Recipients of awards are granted insignia as a visual expression of the honour conferred on them. When a person holds more than one award, the main insignia are mounted on a medal bar in the order set out in the Australian order of wearing.
The order of wearing honours and awards is determined by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. The most recent order was published on 25 September 2007 and is available from the The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
A modified version of the order of wearing, designed to include medals issued since the official list was published, is available below.
Order of wearing Australian awards (PDF, 905.98 KB)
This document includes honours and awards which are administered within Australia by different organisations. These organisations are:
- Government House, Honours and Awards Secretariat
- The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Honours and Symbols Section
- The Department of Defence, Directorate of Honours and Awards
- United Kingdom Honours System - Note: all imperial British awards made to Australian citizens after 5 October 1992 are foreign awards and should be worn accordingly. Imperial British awards issued before 5 October 1992 are considered Australian, so they should be worn according to the order of wearing Australian honours and awards and carry any appropriate post-nominals.
Foreign awards
Foreign awards are worn immediately after all Australian honours or awards, in the order of date of approval to wear. The only exceptions are listed below.
- All foreign awards are approved on the same date. This will usually apply to those Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who have received awards because of prior service with a foreign defence force. In this circumstance, the awards may be worn in the order of precedence of the awarding country but must be worn immediately after all Australian honours and awards.
- In cases where more than one foreign award from the same nation has been given to an ADF member, they may be grouped according to the order of wearing of that nation.
A number of medal ribbon posters have been produced by various commercial entities. These have been produced as a visual reference guide for medal ribbons and should not be used as an authority about wearing foreign awards.
Foreign awards fact sheet (PDF, 402.68 KB)
To apply for approval to accept and wear foreign awards, submit an application with a certified true copy of the award certificate.
When a foreign award that has previously been approved for wearing by Defence is lost or stolen, members can obtain a replica from a reputable medals dealer at their own expense. Replicas are high-quality and can be difficult to distinguish from the originals.
Schedule of approved countries
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, on the advice of the Prime Minister, determines whether Australian citizens can accept and wear foreign awards. The Governor-General’s website has a schedule of approved countries and more information about Accepting and wearing of foreign awards by Australians.