• About the Awards
• Criteria
• Process
• Eligibility
• Preparation and Submission of Nominations
• Selection
• Guidelines for Preparing Nominations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Printable version

 About The Awards

Searching for, and rescuing people is a complex, often difficult task that occurs in all kinds of weather and usually in demanding locations. The people who work or volunteer their time and skills in this area,  and those that support them, often receive little public recognition for the feats they achieve and the sustained effort they put in to accomplish these tasks.   The New Zealand Search and Rescue (NZSAR) Council has established two annual national awards to recognise worthy achievements in the field of search and rescue in the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region:

 Ø  New Zealand Search and Rescue Award. Commencing in 1999, this annual award honours the person, group or organisation that has made the most significant contribution to search and rescue in the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region during that year or over a sustained period.  One NZSAR Award can be awarded each year. It was renamed as the NZSAR Gold Award in 2008.

 Ø  New Zealand Search and Rescue Certificates of Achievement. Commencing in 2008, the certificate is awarded to people, groups or organisations that have made an important contribution to search and rescue in the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region during that year or over a sustained period.  More than one NZSAR Certificate can be awarded each year.

 While some specific acts of Search and Rescue (SAR) heroism or conspicuous service have drawn honours from the Royal New Zealand Honours system, and others have received awards from their own organisations, such recognition often does not reach the public or others involved in the wider SAR community. 

 The NZSAR Council’s award programme is intended primarily for those people, groups or organisations that have made important contributions to SAR in New Zealand and deserve recognition at a national level.

 The NZSAR Council’s award scheme is intended to give formal and public recognition to those involved in search and rescue in New Zealand.  It is also intended to raise community awareness about the efforts of the volunteers and paid personnel in the SAR sector and celebrate their success.  Both the NZSAR Gold Award and the Certificate are judged and presented annually by the NZSAR Council. 

 Criteria    (return to top)

 The key criteria for both the award and the certificate are ‘those that have made a significant contribution to search and rescue in the New Zealand Search and Rescue Region during that year or over a sustained period’. 

 Process   (return to top)

 To be considered for the Gold Award or the Certificate, a nomination must be prepared and forwarded to the NZSAR Secretariat no later than the last day in October annually. This nomination is to be submitted by an individual or organisation in the belief that the nominee has fulfilled the criteria. 

 A sub-committee of the NZSAR Consultative Committee will review all the nominations for the year and compile them in ranked order for consideration by the NZSAR Council.  The NZSAR Council will then decide who from the nominations will be awarded recognition.  The Secretariat will manage this process.

 If, in the opinion of the NZSAR Council, there is no nomination of sufficiently high standard to qualify, a decision may be made not to present the Gold Award or Certificate for any given year.

 Individuals, groups and entire organisations are eligible for either forms of NZSAR Council recognition.  Judging of the nominations will be on the basis of information contained in the nomination form and supporting documentation.  The decision of the NZSAR Council will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

 Details of the nomination and any supporting evidence (such as photographs, reports, letters, witness contact details etc) should be attached to the nomination form.

 The nomination form can be downloaded by clicking here (MS Word) or here (.PDF) or requested from the NZSAR Secretariat Manager.  Once completed, please forward it to NZSAR Secretariat Manager for collation.

SAR Secretariat Manager

NZ Search and Rescue Council

PO Box 3175

Wellington
New Zealand

Eligibility   (return to top)

 1.         Any type of contribution to SAR in the NZ Search and Rescue Region shall be considered for nominating an individual or organisation for the NZSAR awards programme.

 2.         The nominee must have performed outstanding work in the field of SAR above and beyond routine work and service.

 3.         The contribution may be in the form of sustained effort over a period of time or for a particular incident or set of incidents.

 4.         The NZSAR Gold Award and Certificate of Achievement may be granted posthumously.

 5.         If an individual or organisation has been nominated for a NZSAR Gold Award in the past, whether or not they received an award or certificate, substantial new information must be presented for the NZSAR Council to consider this nomination.  A list of past recipients is contained on this website.

