COMMONWEALTH HONOURS
The role of the Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth takes a leadership and partnership role in co-ordinating drowning prevention initiatives and activities world-wide by facilitating the development of community based drowning prevention strategies and lifesaving education programs across Commonwealth nations.
The Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth acknowledges the invaluable contributions of time, effort and dedication given by its many members around the Commonwealth and takes great pride in acknowledging these contributions.
COMMONWEALTH HONOURS AND AWARDS CATEGORIES
There are six (6) categories of Commonwealth Honours and Awards:
- Honours for Individuals - Volunteer recognise active volunteers who have demonstrated quality and consistent service over a duration of time. The time duration and the type of service depend on the award.
- Honours for Organisations recognise exceptional continuing and sustained contributions or service to the activities or operations of the Society by sub-branches, clubs, partner organisations, schools, etc.
- Honours for Staff Members/Professional Officers recognise a past or present professional officer or a member of staff of a Member Organisation who has supported and assisted the activities of the Commonwealth Headquarters and/or provided development support to lifesaving organisations in other Commonwealth nations (not their home branch).
- Service Awards acknowledge and applaud service in the filed of Lifesaving.
- Research Honour recognises a leading drowning prevention researcher whose achievements have significantly impacted the Society and its work and have contributed to our global drowning prevention mission.
- Awards for Bravery acknowledge and applaud acts of bravery in the field of lifesaving.
In considering nominees for these awards, the level and length of performance and the quality of the service rendered are the necessary and key components to be reviewed and considered before any honour or award may be granted. Other criteria such as contributions, membership, council or committee involvement, etc. are important factors and these may play a role in determining the nominee’s eligibility and the level of the Honour awarded.
COMMONWEALTH HONOURS AND AWARDS NOMINATIONS PROCESS
Commonwealth Headquarters accept nominations for consideration by the Commonwealth Honours Committee twice a year from the Commonwealth Member Organisations. Royal Life saving Society – Australia is the Member Organisation in Australia – and is responsible for collection and submission of approved nomination and citation forms.
The nomination process has six (6) steps:
Step 1: Complete the appropriate nomination form (all forms are linked below).
Step 2: Send the nomination form to the RLS State or Territory Member Organisation where the nominee resides for their endorsement.
NB: Nominations for Research Honours are to be submitted directly to the Commonwealth Honours Submission Portal.
NB: Nominations submitted by the National Branch will skip step 2 and be submit directly to the Royal Life Saving Honours Committee.
Step 3: Endorsed nominations are provided to the Royal Life Saving Honours Committee via the Commonwealth Honours Submission Portal for review against the honours and award criteria.
Step 4: Eligible honours and awards are forwarded to the RLS National Board for Royal Life Saving - Australia endorsement.
Step 5: Endorsed honours and awards are sent to the Commonwealth for review and approval.
Step 6: Once approved, honours and awards are sent back to Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and subsequently sent to each State and Territory Member Organisation for distribution to nominees.
COMMONWEALTH HONOURS AND AWARDS TIMELINE
While a Call for Honours and Awards nominations is issued late summer, nominations can be submitted at any time during the year. All Commonwealth honours and awards, with the exception of the Research Honour, will be reviewed by the Royal Life Saving Society - Australia Honours Committee in winter for submission to the Commonwealth early August.
As the Research Honour and the Commonwealth Young Lifesaver of the Year is required to be submitted to Commonwealth early in the year, all nominations must be submitted to Royal Life Saving Society - Australia by 31st December.
Commonwealth Honours - Volunteer
To qualify for this category of awards, an individual must be an active volunteer. A volunteer is defined as an individual who undertakes work for the Society for which no compensation (other than reimbursement of reasonable expenses) is received. This may include but is not limited to involvement/service as an instructor, examiner, trainer, coach, official, commission or committee member, director, officer, or other representative of the Society who promotes the Society in its mission, vision, and values throughout the period of service. During the time-period specified involvement/service could be conducted in several roles.
Except for purposes of the Certificate of Thanks, a general guideline is that an active volunteer will be an individual who has contributed 50 hours or more of voluntary service in a given calendar year.
Individuals will be considered eligible for volunteer recognition starting at the age of 12 years provided that all criteria are met regarding length of service, contributions, or achievement by individuals.
