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How medals should be mounted, Post-nominals & Protocol |
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Swing Mounted. (the casual look) |
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Court Mounted (the more formal look)
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for Details.
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Every country's system of honours and awards is highly structured and embraces many formal aspects. Such a system essentially concerns itself with the national recognition of its citizens' achievements ranging from gallantry in action, bravery in everyday life, distinguished armed forces service, and service to fellow citizens or to humanity at large. As a result it has
been necessary to form rules, codes of behaviour and etiquette to
handle the many aspects which arise from such a system. These rules
have been developed over many years and most of the facets of protocol
have been derived either from tradition or by regulation. This chapter
covers the major issues of protocol relating to the current Australian
awards system.
Wearing of Honours and Awards Whilst the official
Order of Precedence of Honours and Awards lays down the order in which
awards are to be worn, there is also strict protocol regarding the
manner in which awards are to be worn. This differs according to the
formality of the occasion and whether the individual is a civilian or
a member of the uniformed services. The Armed Forces The dress regulations of the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force lay down the prescribed manner of wearing awards. These regulations are, of necessity, comprehensive and subject to change and cannot be dealt with in detail here. However, certain general principles apply regarding the wearing of insignia while in uniform or in other dress. Basically,
full-sized insignia is only displayed on formal occasions when full
military dress is worn such as official or ceremonial parades and
march pasts, formal or semi-formal day-time receptions (in military
dress or civilian clothes) and when commanded by the Sovereign or the
Governor-General. Breast Stars There are detailed service regulations regarding the wearing of breast stars of orders while in uniform, but these are not covered here as most such awards are of an Imperial nature and not many current service personnel would be entitled to them. The only breast star
in the Australian system is that of a Knight or Dame of the Order of
Australia, but this grade is now obsolete and no awards were made to
members of the uniformed services. Neck and Shoulder Badges While in uniform, a neck badge of an order is worn around the neck by both servicemen and women, suspended from a miniature-width ribbon and worn under the collar hanging just below the tie knot. Generally, a maximum of three neck badges may be worn with certain classes of uniform. The only current Australian neck badge is that of a Companion or Officer of the Order of Australia, so any additional neck badges which might be worn by members of the armed forces would be Imperial badges. Only one badge is worn in mess or evening dress and no badges are worn with a man's dinner jacket. Ladies' shoulder
badges issued to Companions and Officers of the Military Division of
the Order of Australia are only worn in civilian clothes or evening
dress. No badges are worn with a man's dinner jacket. Full-sized medals with the obverse showing are worn alongside each other in the official Order of Precedence on a single bar brooch in a horizontal line placed centrally above the left breast pocket. The length of the ribbons vary between the respective services, but the lower points of all crosses, stars and medals must run in a straight line. Should the sizes of medals vary, then the straight line is taken from the largest medal and the lengths of the ribbons will vary accordingly. If more than five
awards (three in the Navy) are worn then they should overlap each
other, the highest one in the official Order of Precedence being fully
exposed. Medal Ribbons In day-to-day uniform, only the ribbons of awards are worn. These are either sewn directly onto the uniform, in the Order of Precedence, above the left breast pocket or onto ribbon bars which are then pinned onto the uniform. See illustration.
In the Army or RAAF, a row of ribbons consists of not more than four ribbons for a man and three for a woman. When more than four (or three) are worn, they are made up to display as many complete rows of four (or three) as possible, with any uncompleted row in a central position at the top. In the Royal
Australian Navy, an individual can choose to wear a maximum of four or
three ribbons in the first row with the smallest number of ribbons in
the upper row. Miniature Insignia
Miniature insignia are displayed on formal mess or evening dress or in civilian clothes at evening functions.
These are worn on a miniature bar brooch pinned onto the left lapel of a jacket. The length of the miniature bar brooch will vary according to the number of miniatures mounted, but it should never project beyond the edge of the lapel or shoulder seam of the mess jacket. Where necessary, medals are overlapped. Miniatures should be Court mounted. Where a lady's
shoulder badge is worn in evening clothes, miniatures are attached
above the shoulder badge Unit Citations Recipients of the Unit Citation for Gallantry or the Meritorious Unit Citation wear the emblem of the citations whenever insignia or ribbons of orders, decorations and medals are worn.
Civilian Recipients Day Dress Occasions when full-sized insignia and medals are worn with civilian day dress are not that common, but include ceremonies on Anzac Day and special events such as State Funerals and Thanksgiving services. Male recipients would wear only one neck badge suspended on a miniature ribbon worn under the collar and hanging 20 millimetres below the tie knot in front of the tie. Full-sized medals would be worn on the left breast in the same manner as members of the armed forces. Female recipients who have received an award with a shoulder badge would wear this on the left breast and may prefer to wear miniatures instead of full-sized medals. In this case the miniatures are worn above the shoulder badge. Breast stars of orders are not normally worn in civilian day dress. Ribbon bars are not generally worn in civilian dress, although they may be worn at the discretion of the recipient. Certain Australian
awards (such as the Antarctic Medal and the Public Service Medal) have
lapel badges and these may be worn on the lapel or in the lapel
buttonhole of civilian day dress at any time. They are, however, not
worn when other pieces of insignia are worn and not more than one
should be worn at any one time. Evening Wear The manner of wearing insignia at evening functions is the same irrespective of whether lounge suits or dinner jackets for men and short or long dresses for women are specified. Men and women awarded a breast star of an order would wear this above the waist on the left side. Men would wear only one neck badge on a miniature-width ribbon in the normal fashion and women with a shoulder badge or award on a bow would wear this on their left breast. Full-sized medals
would not be worn. Miniatures would be worn on the left breast and
above the shoulder badge in the case of women.
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