New Zealand Search and Rescue Awards and Certificates of Achievement

Who is eligible?

Individuals, groups and entire organisations are eligible for either forms of NZSAR Council recognition.  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’.

What is the deadline for nominations?

To be considered for the Gold Award or the Certificate for the year ended 31 December, a nomination must be prepared and forwarded to the NZSAR Secretariat no later than the 31st of January annually. Nominations received after the deadline date will be filed for consideration in the next year's awards programme.

This nomination is to be submitted by an individual or organisation in the belief that the nominee has fulfilled the criteria.

Who decides whether a nominee is granted an award?

A sub-committee of the NZSAR Consultative Committee will review all the nominations for the year and make recommendations to the NZSAR Council about who should be considered for recognition in ranked order.  The NZSAR Council will then consider the recommendations and decide who will be the recipients. 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.

How do the Council decide whether a nominee deserves an award?

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.

Selection Process 

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 recommendations 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.

What constitutes eligibility?

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.

Other factors considered by the NZSAR Council:

SAR services

  • Changes or improvements to SAR
  • Positive impact of changes
  • Range/scope of impact
  • Fundraising

Dedication

  • Years of service to SAR
  • Amount of effort
  • Role/impact

Extraordinary rescue effort

  • Result
  • Use of SAR techniques
  • Personal risk

Leadership

  • Leadership activities
  • Number of years as SAR group/team leader

Development of a new technique or technology

  • Introduction of SAR technique or technology
  • Success of the new technique or technology
  • Scale of effort

Education and prevention

  • Identification of a need for a programme
  • Introduction of a successful SAR educational or prevention programme
  • Application of the programme
  • Success of the programme
  • Scale of effort

Who can make a nomination?

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.

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

How do I make a nomination?

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

Download a Nomination Form  (MS WORD)   (PDF)  or request one from the NZSAR Secretariat Manager.

Guidelines for Preparing Nominations

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:

  • the nature of the candidate's contribution to SAR (achievements applying to this nomination)
  • the significance of the candidate's contribution to SAR (including the importance of the contributions and the benefits resulting from them)
  • the context of the contribution (including background against which the contributions were made and problems overcome)


3. 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.

What details should I include with the nomination?

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.


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.


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.


All nominations must be signed and seconded.


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

 

Who should I send a Nomination to?

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

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