The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award FAQs

Contact a NSW Open Award Centre.

At Bronze level 14. However, if a person is aged 13 but is part of a school year/peer cohort where the majority are 14 years or older, then that young person can start their Bronze Award with the rest of the group with the approval of the Award Leader.

If a young person is a direct entrant at Silver level, they must be 15 years old to commence the Duke of Ed. A young person may commence Silver level before they are 15 years old with the approval of the Award Leader, if they have completed their Bronze Award. 

If a young person is a direct entrant at Gold level, they must be at least 16 years old to commence the Duke of Ed. A young person may commence Gold level before they are 16 years old with the approval of the Award Leader, if they have completed their Silver Award.

Duke of Ed Participant registration fees can be found in the schedule of fees. Your Award Leader will be able to tell you how they like payment to be made and if there are any additional fees for Activities e.g. AJ or administration costs.

Firstly, you need to verify your email address by following the link that was sent to your inbox from the ORB. If this does not trigger the Parent/Guardian Consent email contact your Award Leader to re-send the Parent/Guardian consent email via the ORB or complete the paper Participant Application Form – Under 18 and return it to your Award Leader.

Once a Participant registration has been approved in the ORB, request for refunds will only be considered under exceptional circumstances and must be submitted via the Award Leader in writing with any supporting documentation (dukeofed@sport.nsw.gov.au).

A suitably skilled, experienced, and/or qualified adult, approved by the Award Centre, who can assist with and assess a Participant completing an activity for a Section of an Award. Assessors should not be a family member.

Check out the Award Handbook:

• Physical Recreation – Chapter 3
• Skills – chapter 4
• Voluntary Service – Chapter 5
• Adventurous Journeys – Chapter 6
• Gold Residential Project – Chapter 7

Or these web links:

• Duke4Sport partners
• Council partners

Or talk to your Award Leader

Award activities should be done substantially in your own free time. This can include before and after school activities as well as lunch breaks. You can’t be paid for any activities that you will count towards your Duke of Ed.

You can undertake up to three Activities for each section over the required time. For example, you may choose two activities such as a winter sport followed by a summer sport that can spilt over the required time. You need to set up your additional activity(s) following the same process that you did for your first activity including getting any new Assessor approved by your Award Leader before you start activities with them.

Visit the Duke of Ed National website to view the Activity Provider Directory for Adventurous Journey providers. All Activities for all Duke of Ed Levels need to be approved by your Award Leader before being undertaken. This is particularly important if you are considering an open Adventurous Journey.

If you missed or could not attend your Award Centre’s planned Adventurous Journey, you will need to speak to your Award Leader to see if the Award Centre is running any other Journeys that may be suitable. If not, you could explore open journeys being run by Adventurous Journey providers, but you must have your Award Leader’s approval before you book.

Any Award Voluntary Service activities must satisfy/service a ‘genuine need in the community’. Helping a business is generally not suitable for this section. Please consult your Award Leader for further advice.

It is important to look at the overall ethos for each Section. For Physical Recreation, we talk about breaking a sweat and engaging in physical activity, whereas for Skills we talk about broadening your personal interests and skill set in a non-physical manner. 

You can only log activities after your Award Leader approves your Activity and Assessor in the ORB. No activities can be recorded before your Award registration date. Logs should demonstrate progress toward Activity goal(s).

You can find the requirements in The Award Handbook in chapter 6. Discuss this further with your Award Leader. Qualifying Adventurous Journey reports must be attached as a document in ORB. This can be as simple as an email from Award Leader confirming AJ reporting requirements have been met. Our Adventurous Journey Report Guide has more information.

You should describe what you did and make sure that it aligns with the Section Activity goal you are working towards. Do not just copy and paste previous entries. If you are logging your hours on a regular basis, then it should be very manageable (especially by using the ORB Participant App). This helps your Assessor complete their final Assessor Report. This also assists your Award Leader to assess your Award Activities.

If your new school offers the Award, ask the new Award Leader to complete the Participant transfer form and send it to the Duke of Ed NSW Division. If your new school doesn’t offer the Award, you can transfer to an Open Award Centre.

Assuming you meet minimum age requirements (refer to Award Handbook), ask your Award Leader to complete the Change of Level Request form (fees apply) for you. If you have completed three (3) Sections of your Award and you meet age requirements, you should talk to your Award Leader about starting the next level whilst you complete the last section of your current level.

You should contact the ORB Helpdesk if your Award Leader is unable to help you. ORB manuals and ‘how to’ videos can be found on the National Resource webpage under the heading Online Record Book (ORB) Support and Resources. You could also speak with one of your friends doing their Award to see if they can help.

