the medal features a golden wattle branch surrounded by a ring of golden wattle blossoms. The reverse of the medal has a blank section for the recipient’s name, which is surrounded by the inscription ‘FOR SERVICE TO OTHERS IN A NATIONAL EMERGENCY’. The reverse of the medal also features a flowering golden wattle border. The Australian Coat of Arms is depicted on the obverse and reverse of the ribbon suspension bar. The ribbon is green with seven golden stripes down the centre.

The recipient may be also awarded a clasp that depicts the name of the national emergency they provided service during. The clasps include the ‘VIC FIRES 09’ clasp for the bushfires that occurred in the State of Victoria. In order to receive this clasp, the service provided must have facilitated the emergency response in a significant way, such as by saving the lives or property of others. The time requirement for the clasp is 14 days of paid service or 7 days of unpaid, including two days between 7 February and 14 February 2009. The qualifying period for clasp is 28 January 2009 to 5 March 2009.

Another clasp is the ‘QLD 2010-11’ clasp which is awarded for service during the Queensland Floods and Cyclone Yasi. In order to receive this clasp, the service provided must have facilitated the emergency response in a significant way, such as by saving the lives or property of others. The qualifying period for this clasp is 21 December 2010 and 14 February 2011. The time requirement for this clasp is twenty-eight days of paid service or 14 days of unpaid service.