Proof of service for the Civilian Service Medal 1939–45

The Civilian Service Medal 1939–1945 is available for those who served in a civilian organisation, were required to work in arduous circumstances, and were subjected to military style arrangements and conditions of service. To be eligible for the award of a medal an applicant must have had at least 180 days service between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945 with one of the organisations listed below.

Women's Agricultural Groups

• Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA)
• Tasmanian Land Army
• Country Women's Association (CWA) – 'Land Girls' – Victoria and Western Australia
• Women's Agricultural Security Production Service (WASPS)
• Women's Australian National Service (WANS) – New South Wales and Western Australia
• Women's Auxiliary Transport Service (WATS)
• Women's War Service Council (SA) – Land Section

Service only qualifies if it was performed at a place which was not the person's normal place of residence.

Medical aids

• Voluntary Aid Detachment – except those who went on to serve in the Army
• Red Cross Aids

War works

• Civil Constructional Corps (CCC)
• Allied Works Council (AWC) – only for service at sites of war works
• Civil Alien Corps (CAC)
• State Main Roads Departments – only for war works service for the AWC
• Works and Services Branch, Department of the Interior – only for war works service

Airfield ground staff

• Department of Civil Aviation (DCA)
• QANTAS Empire Airways Limited

Other eligible organisations

• North Australia Railway
• Drysdale River Mission
• North Australia Observer Unit – only for civilian guides

The award of the medal is administered by the Awards and Culture Branch, a branch of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The address for applications is:

The Archives may hold records that will assist you in verifying your service and establishing your eligibility for the Civilian Service Medal.

Organisations for which we hold personnel records are listed in the table following, with an indication of the office(s) of the Archives in which they are located. In general the office named will only hold records relating to the State/Territory of its location. As there are exceptions to this rule, you may find that an inquiry to the office(s) holding records for your organisation, even if not located in the State/Territory where you saw service, may prove successful.

No personnel records are held for the following organisations, although some administrative records, which may include information that will assist in establishing eligibilty (such as list of employees engaged in particular locations or on particular projects), are held by the offices indicated.

The Archives holds no relevant records on the Tasmanian Land Army, the Women's Auxiliary Transport Service, the Women's War Service Council or State Main Roads Departments.

In order to obtain access to the records you should contact the National Archives office shown as holding relevant records. National Archives' staff will be happy to assist you with your inquiry.

A list of addresses and contact numbers for all National Archive offices is available in Fact Sheet 1 – Addresses and hours of opening.