General News
29 July, 2026
Long awaited recognition for Nashos
NASHO Fair Go president Geoff Parkes choked up when recounting the moment around 50 National Servicemen called him to say they’d received their long-awaited National Service Medal after a lengthy battle for recognition.
A Naroghid export, Mr Parkes is among a small contingent of south west Victorians leading Nasho Fair Go, a national not-for-profit organisation representing the interests of the men conscripted to National Service between 1965 and 1972 – affectionally known as Nashos.
As Western District Newspapers reported in December 2025, Nasho Fair Go members had welcomed the decision to overturn a previous ruling which prevented thousands of Nashos from receiving the Australian Defence Medal (ADM).
Mr Parkes has spent almost two years pushing for around 4000 Nashos to be eligible for their ADM following the landmark decision in favour of Mr Rickerby.
“He was one of the blokes incensed about not receiving the ADM, and he kept at it for many years before the Appeals Tribunal overturned the decision,” he said.
“This left us with the manner of the discharge certificate so I went to see Lieutenant General Natasha Fox AO (Australian Defence Force Chief of Personnel).
“They came up with the solution these men will be issued with a certificate of service, which does not include the words discharged on the grounds of exceptional hardship, and it made them all eligible for the Australian Defence Medal.
“Those medals have been rolling out the last few days.
Mr Parkes said it was an emotional rollercoaster to see these men, who had been conscripted into the military, finally receiving their awards after years of patience.
“I’ve had 40 or 50 blokes calling me to say their medals and certificate of service have arrived,” he said.
“These old Nashos are pretty emotional about it.
“It’s just amazing.
“To see these old Nashos getting their medals and certificates is a big one for us.”
The turning point came in early 2025 after the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal had overturned a previous ruling which had found veteran Jeff Rickerby not recommended for the ADM.
The ruling dates back to when Gough Whitlam came into government in 1972 after he had vowed to withdraw troops from the Vietnam War immediately, and in doing so offered troops the opportunity to continue their enlistment, transfer or take an early discharge.
Mr Parkes said those who accepted the discharge were given the option to apply for two years leave without pay on grounds of exceptional hardship, as the legislative framework was not in place for fairer forms of discharge.
“He gave people the option to leave the military and a lot of people took him at his word, with 4000 of the 12,000 of us in service at the time saying ‘Yeah, we’re off’,” he said.
“Then a few months later they got a discharge certificate saying they were discharged on the grounds of exceptional hardship, which really stuck in their craw because it seemed very petty.
“In those days, not long after people’s parents and grandparents were from the first and second World War, when anyone in the service was receiving an honourable discharge.
“The discharge on the grounds of exception hardship was a provision for soldiers being able to get out on the grounds of their families being in a bit of trouble.
“Whitlam had moved to discharge people without the legal authority to do it, so they had to come up with an expedient way to walk through the National Service Act 1964, and found the discharge on the grounds of exceptional hardship.”
Mr Parkes said the discharge had been a sore point for veterans who had served honourably but were not recognised for it due to the government exercising a loophole to discharge them.
The discharge conditions only became further frustrating after it led to those who had served being denied an Australian Defence Force Medal, as eligibility required a full-term service of at least 18 months.
Thanks to the addition of the Certificate of Service, a broader range of Nashos are now eligible for their Australian Defence Medal.
Nasho Fair Go members have taken the liberty of creating both video and print documents which walk veterans step-by-step through how to apply for their white card, Service and Certificate Records and National Service Medals.
The videos and written documents can be found online at https://nashofairgo.com.au.