The Defence Medal was awarded for:
- 6 months service in a prescribed non-operational area subject to enemy air attack or closely threatened in Australia and overseas
- 12 months non-operational service in the forces overseas from or outside Australia.
Within Australia, the qualifying area was the Northern Territory, north of 14 degrees 30 minutes south, and the Torres Strait Islands. The qualifying period was between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945.
Overseas service included the Middle East, east of the Suez Canal (less the period of the Syrian Campaign) or Malaya prior to the Japanese invasion on 8 December 1941.
Design
The medal is cupro-nickel, with the uncrowned effigy of King George VI on the obverse.
The reverse has a conventional oak tree, with a crown above and two lions counter rampart as supporters between the dates 1939 and 1945. The base of the medal reverse has the words The Defence Medal.
The ribbon is orange with green outer stripes, each green stripe having a black pin stripe running down the centre. The green represents the Islands of the United Kingdom, the orange represents enemy attacks, and the black represents the black outs.
Source documents
Summary of Award Conditions of Campaign Stars, the Defence Medal and the War Medal (PDF, 172.19 KB)