Defence Force Service Medal

{{Short description|Australian military service medal}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{Infobox military award

|name=Defence Force Service Medal

|image=120px

Obverse of medal (with clasp)

90px

Ribbon

|presenter=Australia

|type= Medal

|eligibility= Members of the Australian Defence Force

|awarded_for= a minimum of 15 years "qualifying service", including an assessment of good conduct

|status= Closed, but additional service clasps can still be issued to existing awardees

|description=

|clasps = every 5 years of additional service beyond the initial 15 years

|established = 20 April 1982

|firstawarded =

|lastawarded =

|total_awarded = 119,000{{cite book |title=Medal Yearbook 2013 |year=2013 |publisher=Token |location=Honiton, Devon |isbn=978-1-908-828-00-2 |page=397 }}

|total_awarded_posthumously =

|total_recipients =

|individual =

|precedence_label = Order of Wear

|higher = Centenary Medal{{cite web|title=The Order of Wearing of Australian Honours and Awards|url=http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/docs/order_of_wearing.pdf|work=It's an Honour|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=23 January 2013|archive-date=11 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211203319/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/awards/docs/order_of_wearing.pdf|url-status=dead}}

|same =

|lower = Reserve Force Decoration (RFD)

|related = Defence Long Service Medal

|image2 = 90px – 20 years

90px – 25 years

90px – 30 years

90px – 35 years

90px – 40 years

90px – 45 years

|caption2 = Ribbon with Rosette(s) (top four),
Ribbon with Federation Star (bottom)

}}

__NOTOC__

The Defence Force Service Medal (DFSM) is an Australian Military award given for long service by permanent members of the Australian Defence Force. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also included the Reserve Force Decoration (RFD, for officers of the Australian Defence Force Reserves) and the Reserve Force Medal (RFM, for non-commissioned members of the Reserve forces).

All three medals were replaced with effect 20 April 1999 with a single medal, the Defence Long Service Medal,{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/australian-awards/long-service-awards/defence-force-service-medal |title=Defence Force Service Medal |publisher=Department of Defence |access-date=13 March 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/australian-awards/long-service-awards/reserve-force-decoration |title=Reserve Force Decoration |publisher=Department of Defence |access-date=13 March 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/australian-awards/long-service-awards/reserve-force-medal |title=Reserve Force Medal |publisher=Department of Defence |access-date=13 March 2022}} which is now awarded to all permanent and reserve members irrespective of rank.{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/australian-awards/long-service-awards/defence-long-service-medal |title=Defence Long Service Medal |publisher=Department of Defence |access-date=13 March 2022}}

Additional service clasps are issued for each further 5 years after the initial 15 year qualifying service period. On the ribbon, a rosette indicates the award of each clasp, although a small Federation Star indicates the fifth and subsequent clasps. With the introduction of the Defence Long Service Medal, the DFSM is now a closed award with only clasps to existing awards continuing to be issued.