Awarded first in 1996, the inaugural winners being Senior Constable Aherne, Senior Constable Griffiths and Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Officer Lamb of the Victorian Police Air Wing for their efforts in the rescue of three men stranded on a sinking trawler in Bass Strait on 23 August 1995.

In the same year Highly Commended Awards were presented to Kevin Bald for his efforts in the rescue of a man off Kangaroo Island and to Sergeant Richard Mostard of the Bairnsdale Water Police, Victoria for the rescue of a person from an upturned trimaran south east of Gabo Island.

To recognise the importance of both professionals and non-professionals within the search and rescue system, the following categories are available for the NATSAR Awards:

• Professional—an individual or organisation that has been trained within the search and rescue field or work professionally in a search and rescue role, and is remunerated for their contribution to search and rescue. For example, this includes police officers and rescue aircraft crew.
• Professional volunteer—an individual or organisation that has been trained within the search and rescue field or works in a search and rescue role but is not renumerated for their contribution to search and rescue. For example, this includes volunteer marine rescue, individuals who contribute voluntarily etc. 
• Non-professional—a individual, group or organisation that has not been trained in the search and rescue field but has been involved in a search and rescue operation. For example, this may include fellow hikers, a passer-by or surfers that may have assisted in a search and rescue operation or incident.
• Long-standing contribution to search and rescue—an individual, group or organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the Australian search and rescue system, over an extended period of time.