Complete the replacement certificate and badge online order form. Fees apply.

If you are unable to get in touch with your Assessor, please discuss with your Award Leader.

You are encouraged to include your Duke of Ed achievements in any university or employment applications. Some universities offer bonus Adjustment Factor points (ATAR points) depending on Award levels completed. Please contact the University for more information about this process and their cut off dates. An increasing number of employers also recognise the Duke of Ed.

All Participants receive a congratulatory email to confirm their Award level completion. If not received, Participants should check their ORB record to see if there are still some outstanding actions to be completed. Bronze and Silver certificates and badges are sent to your Award Leader. Please allow up to 8 weeks for delivery keeping in mind longer wait times over some school holidays. Gold badges are posted to the Participant’s home address that is recorded in the ORB 6 to 8 weeks after completion. Participants who complete their Gold Award receive a congratulatory email which includes the option to receive their Gold certificate by post or go on the Gold Award Ceremony invitation list. If you completed your Gold Award through a school, it is most likely that your school email account will be made inactive as soon as you leave. Please ensure your contact details including email and postal addresses are up to date in ORB so we can continue to communicate with you.

Firstly, it is important that you check your ORB record to confirm your last Award has been signed off. If not, you may need to discuss further with your Award Leader to find out why. If you want to continue at the next level, it is essential to express your interest with your Award Leader and ask them to invite you to the next level in the ORB.

Via email to your ORB nominated primary email account. If you completed your Gold Level through a school, it is most likely that your school email account will be made inactive as soon as you leave. Please ensure your contact details including email and postal addresses are up to date in ORB so we can continue to communicate with you. You will receive information in a congratulatory email to your email address listed in ORB after your Gold level has been approved.

Typically, Gold ceremonies are held once a year. You will be notified of the next Gold Ceremony date via email approximately 12 weeks prior to the event.

Please respond to the link provided in the Gold congratulatory email if you completed your Gold Level prior to April 2024. Certificates for Gold Levels completed after April 2024 are sent to the Award Centre so please check with your Duke of Ed Leader.

In the first instance, please refer to the Participant history log. If that doesn’t provide the necessary information, please contact the NSW Award Office for further discussion 13 13 02 (option 6) dukeofed@sport.nsw.gov.au.

See the schedule of fees. If your Award Centre only charges the NSW participant registration fee, then you should consider enabling online payments to reduce the administration burden.

Your acceptance is dependent on:

• Email approval from your Authorising Contact e.g. Principal or CEO.
• Completion of Level 1 Award Leader training (online modules).

If you have selected for Participants to pay your Award Centre directly for their Award registration fees you will be invoiced by the Office of Sport.

Invoices are based on ORB Approved registrations for the previous month and typically issued within the first two weeks of the following month and sent to the listed billing email address in the ORB. Note, Government school invoices are sent to EDConnect direct.

If you think that having your Participants paying online would help with the administrative burden, please contact the NSW Award Office for further discussion 13 13 02 (option 6) dukeofed@sport.nsw.gov.au.

Several outdoor recreation providers offer this service. Refer to the Activity Provider Directory.  Please refer to The Award Handbook for a full list of Adventurous Journey requirements. Our Adventurous Journey Planner is a great resource for vetting external AJ providers.

It is highly recommended that you do not approve a Participant registration unless you are satisfied that they have an appropriate Award plan. Once a Participant registration has been approved in the ORB, request for refunds will only be considered under exceptional circumstances and must be submitted via the Award Leader in writing with any supporting documentation (dukeofed@sport.nsw.gov.au).

No. Please see invoice for alternative payment options. You may want to consider setting up for online payments as an alternative option.

Please find information on the National Website or get in contact with the National Office 02 8241 1500 (prompt 3) admin@dukeofed.com.au. Eligibility criteria is included in the guidelines.

Follow the steps outlined on the Award Leader page under the heading How do I become an Award Leader. Contact the NSW Duke of Ed Office to advise us of the change in Award Leader(s) and for additional support 13 13 02 (option 6) dukeofed@sport.nsw.gov.au.

Advise the Duke of Ed NSW Division. Please contact us for assistance in managing active Participants.

Award Leader needs to complete the Participant Transfer Form and email it to the Duke of Ed NSW Division.

Contact the Duke of Ed NSW Division with the new Licence Holder contact details including full name, email address and phone number. 

Yes, assuming they meet the age requirement. You will need to complete the online Change of Level Request form. Note there is a charge for this service, please see Fees and Charges.  This form cannot be filled in by the Participant.

Change of level upwards is not an option if 3 Sections are complete unless exceptional circumstances prevail.