Recognition and awards standards
Direction and guidance on recognising the service, efforts and accomplishments of department employees.
Audience
All employees of the department, including casual and part-time employees. It is particularly applicable to managers who are well placed to recognise outstanding employees.
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
V01.0.1 |
17/02/2026 |
Updated policy owner, contact details and links. Amended to improve readability. |
Director, Equity, Inclusion and Culture |
V01.0.0 |
05/09/2024 |
Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, new policy document consolidating existing instructions and improving clarity and readability. |
Chief People Officer |
About the policy
Under the Our culture policy, the department is proudly committed to creating open, supportive and inclusive workplaces where our workforce is safe, respected, included, valued and inspired to bring their whole selves to work by recognising staff who perform at a high level, exemplify the department’s values and serve the department for extended periods of time.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Department values |
Excellence, integrity, equity, accountability, trust and service. These values form the foundation of how we can all contribute to better outcomes for the department and learners. |
Secondments |
A temporary, fixed-term work agreement that allows ongoing employees to work for up to 2 years in another public sector agency or in the department under different legislation. |
Service recognition |
Refers to the length of years of service in the NSW Department of Education. |
Standards
The 3 components of recognition
The department's Recognition and Awards Hub (staff only) establishes an approach to celebrating all employees so they feel valued, included and motivated to perform at their best. The 3 components of recognition are:
- Appreciate
- Acknowledge
- Award.
1. Appreciate
Appreciation is the act of noticing the qualities, efforts and actions of individuals or teams during key moments. All employees are encouraged to show appreciation in a specific, timely and personalised way to their colleagues – showing appreciation is not restricted to principals or managers.
Types of appreciation include:
- Individual achievements, such as resilience in the face of challenges, accomplishments related to professional development and significant contributions to a task or project
- Cultural and religious heritage, including observations such as Harmony Week, NAIDOC Week and Lunar New Year
- Team successes, such as project completion, effective communication under pressure or the implementation of new working practices
- Milestones, such as work anniversaries, career changes (for example, new accreditations or retirement) and personal milestones (including birthdays or significant achievements related to hobbies or personal projects)
- Exemplary performance, such as embodying the department’s values, promoting educational growth or learning from challenges.
2. Acknowledge
Acknowledgement is more formal and structured than appreciation and includes local level awards and recognition of years of service.
School and education support staff leaders can host awards ceremonies to acknowledge employees at a local level. The department provides templates and forms in the department’s Recognition and Awards Toolkit (staff only), which leaders can use to acknowledge valuable employees at school assemblies, team meetings and similar events.
A key part of acknowledgement in the department is service recognition. The department has 3 main methods for recognising the service of employees who have made a long-term commitment to supporting education in NSW:
- service certificates
- service medals
- service recognition dinner.
Who can receive a service certificate?
A service certificate is awarded to employees who have reached a milestone of 20, 30, 40 or 50+ years of service to the department.
How is length of service calculated?
Length of service accrues during all periods of paid leave at the department:
- It is calculated on a pro rata basis.
- It takes into consideration casual, part-time or full-time working arrangements.
- Internal secondments within the department count towards length of service.
What is not included in a length of service calculation?
Length of service calculations do not include:
- periods of leave without pay
- any service or secondment with any other government department (except service with TAFE between December 1997 and July 2015)
- any employment period in an external company or organisation, including secondments.
Who can apply for service certificates?
Employees do not apply for service certificates. The People Experience Programs team will identify eligible employees and send certificates to the employees' relevant principal (for school staff) or director/manager (for education support staff) for presentation to the employee at a suitable opportunity. Certificates are produced in yearly batches, for all staff who reach a milestone that calendar year.
Refer to Acknowledge Years of Service (staff only) (PDF 226 KB) for more information.
Contact servicerecognition@det.nsw.edu.au for more information about service certificates.
Who can receive a service medal?
All employees who have ceased employment with the department (for example, retired or resigned) and have 10 or more years of service within the department can receive a service medal. For more information, refer to Awards and Recognition.
Who can apply for the service medal?
Medals are not automatically produced. Principals, managers and directors can request service medals for their eligible employees by completing the Service Medal Request form (staff only).
Contact EDConnect (staff only) for more information about service medals.
The annual service recognition dinner formally recognises and celebrates employees who have contributed 50 or more years of service to the department.
The People Experience Programs team contacts eligible attendees to invite them to attend.
Contact servicerecognition@det.nsw.edu.au for more information about the service recognition dinner.
3. Award
An award refers to recognition of outstanding achievements at a department-led and department-sponsored level. Department awards include the Public Education Awards, the Nanga Mai Awards, and the NSW Training Awards (refer to Award [staff only] – Types of formal awards).
External awards endorsed by the department include the Public Service Medal and the Premier’s Awards for Public Service.
Managers and principals can review the eligibility criteria for these awards and learn how to nominate exceptional candidates on the department’s Awards and recognition page.
Consult the Awards Calendar (staff only) for a comprehensive list of formal awards.
Mandatory tools and templates
- Service Medal Request form (staff only)
- NSW Service Medallion >Nomination form
- Public Service Medal (staff only) >Nomination form
Supporting tools, resources and related information
Policy contact
The Executive Director, Talent, Capability and Performance, monitors the implementation of these standards, regularly reviews their contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates them as needed.