A mother of three who rescued a shark attack victim and an eight-year-old boy who saved his father's life are among 67 people who will be recognised for acts of bravery.
Joanne Lucas, 54, will receive the Star of Courage for conspicuous bravery in rescuing a man after a shark attack off Middleton Beach at Albany in Western Australian in May last year.
Among the 18 recipients of the Bravery Medal is eight-year-old Jack Foster, of Ararat in western Victoria, for bravery in saving his father from a vicious beating in their home in May 2008.
The awards, to be announced today by Government House, will be presented by Governor-General Quentin Bryce at ceremonies early next year.
A Sunshine Coast man will receive a Bravery Medal for his rescue of several passengers from the March 2007 Garuda plane crash in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in which 21 people died, including five Australians.
Then a leading aircraftman, Kyle Quinlan received chest injuries when the Garuda Indonesia plane slammed on to the runway at Yogyakarta airport, careered into a field and burst into flames.
Despite his injuries, Mr Quinlan helped extinguish an escape hatch fire and calmed passengers who, in their panic to flee, would have otherwise crushed a victim lying on the floor.
Despite the flames and smoke, he also helped remove an injured RAAF colleague from the cabin, guiding him to safety.
He then repeatedly returned to the wreckage to help injured passengers escape before the fire forced him to withdraw.
Medals will also be awarded for acts of bravery in the rescue of people from burning homes, burning cars, a flooded gorge and to two people involved in a hostage drama in China in March last year.
Xinkang Wang, of Sydney, and Jeanette Wilkins, of Castlereagh in NSW, helped in the rescue of hostages who had been held on a bus by a man armed with explosives in the city of Xi'an, in central China.
Medals will also go to two Melbourne men, both supermarket shift workers, who in separate incidents fended off and disarmed attackers wielding syringes.
In one of the incidents, Joshua Dishon prevented the attacker from car-jacking a vehicle containing a woman and a baby.
A Bravery Medal will be awarded posthumously to security guard Jason Gully who died from injuries received while trying to prevent an armed robbery at his work at a club in Keysborough in Melbourne last November.
In the list, 42 people will receive a commendation for brave conduct, including Alfred Boge who helped protect and rescue guests during riots in Honiara in the Solomon Islands in April 2006.
There will also be a citation for group bravery to be awarded to six men, members of the 35 Water Transport Squadron attached to the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition.
They will be recognised for rescuing passengers from the Nella Dan which ran aground off Macquarie Island, 1500km south-east of Tasmania, on December 3, 1987. AAP
Email a friend