Dress protocols and traditions for Anzac Day

Dress code

Conservative dress (smart/business attire) is the "norm" at Anzac Day ceremonies although no formal protocol exists.

Wearing medals

Medals may be worn on the left breast only by the person who has been awarded those medals. It is illegal for a person to claim medals that were not awarded to them as their own. Relatives of men or women who have been awarded medals may wear them on their right breast. Some veterans may wear medals on both sides: their own and those of a relative. Media representatives may choose to wear medals in accordance with this protocol.

Wearing rosemary

Rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula and is a sign of remembrance. It is traditional to wear a sprig of rosemary on the lapel or breast (the left side is more common) or held in place by medals. Media representatives may choose to follow this tradition or not.

Wearing a poppy

Red poppies are widely used by Australians as a sign of remembrance, and are placed on war graves or next to names of soldiers engraved on memorials. During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium and became an emblem of remembrance. Wearing a poppy (on the left breast or lapel) is common in Australia on and around Remembrance Day, 11 November.