He is one of the five recipients of the Cross of Valour, Australia's highest bravery decoration, which was awarded for his actions in the rescue of a child from a flooded storm water drain in 1996.
About mid morning on 3 May 1996, Sparkes, a detective senior constable with the New South Wales Police, rescued a boy trapped in a flooded underground storm water drain following record rainfalls at Coffs Harbour.
Sparkes and Detective Senior Constable Gavin Dengate responded to an urgent call for assistance to rescue a boy trapped in a flooded storm water drain.
The drain was now almost totally engulfed in flood water, leaving only a small air space, and Sparkes was in danger of drowning as frantic attempts were made by his colleague and others to haul him against the flow to the surface.
Believing that the child was drowning and had to be rescued by the fastest means possible, Sparkes and Dengate descended into the flooded pipe in total darkness without a life line, torch or emergency air supply.
[4] In August 2016 Sparkes was awarded Australia's fourth highest bravery decoration, the Commendation for Brave Conduct, for saving the life of an Aboriginal man who had fallen onto the path of an oncoming train at Redfern railway station in April 2014.