The New Zealand Bravery Awards

  • Editorial changes made in clause 4 on 29 November 2021 under section 87(h) of the Legislation Act 2019.

Version as at 24 September 1999

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

The New Zealand Bravery Awards

(SR 1999/317)

Elizabeth R

Royal Warrant

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.

This warrant is administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

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 honouring persons who perform acts of bravery in saving or attempting to save the life of another person:

We do by these Presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, institute and create four New Zealand Bravery Awards.

1 Style

The New Zealand Bravery Awards shall consist of four levels and shall be styled and designated—

I

“The New Zealand Cross”

II

“The New Zealand Bravery Star”

III

“The New Zealand Bravery Decoration”

IV

“The New Zealand Bravery Medal”.

2 Design of Awards

(1)

The New Zealand Cross shall be a silver cross paty or formy (with straight edges) with a six-pointed gold star on each arm, and on a central disc within a wreath of gold New Zealand fern fronds the words “NEW ZEALAND”, and on the reverse the inscription “FOR BRAVERY - MŌ TE MĀIA”; the cross surmounted by a gold Royal Crown and attached by the letter “V” to a straight silver suspender bar bearing gold fern fronds.

(2)

The New Zealand Bravery Star shall be a silver eight-pointed star of four long points and four short points with, in the centre, a Royal Crown within a wreath of New Zealand fern fronds, both gilt, and on the reverse the inscription “FOR BRAVERY - MŌ TE MĀIA”.

(3)

The New Zealand Bravery Decoration shall be a silver cross paty or formy (with straight edges) with, in the centre, a Royal Crown within a wreath of New Zealand fern fronds, both gilt, and on the reverse the inscription “FOR BRAVERY - MŌ TE MĀIA”.

(4)

The New Zealand Bravery Medal shall be of bronze and circular in shape, bearing on the obverse the Effigy of the Sovereign within the Royal Styles and Titles for New Zealand, and on the reverse the inscription “FOR BRAVERY - MŌ TE MĀIA” within a wreath of New Zealand fern fronds ensigned by a Royal Crown.

3 Design of Bars

The Bars to the Awards shall,—

(a)

for the New Zealand Cross, the New Zealand Bravery Star, and the New Zealand Bravery Decoration, be of silver, oblong in shape, and bearing two New Zealand fern fronds:

(b)

for the New Zealand Bravery Medal, be of bronze, oblong in shape, and bearing two New Zealand fern fronds.

4 Ribbons

Each Award shall be worn from the left breast suspended from a distinctive ribbon that is,—

(a)

for the New Zealand Cross, 38 mm in width, of bright blue:

(b)

for the New Zealand Bravery Star, 32 mm in width, of bright blue with two narrow vertical stripes of red ochre (kōkōwai):

(c)

for the New Zealand Bravery Decoration, 32 mm in width, of bright blue with three narrow vertical stripes of red ochre (kōkōwai):

(d)

for the New Zealand Bravery Medal, 32 mm in width, of bright blue with four narrow vertical stripes of red ochre (kōkōwai).

5 Criteria

The criteria for each Award shall be—

(a)

the New Zealand Cross: for acts of great bravery in situations of extreme danger:

(b)

the New Zealand Bravery Star: for acts of outstanding bravery in situations of danger:

(c)

the New Zealand Bravery Decoration: for acts of exceptional bravery in situations of danger:

(d)

the New Zealand Bravery Medal: for acts of bravery.

6 Eligibility for Awards

(1)

Civilians and military personnel who satisfy the criteria specified in clause 5 shall be eligible for the Awards and Bars to the Awards for acts of bravery for which a New Zealand Gallantry Award or other award may be inappropriate.

(2)

Citizens of other Commonwealth and foreign countries who satisfy the criteria specified in clause 5 shall be eligible for the Awards and Bars to the Awards.

7 Bars to Awards

A recipient of an Award who performs a further act of bravery that is worthy of recognition by the same Award may be awarded a Bar to be attached to the ribbon of his or her Award.

8 Posthumous Awards

The Awards and Bars to the Awards may be awarded posthumously.

