Awarded to all Australian personnel who had seen eighteen months' overseas or three 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.