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Wearing of
Australian Medals
War medals may only be worn on the left breast by
the persons upon whom they were conferred. The honour afforded
remains with the individual and does not pass to a widow, parent,
son or relative when the recipient is dead. Similarly, the same
rules apply in cases where a posthumous award is made
The policy as it stands is that on the death of a
recipient, technically, any honours and awards revert to the
commonwealth in the first instance. The reality of course is that
family members have an ambient claim and the commonwealth would not
seek to intervene in medals being passed on directly within the
family.
Family members may wear their forebears medals on
the right breast which indicates that they are not their own. There
is no limitation or formal policy on what occasions they should be
worn. In essence, the wearing of forebear's medals on the right
breast is a convention passed down over the years that is largely
dictated by the occasion and (ideally) a measure of decorum fitting
the event. They should not be worn lightly or where it would be
inappropriate to do so.
For uniformed personnel, on ANZAC and Remembrance
days only, modification of normal service dress code is allowed
whereby they wear their own medals on the left breast accompanied
(if they wish) by their ancestor's on the right.
War Medals (with certain exceptions) are worn on
the left breast of the coat, or in a corresponding place on the
dress, as the case may be. They will be worn in a horizontal line,
suspended from a single bar, of which no part is to be seen, or
stitched to the garment. When worn on the coat, the coat should be
buttoned up.
The ribbon should not exceed one inch in length,
unless the number of clasps require it to be longer. The uppermost
clasp should be one inch below the top of the ribbon. When two or
more medals and decorations are worn, they will be so arranged that
the lower edges (or lowest point of a Star) are in line.
War medals are worn to show the Sovereign's
head.
War medals (or Campaign medals) are worn in the
order of the dates of Campaigns for which they have been conferred,
the first obtained being farthest from the left shoulder.
For the sake of brevity, only the more generally
known are listed hereunder. Persons who are entitled to wear other
decorations or medals not mentioned herein, should seek advice in
regard to their order or priority.
THE AUSTRALIAN
ORDER OF PRECEDENCE OF HONOURS AND AWARDS
His Excellency the Governor-General directs it to
be notified, for general information, that Her Majesty The Queen
has approved the variation of the positioning of the Bravery Medal
and the Australian Active Service Medal within the order of
precedence in which Orders, Decorations and Medals should be worn.
The Schedule incorporates the new positioning of these awards and
supersedes that notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette
No S188 of 4 July 1991.
The Australian Service Medal 1945 - 1975 would be
worn first if someone held both this and the (current) Australian
Service Medal, because it recognizes prior service rendered.
MINIATURE
MEDALS
The only time these should be worn is on
occasions when evening dress or a dinner jacket is worn at a dinner
or evening function.
WEARING OF
NON-OFFICIAL MEDALS
The Awards and National Symbols Branch of the
Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet further states:
“Over a number of years some ex-service organizations have created
and distributed ‘commemorative’ medals to mark Particular periods
of military service. These medals have no official
status.
You should be aware that the government has
created a number of official medals that commemorate certain
events, for example, the 80th Anniversary Armistice
Remembrance Medal, the Australian Sports Medal and the “Anniversary
of National Service 1951-1972 Medal”.
Only those medals, decorations and honours, which
have been created under the prerogative of the Crown, have official
status. Such medals should be worn in accordance with The
Order of Wearing Australian Honours and Awards on the left breast
either on an official uniform or civilian dress.
Official medals worn by relatives of a deceased
veteran should be worn on the right breast.
Ideally, unofficial medals should not be
worn. However if they are worn as the occasion demands, they
may be worn on the right breast.
This advice is based on official protocol and
practice”.
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