The Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal is an award in the

Australian honours system The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

. The award is presented to those who perform humanitarian service in a foreign country, in particular those working in dangerous environments or conditions or during a

humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or sometimes humanitarian disaster) is defined as a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people. It may be an internal or extern ...

. The award was introduced by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

on 16 April 1999, following a review of the Australian honours and awards system beginning in 1995. Potential recipients have to prove they worked for a minimum of 30 days in the location depicted by the clasp, during a period of time set in the award criteria. In addition, potential recipients have to be working for an aid organisation recognised by the criteria or with a United Nations taskforce during that timeframe. In 2005, special criteria were established for people working during the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

or the

2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake The 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake occurred on 28 March off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. At least 915 people were killed, mostly on the island of Nias. The event caused panic in the region, which had already been devastated by ...

, with a maximum time period of 7 or 14 days depending on the time frame. The medal was originally intended as a civilian award, in parallel with the

Australian Service Medal The Australian Service Medal is an Australian military decoration. It was authorised 13 September 1988 to recognise prescribed service in peacekeeping and non-warlike operations. It is awarded with a clasp to denote the prescribed operation and ...

and the Police Overseas Service Medal, and until 2005 the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

had never been declared an eligible organisation. This is because, in most cases, the

is already available to military personnel serving alongside humanitarian relief operations. However, defence personnel on leave of absence and serving an eligible organisation could qualify for the medal. The declaration of eligible organisations for the Indian Ocean clasp was the first time the

was declared an eligible organisation, as Operation Sumatra Assist was purely a disaster relief operation and did not attract any military operational service award. The

was again declared an eligible organisation for the participation of its personnel in Operation Pakistan Assist, part of the Australian humanitarian response to 8 October 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

Description

* The Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal is a circular medal. The obverse features a stylised

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

tree in the centre, with its branches reaching to the edge of the medal. A pattern of gumnuts rings the eucalyptus. * The reverse has the same pattern of gumnuts around the rim, with the name of the recipient engraved. * The ribbon is eucalyptus green, divided vertically by a gold stripe. These colours are associative with the

green and gold The national colours of Australia are green and gold. They were established by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen, on 19 April 1984 in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette; on advice from Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The gold ...

, the

national colours of Australia The national colours of Australia are green and gold. They were established by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen, on 19 April 1984 in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette; on advice from Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The gold ...

, while continuing with the eucalyptus theming; symbolising hope and regeneration after the disaster.

Clasps

Nineteen clasps have been declared for the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal as of May 2010,''Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal'' – Guide to Eligible Groups
PDF document produced by the Australian Government. Last updated 3 June 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008. to indicate what region(s) the recipient worked in. These are detailed below: * Afghanistan : 30 days service with civilian organisations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

from 8 December 1979 to present * Balkans : 30 days civilian service in the period; :* Zone 1 –

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

– from 21 February 1992 to present :* Zone 2 –

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

– from 24 March 1999 to present * British Columbia : 14 days service in Canada with civilian organisations from 3 August 2009 to 6 September 2009. Following wildfires in British Columbia, Canada * British Columbia II : 14 days service in Canada with civilian organisations from August 2017 to September 2017. Following wildfires in British Columbia, Canada * Cambodia : 30 days service in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

with civilian organisations from 1 July 1979 to 31 December 1993 * Christchurch : 14 days service with civilian rescue agencies or State and Territory police agencies from 22 February 2011 to 26 May 2011 following the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

in New Zealand * East Timor : 30 days service with civilian organisations in East Timor from 1 June 1999 to 19 May 2002 * Great Lakes : 30 days service with civilian organisations in the African Great Lakes area from 1 May 1994 to Present * Haiti : 14 days service with civilian organisations in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

from 12 January 2010 to 15 March 2010. Following a Hurricane * Indian Ocean : Civilian, Police and Military service providing assistance following the

:* 7 days service in the period 26 December 2004 – 8 January 2005 :* 14 days service in the period 26 December 2004 – 12 February 2005 : Civilian and Military service providing assistance following the

:* 7 days service in the period 28 March 2005 – 18 April 2005 * Iraq : 30 days service with civilian organisations in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

from 20 March 2003 to Present * Japan : 14 days service with civilian and rescue agencies from 11 March 2011 to 27 May 2011 following the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

* Mozambique : 30 days service with civilian organisations in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

from 10 October 1985 to 31 January 1995 * Nepal : 10 days service with civilian organisations from 25 April 2015 to 22 June 2015. * Northern Iraq : 30 days service with civilian organisations in Northern Iraq from 1 February 1991 to 31 May 1995 * Pakistan : Civilian and Military assistance following the 2005 Pakistan earthquake :* 14 days service in the period 8 October 2005 – 8 November 2005 :* 30 days service in the period 8 October 2005 – 31 May 2006 * Pakistan II : 14 days service with civilian and military agencies from 6 August 2010 to 8 November 2010 following the 2010 Pakistan flood * Philippines : 14 days service with civilian organisations from 8 November 2013 to 16 December 2013. * Samoa : 7 days service with civilian, police and rescue agencies from 29 September 2009 to 10 October 2009 following the

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami took place on 29 September 2009 in the southern Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone. The submarine earthquake occurred in an extensional environment and had a moment magnitude of 8.1 ...

* Somalia : 30 days service with civilian organisations in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

from 1 March 1992 to 1 January 1996 * South Sudan : 30 days service with civilian organisations in Southern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

from 23 May 1992 * South Vietnam : 30 days service with civilian organisations

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

from 29 May 1964 to 30 April 1975 * Ukraine : Australian Government response to the downing of

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...

on 17 July 2014. :* 7 days service at crash site (Zone 1) and in conflict zone (Zone 2) Ukraine; :* 14 days service in conflict zone (Zone 2) Ukraine; or :* 14 days deployed to Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) operation (Zone 3) in The Netherlands. * Vanuatu : 30 days service with civilian organisations from 13 March 2015 to 1 April 2015. * West Africa : 30 days service with civilian organisations from 1 March 2014 to 29 March 2016.

Recipients

The year is listed as such in the table due to the award numbers being made public based on the financial year in the Governor Generals Annual Report.

References

*
ADF Honours and Awards

British Columbia & Haiti

Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal (Ukraine) Declaration 2015
{{Australian Honours System Civil awards and decorations of Australia Military awards and decorations of Australia Humanitarian and service awards 1999 establishments in Australia Awards established in 1999

Description

Clasps

Recipients

See also

References