History

The New Zealand Special Service Medal was established by Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand by Royal Warrant in July, 2002. It was created to reward services rendered by personnel who were involved in special operations not normally recognized by a campaign medal.

The Royal Warrant stipulates that additional services may be recognised in the future. To date, there are three medals issued for nuclear testing, Asian Tsunami, and Erebus.

The Gold Medal (Nuclear Testing) was instituted in July 2002 to recognise the service of personnel who were involved in official New Zealand government operations at an atmospheric test between 1956 to 1973. It was issued unnamed until June 30, 2009, but the recipient's name has been engraved on all medals awarded since this date. Medals awarded prior to 2009 with a named engraving were privately altered. The ribbon is composed of orange-yellow, crimson, red, white, and black colours.

The Gold Medal (Asian Tsunami) was instituted in December 2005 to recognise New Zealanders who participated in rescue and victim identification efforts in areas devastated by the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami. The recipient’s full name and date of the award are engraved on the rim. The ribbon is composed of 11 strips to represent the countries for which service was rendered and red, white, blue, orange, green, and yellow colours.

The Gold Medal (Erebus) was instituted in November 2006 to recognise the service of New Zealanders and foreign citizens who were involved with the hazardous and extreme circumstances associated with body recovery, crash investigation, and victim identification operations of the November 28, 1979 crash of Air New Zealand DC-10-30-ZK-NZP flight TE901 on Mount Erebus, Antarctica. The recipient’s full name and date of award are engraved on the rim. The ribbon is composed of dark blue, light blue, white, black, and white colours.