Recognition and awards standards
Direction and guidance on recognising the outstanding 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, being in positions of responsibility, are well placed to recognise outstanding employees.
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
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 |
| Ongoing union consultation is occurring and amendments may be made from time to time. |
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 for better outcomes for the department, students 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 length of years of service in the Department of Education. |
Standards
The 3 components of recognition
The department's Recognition and Awards Framework (staff only) establishes an approach to celebrating all employees such that 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 in a specific, timely and personalised way.
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 directorate 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 school and directorate 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?
The 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 is calculated on a pro rata basis taking into consideration casual, part-time or full-time working arrangements. It accrues during all periods of paid leave at the department. It does not include any service with any other government department (except service with TAFE between the period of December 1997 and July 2015), periods of leave without pay or employment with any external company. While internal secondments within the department count towards length of service, external secondments (for example, at NESA) do not.
Who can apply for service certificates?
Employees do not apply for service certificates. The Service Recognition team will contact relevant directors, principals and managers to confirm eligible employees. HR will then forward certificates to managers for presentation to staff at a suitable opportunity.
See Acknowledge Years of Service (PDF 226 KB) for more information.
Who can receive the service medal?
All employees who have ceased employment (for example, retired or resigned) and have 10 years or more service within the department can receive a Service medal (staff only).
Who can apply for the service medal?
Principals, managers and directors can request service medals for eligible employees by completing the Service Medal Request form.
The annual service recognition dinner celebrates important individual milestones for departmental employees who have contributed significantly to NSW public education. It formally recognises employees who have contributed 50 or more years of service to the Department of Education. The Service Recognition team will contact eligible attendees.
Contact servicerecognition@det.nsw.edu.au if you require more information about service certificates, service medals and the service recognition dinner.
3. Award
Award refers to the recognition of outstanding achievements at a department-led and department-sponsored level. Awards provide an opportunity to recognise the important contribution that the department’s employees make to NSW public education.
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 NSW Premier’s Awards for Public Service.
Managers 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
- NSW Service Medallion Nomination form
- Public Service medal nomination form
Supporting tools, resources and related information
Policy contact
The Executive Director, People Culture and Capability monitors the implementation of these standards, regularly reviews their contents to ensure relevance and accuracy and updates them as needed.