CFA is coordinating nominations for the National Emergency Medal for the 2019-20 bushfires for our members.
This relates to the bushfires that occurred in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory between September 2019 and February 2020.
The Award
The National Emergency Medal is awarded to members who gave sustained or significant service during specified dates in specified places in response to nationally-significant emergencies within Australia.
Bushfires 2019-20
On 2 December 2020 the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), agreed to a recommendation from the Australian Government and the National Emergency Medal Committee, that the 2019-20 bushfires event be declared a nationally-significant emergency for the purpose of the National Emergency Medal.
For CFA members, eligible service includes frontline and operational support, covering a range of roles and functions including but not limited to firefighting, aviation support, logistics, catering, communications and designated roles in incident management teams and at the State Control Centre.
Next steps
Districts will be provided with a list of members (by brigade) who have been identified as potentially meeting the award criteria based on deployment data from the fire season. Brigades will be responsible for verifying the list and identifying any gaps, along with including specific locations of service rendered (LGAs). There is no requirement to list all days of service once the criteria of five days is met.
District and region personnel to be nominated through their respective team at the time of service rendered (lists will be provided to the District ACFO). HQ directorates will be provided with a list of members who are identified as potentially meeting the award criteria. Headquarters staff should nominate through their line manager.
For members who are both volunteers and employees, in most cases the service has been matched to their brigade location.
The initial round of nominations will close on 30 July 2021.
Note: members should not nominate directly through the Governor-General’s office, as all nominations are being coordinated and submitted centrally.
For more information contact your district office in the first instance. If you still need assistance email cfa-honours@cfa.vic.gov.au.
| Submitted by |
Belinda Gillespie - CFA Honours |