The Public Service Medal (PSM) is a civil decoration awarded to Australian public servants (at all levels) for outstanding service. The PSM was introduced in 1991 and replaced the Imperial awards discontinued in 1975, supplementing the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 introduced that same year. Recipients of the Public Service Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "PSM".

Awards are made by the Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

, on the nomination of the responsible Minister in each state or territory, and at the federal level

Australian Public Service

The Australian Public Service is the Australian federal civil service, the group of people employed by federal departments, agencies and courts under the Government of Australia, to administer the working of the public administration of the Commonwealth of Australia...

. The total number of awards made each year must not exceed 100, further broken down into a quota for each government public service

Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

.

Description

• The Public Service Medal is a circular nickel-silver medal ensigned with a Federation Star
  Commonwealth Star
  The Commonwealth Star is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901....
  
  . The obverse shows an inner circle with four planetary gears
  Epicyclic gearing
  Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing is a gear system consisting of one or more outer gears, or planet gears, revolving about a central, or sun gear. Typically, the planet gears are mounted on a movable arm or carrier which itself may rotate relative to the sun gear...
  
   spaced equally around a sun gear
  Epicyclic gearing
  Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing is a gear system consisting of one or more outer gears, or planet gears, revolving about a central, or sun gear. Typically, the planet gears are mounted on a movable arm or carrier which itself may rotate relative to the sun gear...
  
  . It is surrounded by the words 'Public Service'. An outer circle shows 36 human figures symbolising a range of occupations and activities.
• The reverse displays a wreath of mimosa
  Mimosa
  Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μιμος , meaning "mimic."...
  
   surrounding the inscription 'For Outstanding Service'.
• The 32 millimetre-wide ribbon features the national colours
  National colours
  National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols.Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have de facto national colours that have become well-known through popular use...
  
  of green and gold in a vertical striped pattern.