Rack Builder questions and answers
Find direct answers about award order, product formats, saved racks, personalisation, production, delivery and support. Each answer starts with the direct answer, then the detail.
Getting started
How does Rack Builder arrange medals?
Rack Builder arranges awards using the selected jurisdiction, current published guidance and award-specific rules. Unusual or conflicting groups are flagged for manual review before production.
What information do I need before I start?
The recipient's award list or service record, clasp details, preferred product, engraving text and required date. A photograph is also needed for photo frame products.
How do I save a rack?
Save at any stage inside the builder and return when you have the remaining details. An account is needed to save a rack, and saved racks expire after 90 days.
How do I find what medals a relative was entitled to?
Apply to the Honours and Awards division of the Department of Defence, which can be done digitally. With a service number or full name, the National Archives of Australia website also lets you research a relative's service history.
Order of wear and eligibility
Do common groups confirm medal entitlement?
No. Common groups provide a starting point only. Check the recipient's service record, award documents or relevant authority before ordering.
Can I wear a relative's medals?
Yes. When commemorating a family member's service at events such as Anzac Day, wear their medals on the right chest. Medals worn on the right show they were awarded to someone else, and you should never wear someone else's medals on the left chest.
Who can purchase replica medals?
Generally, everyone. Replicas were introduced to preserve original medals and avoid family disputes over the original set. Fraudulently wearing medals is a legal offence, so relatives' medals are worn on the right chest.
Where do foreign awards sit?
Foreign awards follow the current approval and placement rules relevant to the wearer, no single rule covers every award or organisation. See the order of wear methodology.
Product formats
What is court mounting?
Court mounting attaches each medal permanently to a firm backing, so the medals sit in a neat row and move less during wear.
What is swing mounting?
Swing mounting lets the medals hang and swing freely from the mounting bar, the traditional presentation.
When are miniature medals worn?
In formal and mess dress settings where the relevant dress guidance permits them. Miniatures follow the same order of wear as the full-size set.
What are replica medals made of?
Mostly zinc alloy, electroplated after casting: nickel for silver finishes, brass with an antiqued acid treatment for bronze, and real gold plating for gold.
Are replica medals wearable or just for display?
They are wearable and often used in ceremonies, parades and commemorative events, and they also display well as keepsakes.
What fits in each case size?
Small holds up to 4 mounted medals, medium up to 6, large up to 10, and the fitted presentation case holds a full-size set, miniature set and ribbon bar together. See premium cases.
Personalisation and photos
Can you engrave replica medals?
Engraving replica medals is possible but not suggested, because plating can chip. For personal details, an engraved plate fitted to the brooch bar, or a plaque on a frame or box, is the better option.
What photo quality is needed for a photo frame?
JPEG and PNG files, sized exactly 500 x 1000 px. Upload the highest resolution original available, and avoid screenshots and compressed social media copies.
How many engraving lines fit on a timber box?
Engraving fits up to 22 characters including spaces. Check spelling and line breaks in the preview.
Orders, delivery and changes
How long does production take?
Custom medal sets and frames take 3 to 5 weeks production. Pre-made Common Groups dispatch within 2 days. Order timing also includes review and delivery.
What happens after checkout?
The order enters a review and production process. The team contacts you when an award, clasp, layout or personal detail needs clarification, and you receive order and dispatch updates by email.
How do custom-order changes work?
Contact support as soon as possible. The available action depends on whether review, material preparation, engraving, mounting or production has started. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law still apply.
Are group or bulk orders available for associations or events?
Yes. Group and bulk orders are catered for with special pricing and arrangements, contact the team and include the required date.
Care, faults and warranty
How should I store medals?
In a dry, stable environment away from prolonged moisture, direct sunlight and pressure on raised clasps or medal details. A fitted case protects the rack between events.
How do I report a fault?
Provide the order number, a description and clear photographs of the issue and the packaging, and keep the item and packaging until the team provides return instructions.
Still stuck?
Choose the issue type on the support page so the request reaches the right team, and include the saved rack reference or order number when you have one.
Did not find it?
Send the question through support and it becomes a published answer for the next person.
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