Honours and Awards are progressive. It is preferred that a nominee receives the honours in order. It is only in exceptional circumstances that a higher honour/award will be awarded without the nominee having previously received a lower honour/award in the honours sequence.
NB: For nomination citations, nominations should only covers the period commencing from the date of the individual’s last honour which must be a minimum of 4 years prior to the date of nomination unless otherwise specified.
Commonwealth Certificate of Thanks
To recognise short term contributions or service by individuals to Society activities.
This honour may be awarded more than once to an individual/organisation that does not qualify for higher honours but continues to contribute to the Society.
Commonwealth Headquarters Commendation
To recognise individuals who have provided outstanding contributions or service directly to the operations of the RLSS Commonwealth Headquarters or to any of the boards, committees, working groups or task forces that form part of the operations of the RLSS Commonwealth Office.
May be awarded concurrently with any of the other Commonwealth Honours and may be made more than once to those individuals who maintain the required level of outstanding service/involvement in Society operations.
Service Commendation
To recognise individuals who have performed outstanding service as an active volunteer for a minimum of two (2) years.
Service Medal
To recognise individuals who have performed outstanding service as an active volunteer for a minimum of four (4) years.
Bar to Service Medal
To recognise individuals who have performed outstanding service as an active volunteer for a minimum of eight (8) years. This honour is available only to individuals who have previously earned the Service Medal.
Service Cross
To recognise individuals who have performed outstanding service as an active volunteer for a minimum of twelve (12) years. This honour is available only to individuals who have previously earned the Service Medal. This honour is available to individuals who have previously earned the Service Medal and Bar to Service Medal.
Bar to Service Cross
To recognise individuals who have performed outstanding service as an active volunteer for a minimum of sixteen (16) years. This honour is available only to individuals who have previously earned the Service Medal. This honour is available to individuals who have previously earned the Service Cross.
NB: The standard progression of Honours will see an individual receive two Bars to Service Cross before being eligible for the next level of Honour. Bars to Service Cross will continue to be awarded every four years to those individuals ineligible for the next level of Honour, but who maintain the required level of service/involvement.
Commonwealth Honorary Life Member
To recognise individuals who are exemplary representatives of the Society and have contributed in a substantial and measurable way to the Society’s mission with a minimum of twenty-four (24) years of service. This award is usually reserved for a member of a National or Commonwealth Committee who has given exemplary service to the Society who has previously earned the minimum of a Service Cross.
Citation needs: As this award recognizes life achievement with the Society, a summary of the individuals’ entire history of involvement with the Society is required.
Commonwealth Honorary Life Governor
To recognise individuals who are exemplary representatives of the Society and have contributed in a substantial and measurable way to the Society’s mission with a minimum of twenty-eight (28) years of service. This award is usually reserved for a member of a National or Commonwealth Council who has given exemplary service to the Society and has previously been named a Commonwealth Honorary Life Member.
Citation needs: As this award recognizes life achievement with the Society, a summary of the individuals’ entire history of involvement with the Society is required.
Commonwealth Vice President
This is the Society's highest honour and is to recognise individuals who have given outstanding and exemplary service to the Society over a lengthy and sustained period with a minimum of thirty-two (32) years of service. This award is usually reserved for a member of a National or Commonwealth Council who has given exemplary service to the Society and has previously been named a Commonwealth Honorary Life Governor.
Citation needs: As this award recognizes life achievement with the Society, a summary of the individuals’ entire history of involvement with the Society is required.
NB: National Presidents and Honorary Commonwealth position holders (past or present) may be eligible for consideration for this Honour regardless of time served and previous honours received.
Commonwealth Honours - Organisations
Commonwealth Certificate of Thanks
To recognise short term contributions or service by clubs, partner organisations, schools, etc. to Society activities.
This honour may be awarded more than once to an individual/organisation that does not qualify for higher honours but continues to contribute to the Society.
Commonwealth President's Award
To recognise exceptional continuing and sustained contributions or service to the activities or operations of the Society by sub-branches, clubs, partner organisations, schools, etc.
This honour may be awarded more than once to organisations that maintain the required level of contribution or service to the Society. Typically, a period of four years is expected between nominations where a second or subsequent honour is to be awarded.
Commonwealth Honours - Staff Members/Professional Officers
Commonwealth Headquarters Commendation
To recognise staff/professional officers who have provided outstanding contributions or service directly to the operations of the RLSS Commonwealth Headquarters or to any of the boards, committees, working groups or task forces that form part of the operations of the RLSS Commonwealth Office.