9 Ribbon emblems

The emblems to be worn on the ribbon of an Award, when the ribbon is worn alone, are,—

(a)

for the New Zealand Cross, a small silver representation of the cross, which shall be worn on the ribbon of the Award, and for each Bar awarded an additional emblem shall be worn on the ribbon:

(b)

for the New Zealand Bravery Star and the New Zealand Bravery Decoration, a small silver representation of an uncoiled fern frond, which shall be worn on the ribbon for each Bar awarded:

(c)

for the New Zealand Bravery Medal, a small bronze representation of an uncoiled fern frond, which shall be worn on the ribbon for each Bar awarded.

10 Postnominal letters

Recipients of the Awards shall have the privilege of placing the appropriate letters after their names, as follows:

IThe New Zealand Cross—NZC
IIThe New Zealand Bravery Star—NZBS
IIIThe New Zealand Bravery Decoration—NZBD
IVThe New Zealand Bravery Medal—NZBM
11 Promulgation

All Awards and Bars to the Awards shall be published in the New Zealand Gazette.

12 Register

The names of all those persons who receive an Award or a Bar to an Award shall be recorded in a register kept by the Clerk of the Executive Council of Our Realm of New Zealand.

13 Engraving of Awards

The name of the recipient shall be engraved on each Award.

14 Certificate

Every Award and every Bar to an Award shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by Us, Our Heirs and Successors, and countersigned by Our Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Our Realm of New Zealand.

15 Order of wear

It shall be competent for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, to determine from time to time, the order of wear of the four New Zealand Bravery Awards in relation to the insignia of Orders of Chivalry and Orders, Decorations, and Medals that have been or may be conferred in Our Realm of New Zealand.

16 Miniatures

Reproductions of the Awards and Bars to the Awards in miniature, which may be worn on certain occasions by those persons who have received an Award or Bar to an Award, shall not exceed one-half of the size of the full-size Award or Bar.

17 Lapel Badge

(1)

A Lapel Badge may be worn by recipients of an Award on those occasions it is inappropriate to wear the full-size or miniature Award.

(2)

The Lapel Badge shall not exceed 18 mm in diameter, and shall consist of a blue enamel disc with, in the centre, a silver cross paty or formy (with straight edges) in the centre of which is a silver Royal Crown on a small blue disc.

18 Making of Awards

Awards of a New Zealand Bravery Award and of a Bar to an Award shall be made by Us, Our Heirs and Successors, only on a recommendation by Our Prime Minister of New Zealand or a Minister of the Crown acting for Our Prime Minister.

19 Delegated powers

Delegated powers to make awards of a New Zealand Bravery Award or a Bar to an Award under the terms of this Our Warrant may, from time to time, be vested in Our Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Our Realm of New Zealand.

20 Forfeiture and restoration

It shall be competent for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, on a recommendation by Our Prime Minister of New Zealand or a Minister of the Crown acting for Our Prime Minister—

(a)

to cancel and annul the conferment of an Award or Bar to an Award, or both, on any person, and to remove the person’s name from the register; and

(b)

where the conferment of an Award or Bar to an Award, or both, on any person has been cancelled or annulled, to restore the Award or the Bar, or both, to that person, and to restore the person’s name to the register.

21 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 20th day of September in the 48th Year of Our Reign.

By Her Majesty’s Command,

J M Shipley,
Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Issued under the authority of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989.

Date of notification in Gazette: 23 September 1999.

Contents
  • 1

    General

  • 2

    Status of reprints

  • 3

    How reprints are prepared

  • 4

    Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

  • 5

    List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)

Notes
1 General

This is a reprint of The New Zealand Bravery Awards. The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the warrant as at 24 September 1999, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.

Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that have yet to come into force or that contain relevant transitional or savings provisions are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order.

2 Status of reprints

Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.

This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

3 How reprints are prepared

A number of editorial conventions are followed in the preparation of reprints. For example, the enacting words are not included in Acts, and provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted. For a detailed list of the editorial conventions, see http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.

4 Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.

A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.

In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint:

  • •

    omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section” and “of this Act”)

  • •

    typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)

  • •

    layout of provisions, including:

    • •

      indentation

    • •

      position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section)

  • •

    format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)

  • •

    format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999” is now expressed as “1 January 1999”)

  • •

    position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)

  • •

    punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions)

  • •

    Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly

  • •

    case and appearance of letters and words, including:

    • •

      format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)

    • •

      small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters

  • •

    schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly

  • •

    running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)

  • •

    format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg, they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).

5 List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)