The Pro Virtute Decoration is a 9 carat gold five-armed Maltese cross, with one arm pointing down, which fits in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter. The arms of the cross are in white enamel, with the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms on a roundel in red enamel in the centre. Crossed proteas attach the upper two arms of the Maltese cross to the ribbon suspender, which is a bar decorated with leaves.