May be awarded concurrently with any of the other Commonwealth Honours and may be made more than once to those individuals who maintain the required level of outstanding service/involvement in Society operations.
Commonwealth Service Order
To recognise a past or present professional officer or a member of staff of a Member Organisation who has supported and assisted the activities of the Commonwealth Headquarters and/or provided development support to lifesaving organisations in other Commonwealth nations (not their home branch) for a minimum of 5 years' continuous and outstanding service.
NB: This honour may be awarded every 5 years to those individuals who maintain the required level of contribution/outstanding service to the Society.
Commonwealth Service Awards
King Edward VII Cup
To recognise individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Royal Life Saving Society and to lifesaving and drowning prevention in their own country and internationally in upholding the mission, motto and values of the RLSS over an extended period, typically greater than 15 years. The nominee ideally would have made these significant contributions in a voluntary capacity for a majority of their service.
NB: Nominations are accepted every two years (in even numbered years).
HRH Prince Michael of Kent Certificate of Merit (Service)
The HRH Prince Michael of Kent Certificate of Merit was launched by the Royal Life Saving Society in March 2003 to commemorate the 25 years that His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent GVCO CD had been the Society's Commonwealth President.
To recognise individuals who have a long history of exemplary and outstanding service to the Royal Life Saving Society, in their own country and to the RLSS internationally. This award would be recommended for any individual who has already received a Commonwealth Vice President Honour and is still contributing to the Society in an outstanding way or to anyone who has represented the Society in an exemplary way but cannot be recognized via the Honours system.
NB: The Commonwealth President awards the certificate for outstanding service to the Society. The award is at the discretion of His Royal Highness who has agreed that only 2-3 such Certificates will be awarded annually.
Commonwealth Young Lifesaver of the Year
To recognise young volunteers who are the future of the organisation whose voluntary contributions and achievements have significantly impacted the Society and its work and have assisted in our global drowning prevention mission.
NB: The individual must be under the age of 30 on December 31st of the year for which they are being nominated.
Commonwealth Research Honour
Research Honour
To recognise a leading drowning prevention researcher whose achievements have significantly impacted the Society and its work and have contributed to our global drowning prevention mission. The nominee should have made a significant and sustained contribution to drowning prevention (this could be via research, or research and service e.g. organising an international conference, or workshop, or writing white papers etc). It is preferred the nominee would be from a RLSS member organisation or a Commonwealth country, but not mandatory.
Citation needs: Nomination should be accompanied with a rationale around the nominees significant contribution to drowning prevention especially around research and the research should be accessible, either via open access or a repository such as ResearchGate where people can ask to see the research.
Commonwealth Bravery Awards
HRH Prince Michael of Kent Certificate of Merit (Bravery)
The HRH Prince Michael of Kent Certificate of Merit was launched by the Royal Life Saving Society in March 2003 to commemorate the 25 years that His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent GVCO CD had been the Society's Commonwealth President.
To recognise individuals for outstanding acts of bravery in an aquatic environment by an individual(s) not eligible for the Mountbatten Medal or Russell Medal.
NB: The Commonwealth President awards the certificate The award is at the discretion of His Royal Highness who has agreed that only 2-3 such Certificates will be awarded annually.
The Mountbatten Medal
The Mountbatten Medal was instituted in 1951 by the Society's then Grand President, The Earl of Mountbatten of Burma and its annual award is made for the most gallant rescue or rescue attempt undertaken in the previous year (1st January-31st December) by an individual who has taken Royal Life Saving Society training or holds or has held a lifesaving award delivered by a Royal Life Saving Society Member Organisation. The rescue or rescue attempt must be made by a citizen from a Commonwealth Nation but can be in any country throughout the world.
The Russell Medal
Following the tragic death of Pat Russell in March 2000, her family and the RLSS UK Warwickshire Branch informed the Society that they would like to fund the introduction of a permanent memorial to Pat in the form of an annual Medal. It was suggested that the criteria for the award of the Medal should be that it be given to a person 21 years or younger, who during the previous calendar year had carried out the most outstanding resuscitation or attempted resuscitation of a person. The individual nominated for the award must be a citizen of a Commonwealth Country.
For more information about Australian Honour and Awards, please contact honours@rlssa.org.au.
