Medals are to be worn by the recipient of the medals on their left chest for commonwealth medals and the right chest for state awards. Although not official, of someone who was awarded medals can wear that person's medals on the right side to show that the medals are not their own.
Court mounting is where a medal or a collection of medals are mounted on a stiff board. This holds the medal/s in place as well as suspending them. Full-sized medals may overlap as dictated by protocol. Being court mounted rigidly to the board medals cannot clang against each other which avoids damage. The ribbon is extended behind the medal when court mounted.
Swing mounting is where the medal is suspended by the ribbon from a broach pin or other attachment. These medals are free to 'swing' and do hit each other which can cause damage.
There are normally two different sizes of medals. Full-size medals are normally worn on service dress or to daytime events. Miniature medals can be worn with evening dress, such as mess dress, and for black tie events. There are exceptions to the rule where there may be neck-worn awards as well as other forms of decorations, however these types of awards are rare.
Miniature medals do not overlap unless the number and size exceeds the distance between the lapel and shoulder seams. This needs to be considered when ordering.
Each medal is suspended from a ribbon which is unique to that medal. These ribbon designs are influenced by the nature of the award.
All Australian and British Imperial awards are worn in accordance with an order of precedence from left to right. For example a Victoria Cross would sit on the far left and foreign awards to the right. If the medals are being overlapped then the medal on the far left will be on top of the medals to the right. Foreign awards, including UN and NATO medals, are mounted after Australian medals if the individual is with an Australian agency, such as the ADF, Police etc. Foreign awards are ordered by the date which they were awarded.
State medals are mounted with other state awards and worn on the right chest. These medals are mounted in the opposite way to the commonwealth medals and have the order of the medals reversed. As with the commonwealth medals, they also have an order of precedence.
Ribbon bars are a way of displaying the awards for an individual when not wearing medals. They are common-place for service personnel as well as police and emergency service personnel in their normal day to day work roles. There may be clasps, rosettes and dots on ribbon bars depending the medal. Ribbon bars are four medals wide per row for males serving in Army and Air Force with females wearing ribbon bars three medals wide with a new row starting with the fifth and fourth medals respectively. Navy personnel wear have the choice of wearing either three or four medals per row. Ribbon bars can also have a plastic coating on them, normally used by emergency service personnel.
Medals should be stored in a clean dry area. A medal box or case is a perfect place to store them. As they are very valuable, medals should also be kept secure. Clean them with a non-acidic cleaner or just a damp cloth, a non-abrasive pencil eraser also works well.
Australian War Memorial Anzac Day FAQs
Department of Defence FAQs
The Medals pages are intended as a guide only. Please post medal queries at the Medal & Awards Discussion Board located at the Forum.
War Medals are generally dressed to the left, horizontally pinned and suspended from a non-visible single bar or stitched to the garment if preferred. If worn on a jacket or coat, the garment should be buttoned. Ribbon lengths vary but they should not exceed 2.5 cm in length (1"). An extension of the ribbon is permissible to accommodate multiple clasps. The top clasp should be approximately 2.5cm (1") below the top of the ribbon. If more than two medals are worn, the base line should be horizontally aligned.
Medals are worn according to the Campaign period [left of centre, across to the left shoulder] with the first conferred being closest to the left of centre.
In instances such as the granting of both the Australian Service Medal 1945-1975, and the current ASM, the latter would fall second as the first recognises prior service.
Miniature medals should only be worn after 6pm at formal dress functions.
The following is an extract from 'Sabretache', The Journal of the Military Historical Society of Australia, Vol X1X, April 1978, No 2. (page 129):
From the number of inquires, there is obviously misunderstanding or lack of knowledge presently causing confusion, about what AWARDS, private individuals may wear. In a nutshell, an individual, (in other than Uniform) may wear any award, Foreign, private (1E Club or Association) etc, that He or She has been awarded; there is no law on what may be worn, except of course for falsely wearing awards or medals, although there is a suggested order of procedure of wearing awards. A private citizen is not even bound by these rules of precedence and could wear his VC. at the end of his Service medals, without breaking the law. The Uniform automatically relate to the wearing of any awards to these regulations covering the wearing of a uniform.
Commemorative MedalsTobruk Service Medal - Dunkirk Veterans Medal - Somme Commemorative medal - Belgium Medal - B.C.O.F. Medal - Bomber Command Medal - Hazardous Service medal [Atomic Veterans Association] - HMAS "Voyager" Survivors Medal - HMAS "Voyager" Rescuers Medal - 40th Anniversary, end of Korean War Medal - Front Line Infantry Service Medal - Gallipoli Star Anniversary Medal - National Serviceman Medal - Z Forces medal for Commando, Jaywick, Rimau - Philippines Service Medal - Malta Siege Medal - Arctic Convoy Medal - Russian Army 40th Anniversary Medal - Netherlands Commemorative Cross - Foreign Service Commemorative Medal
Medal Application DetailsApplication forms for new (or replacement medals) are available in Adobe PDF Format at the Australian Defence Force site. To access these forms and the statutory declaration required in relation to lost medals, please click here.
InternationalIn March of 2003, the Directorate of Honours and Awards collocated it's several medal sections together at Tuggeranong, a regional commercial/business centre in Canberra.
Following the move to Tuggeranong, the Directorate has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve the system of processing medals applications.
One such initiative is to use the facilities of the defence service centre at Cooma, NSW to receive, register and acknowledge mail for the directorate.
Navy, Army, Air Force :
DIRECTORATE OF HONOURS AND AWARDSLOCKED BAG 2003COOMA NSW 2630
Merchant Navy :
Chief Mercantile Marine OfficerDepartment of TransportPO Box 596
CIVIC SQUARE ACT 2608
British service persons with service pre 1920 write to:
Army Medal Office MOD(GS)Records "Z" SectionBourne AvenueHayes MiddlesexENGLAND UB3 IRF
This is a handy link to the UK MOD medals office: United Kingdom - MOD Medals Office
British service persons with service 1920 - 2001 write to:
Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency(Joint Personnel Administration Centre)MOD Medal OfficeBuilding 250 Royal Air Force InnsworthGloucester
GL3 1HW
The MOD Medal Office enquiry line is:
Tel: 01452 712612 ext 8149
Medal Queries: please post your questions at the Medal & Awards Discussion Board located at the Forum.
The information contained in the medal descriptions has been gathered from a variety of sources both across the web, from print, and from oral submissions. It is updated as new information comes to hand.If you are seeking an off-line source of medal information, ASAC Australia highly recommends the following book:
Williams R. D. 1981 1983 1990 Medals To Australia. Pocket Book Publications, Dubbo, AustraliaAll medal and ribbon images displayed on the ASAC Australia website have been digitally rendered.
Reproduction without prior written consent is prohibited.
For further information and permission details please contact us by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.