The Star of Courage (SC) is a bravery decoration awarded to Australians.
It is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. The SC was created on 14 February 1975.
The decoration recognises acts of bravery by members of the community.
They selflessly put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives or property of others.
It is ranked second in the Australian civil bravery decorations 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 ...
. Recipients of the Star of Courage are entitled to use the
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
"SC".
Description
Medal
The Star of Courage is a silver, ribbed star with seven points ensigned with the
Crown of Saint Edward.
The obverse has the shield and crest of the
Commonwealth Coat of Arms surmounted by 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 ...
.
Ribbon and bar
A suspender bar is engraved with the words For Courage.
The 32mm medal ribbon is dark red with a central magenta band of 14mm width, representing the colours of venous and arterial blood.
Decoration allowance
Section 102 of the ''Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986'' (VEA) provides for the payment of an allowance called “decoration allowance” to a veteran who is in receipt of a disability pension under the VEA and who was awarded the Star of Courage for gallantry during a war or warlike operations covered by the VEA. At March 2008, this tax free allowance was
A$2.10 per fortnight.
See also
*
Australian Honours Order of Precedence
The Governor-General of Australia has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information the positioning of the wearing of Australian Orders, Decorations and Medals in the ''Commonwealth of Australia Gazette''. The ''Order of Wearing Aust ...
*
List of recipients of the Star of Courage
References
External links
Star of Courage Fact Sheet Australian Bravery Association. Also a
It's an HonourThe Australian Honours Secretariat
www.gg.gov.au
{{Australian Honours System
Civil awards and decorations of Australia
Courage awards
*
1975 establishments in Australia
Awards established in 1975