Australian Bravery Decorations
Steve Thomas recipient of the Star of Courage bravery award is one of our honoured Australians
Photo: Darren Seiler, Newspix
Australian Bravery Decorations recognise acts of bravery by members of the community. They selflessly put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives or property of others.
Bravery or courage differs from fortitude in a crisis situation. Bravery is a deliberate choice to go from a place of safety to danger or remain in a perilous position to provide help.
The Cross of Valour is the highest bravery decoration. It is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril.
History
Australian Bravery Decorations date from the establishment of the Australian honours system in February 1975. The Group Bravery Citation was
added in 1990.
The decorations recognise acts of bravery by members of the community.
There are four levels of decoration:
There is also the Group Bravery Citation an award for a group of people involved in a single incident.
Past Recipients
An old steak knife and a cool head in a crisis enabled Lisa Strathern to save the lives of two parachutists when their gear caught on the wheel strut of their Cessna drop plane over Caboolture, Queensland. Through her composure, courage and skill Lisa averted a tragic accident and received the Bravery Medal which is awarded for acts of courage in hazardous circumstances.
Another recipient is Stephen Thomas who was surfing with his mate, Anthony, near Ceduna on the Great Australian Bight when a White Pointer shark attacked. Stephen Thomas was awarded the Star of Courage in 2002, an award given for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril.
How they are awarded
Anyone may nominate any other person for a bravery decoration.
The nomination may be for a brave act by an Australian citizen in Australia or overseas. A citizen of another country carrying out a brave act in Australia may also be nominated.
Bravery decorations may be made posthumously.
The Honours Secretariat at Government House researches the nominations. The Australian Bravery Decorations Council then considers them.
The Council has fourteen members including representatives of each state and territory, two ex-officio members and four community members appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, by the Governor-General.
The Australian Bravery Decorations Council makes recommendations for awards to the Governor-General. The Council also recommends the level of awards.
There is no set timeframe for announcing bravery awards. Generally there are two announcements each year in April and August.
After the announcement of awards, Recipients are invited to a ceremony or investiture at Government House in their state to receive their award.
Nomination forms
Download a copy of the Australian Bravery Decorations nomination form.
Australian Bravery Decorations nomination form - PDF 161KB File
Please note that nomination forms cannot be lodged electronically. They should be posted to the address shown on the nomination form.
Note: PDF documents require a 'plug-in' program ( free Adobe Reader software ) to view and this is freely available on the web. More information on PDF files and their use is available on the PDF Help page on this site.
If you are unable to access this file, please contact the Awards and Culture Branch directly through the contact us facility on this website.
More information
For more information or a nomination form for the Australian Bravery Decoration please contact:
Honours Secretariat
Government House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Ph: 1800 552 275