The Public Service Medal (PSM) is a civil decoration awarded to Australian public servants (at all levels) for outstanding service. The PSM was introduced in 1989 and replaced the Imperial awards discontinued in 1975, supplementing the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

introduced that same year. Recipients of the Public Service Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "PSM". The medal is awarded twice each year by the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.federal level Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. The total number of awards made each year must not exceed 100, further broken down into a quota for each government

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

Description

* The Public Service Medal is a circular nickel-silver medal ensigned with a

Federation Star The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901. Six points of the Star represen ...

. The obverse shows an inner circle with four

planetary gears An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) consists of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other. A carrier connects the centers of the two gears and rotates the planet and sun gea ...

spaced equally around a sun gear. It is surrounded by the words 'Public Service'. An outer circle shows 36 human figures symbolising a range of occupations and activities. * The reverse displays a wreath of

mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...

surrounding the inscription 'For Outstanding Service'. * The 32 millimetre-wide ribbon features the

national colours National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become well ...

of green and gold in a vertical striped pattern.

References

{{Australian Honours System Civil awards and decorations of Australia Awards established in 1989 1989 establishments in Australia Australian Public Service Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth

Description

See also

References