The New Zealand Special Service Medal
Royal Warrant
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting!
Whereas We are desirous of instituting a medal to award to members of Our New Zealand Defence Force and certain other New Zealanders who undertake special services that are not normally recognised by a campaign medal:
We do by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, institute and create a new Medal.
1 Style
The Medal shall be styled and designated "The New Zealand Special Service Medal".
2 Description
The Medal shall be made of gold plated base-metal and circular in shape, bearing, -
aon the obverse, a representation of the New Zealand Coat of Arms; and bon the reverse, a representation of a bouquet of New Zealand flora, composed of fern fronds and sprigsof blossom of Pohutukawa, Manuka, Kowhai, and Mt Cook Lilies with a scroll below inscribed with the words"FOR SPECIAL SERVICE". 3 Regulations
The Medal shall be awarded for those special services under Regulations that the Governor-General of New Zealand, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister or a Minister of the Crown acting for the Prime Minister, may determine.
4 Operational service
Operational service shall not count as qualifying service for the Medal nor shall service towards qualification for the Medal count as qualifying service towards the New Zealand Operational Service Medal.
5 Ribbon
The Medal shall be worn from the left breast suspended from a ribbon, 32 millimetres in width, of a design that the Governor-General of New Zealand, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister or a Minister of the Crown acting for the Prime Minister, may determine by Regulation.
6 Register
The names of all those persons who receive the Medal shall be recorded in a register kept by the Chief of Defence Force.
7 Order of wear
In the official list showing the order in which Orders, Decorations, and Medals shall be worn in New Zealand, the New Zealand Special Service Medal shall be worn in order of date of award after war medals but before Coronation, Jubilee, and New Zealand Commemoration Medals.
8 Miniatures
Reproductions of the Medal, in miniature, which may be worn on certain occasions by those persons who have received the Medal, shall not exceed one-half of the size of the full-size Medal.
9 Annulment
We reserve to Ourself, Our Heirs and Successors, full power of annulling, altering, abrogating, augmenting, interpreting, or dispensing with this Our Royal Warrant, or any part of it, by a notification under Our Sign Manual.
Given at Our Court at Saint James's, this 23rd day of July 2002, in the 51st Year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesty's Command.
Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Regulations
1 Title
These regulations are the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami) Regulations 2005.
2 Commencement
These regulations come into force on the day after the date of their notification in the Gazette.
3 New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami)
The New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami) is awarded subject to the Royal Warrant and to these regulations.
4 Purpose
The purpose of the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami) is to recognise the extreme or hazardous circumstances associated with service involving—
athe following physical risks: i aftershocks of the earthquake: ii debris and wreckage from the earthquake, its aftershocks, or the tsunami: iiidisease and infection: ivpotential conflict between government and separatist forces in Aceh and Sri Lanka: v possible terrorist attacks on relief operations: bthe following psychological risks: i body recovery: ii victim identification: iiithe scale of the devastation. 5 Interpretation
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
affected area means any area in one of the countries listed in regulation 7 that was directly affected by any of the following: athe earthquake: bthe aftershocks of the earthquake: cthe tsunami earthquake means the earthquake of magnitude 9.0 that occurred off the coast of Sumatra on 26 December 2004medal means the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami)service means work towards any relief, recovery, or reconstruction operation relating to any of the following: athe earthquake: bthe aftershocks of the earthquake: cthe tsunami tsunami means the tsunami that resulted from the earthquake.6 Ribbon
The ribbon is to be 32 mm in width and composed of 11 stripes: red, white, blue, orange, green, yellow, green, orange, blue, white, and red.
7 Geographical area
The medal is awarded for service in the following countries:
Bangladesh: India: Indonesia: Kenya: Madagascar: Malaysia: Maldives: Mauritius: Myanmar: Seychelles Somalia: Sri Lanka: Tanzania: Thailand. 8 Eligibility
The following persons are eligible for the medal if the Chief of Defence Force (or an officer of the New Zealand Defence Force authorised by the Chief of Defence Force) judges their service in an affected area involved the risks described in regulation 4:
amembers of the Defence Force (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Defence Act 1990), membersof the Police (within the meaning of section 2 of the Police Act 1958), and New Zealand civilians employedby the New Zealand Government, including those who assisted New Zealand citizens in an affected area: bNew Zealand civilians working for or with a hospital, aid organisation, or ethnic organisation that has a New Zealand office: cother New Zealand civilians who provided service: dspecial cases, as approved by the Prime Minister or a Minister of the Crown acting for the PrimeMinister. 9 Qualifications for award
A person qualifies for the award of the medal if they are eligible under regulation 8 and served in an affected area for—
a7 days (whether continuous or aggregated) beginning on 26 December 2004 and ending on 28 February 2005; or b14 days (whether continuous or aggregated) beginning on 26 December 2004 and ending on 26 December 2005. 10 Proof of Service
Persons eligible under regulation 8 and who qualify under regulation 9 must provide proof of service in an affected area. The proof must state the type of service performed and its duration, and may be 1 or more of the following:
aa statement signed by the chief executive of the organisation that controlled or directed the person: ba statutory declaration by the person eligible for the medal, their employer, or a witness to theperson’s services: cother evidence as may be required by the Chief of Defence Force or an officer of the New ZealandDefence Force authorised by the Chief of Defence Force. 11 Delegation
The Chief of Defence Force or an officer authorised by the Chief of Defence Force may award the medal to any eligible person who, in the judgment of the Chief of Defence Force or the authorised officer, qualifies for the award of the medal.
12 Forfeiture and restoration
The Chief of Defence Force or an officer authorised by the Chief of Defence Force may—
acancel and annul the conferment of the medal on a person; and bif the conferment of the medal on a person has been cancelled or annulled, restore the medal to thatperson. Dated at Wellington this 22nd day of December 2005.
Phil Goff, Minister of Defence.
