Awarded to all Australian personnel who had seen 18 months overseas or 3 years home service. The medals were named to the recipients. In the case of Army personnel, their service numbers were prefixed by the initial of their state: N (New South Wales), Q (Queensland), S (South Australia), T (Tasmania), V (Victoria) and W (Western Australia). X prefix is for AIF (Australian Imperial Forces or Volunteer Overseas Service). In 1999 the time served for eligibility was reduced.

Approximately 178,000 were issued to Australians.

All loose ribbon available in 30cm lengths, as full size or miniature.