 6.         An individual who has received an NZ Royal Honour from the Governor General previously for a particular incident cannot be considered for recognition by the NZSAR Council award programme for that same contribution or incident.

 7.         The information contained in the nomination is the basis for the evaluation, so it must be complete and fully justify the nomination.  The NZSAR Council will not routinely contact the nominator or seek any supplementary information.

Preparation and Submission of Nominations   (return to top)

1.         All nominations shall use the NZSAR Council awards programme nomination form and follow the attached guidelines for preparing the nominations.

2.         Nominations shall be submitted no later than the last day of October in any given year.  Nominations received after the deadline date will be filed for consideration in the next year's awards programme.

3.         A nomination can be submitted by any person over the age of 18, who is familiar with the contribution of the individual or organisation being submitted.

4.         An individual cannot nominate himself/herself or the organisation with which he or she is affiliated.

5.         A good nomination will use plain language to tell the NZSAR Council what the nominee has done and how the contribution has helped SAR.  The outcome and the process of the contribution must be described and substantiated.

6.         A current biographical sketch, including dates of active participation in organisations, and any awards or honours earned by the nominee, is useful to the NZSAR Council.

7.         Dates and details about the nominee's work and how it has affected their community and SAR in general provides the NZSAR Council with a valuable decision-making tool.

8.         All nominations must be signed and seconded.

Nominations are to be submitted to:

SAR Secretariat Manager

NZ Search and Rescue Council

PO Box 3175

Wellington
New Zealand

Selection    (return to top)

The nominations will be considered using the following guidelines and any others considered relevant by the NZSAR Council:

SAR services

Ø  Changes or improvements to SAR

Ø  Positive impact of changes

Ø  Range/scope of impact

Ø  Fundraising

Dedication

Ø  Years of service to SAR

Ø  Amount of effort

Ø  Role/impact

Extraordinary rescue effort

Ø  Result

Ø  Use of SAR techniques

Ø  Personal risk

Leadership

Ø  Leadership activities

Ø  Number of years as SAR group/team leader

Development of a new technique or technology

Ø  Introduction of SAR technique or technology

Ø  Success of the new technique or technology

Ø  Scale of effort

Education and prevention

Ø  Identification of a need for a programme

Ø  Introduction of a successful SAR educational or prevention programme

Ø  Application of the programme

Ø  Success of the programme

Ø  Scale of effort

Selection Process   (return to top)

1.         The NZSAR Council is the selection panel.

2.         References may be checked upon receipt of nomination.

3.         The NZSAR Secretariat will manage the nomination and awards process

4.         A sub-committee of the NZSAR Consultative Committee will rank the eligible nominations and provide advice to the NZSAR Council. 

5.         The nominations will then be considered by the NZSAR Council who will make the final and incontestable decision regarding recipients.  The nomination with the highest merit will receive the NZSAR Gold Award.

6.         The NZSAR Secretariat will notify the Gold Award and Certificate recipients and all nominators once the NZSAR Council has made its decision.

7.         NZSAR Gold Award and Certificate recipients' identification will be officially announced at an awards ceremony arranged by the NZSAR Secretariat.

8.         The NZSAR Secretariat will provide news releases on the Gold Award and Certificate recipients to the appropriate media.

 Guidelines for Preparing Nominations   (return to top)

1.         Fill out the candidate information on the application form.

2.         Write the reasons for the nomination in the area provided and use a separate sheet if necessary.  Describe in a qualitative manner:

Ø  the nature of the candidate's contribution to SAR (achievements applying to this nomination)

Ø  the significance of the candidate's contribution to SAR (including the importance of the contributions and the benefits resulting from them)

Ø  the context of the contribution (including background against which the contributions were made and problems overcome)

3.         For individuals, provide an up-to-date biographical sketch of the nominee on a separate sheet.

4.         Fill out the nominator and seconder information on the application form.  Ensure these are signed.  You may include other references (with their names and contact information) to corroborate the information provided in the nomination if you wish.

5.         Attach all relevant supporting documentation, including endorsements.

Submit nomination to the NZSAR Secretariat not later than the last day of October.