Monarchy of Australia

Key institution of the Commonwealth of Australia

The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, embodied by the Australian sovereign and head of state. The Australian monarchy is a constitutional one, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government, while incorporating features unique to the constitution of Australia. The present monarch is King Charles III, who has reigned since 8 September 2022. The monarch is represented at the federal level by the governor general (currently David Hurley), in accordance with the Australian constitution and letters patent from his mother and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II. Similarly, in each of the Australian states the monarch is represented by a governor (assisted by a lieutenant governor), according to the Australia Act and respective letters patent and state constitutions. The monarch appoints the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and the state governors on the advice of the respective premiers. These are the only mandatory constitutional functions of the monarch of Australia. Australian constitutional law provides that the person who is monarch of the United Kingdom will also be the monarch of Australia. Since the 1940s at the latest, the Australian monarchy has been a distinct office and in that capacity, they act exclusively upon the advice of Australian state and federal ministers. Australia is one of the Commonwealth realms, 15 independent countries that share the same person as monarch and head of state.

The monarch of Australia is the same person as the monarch of the 14 other Commonwealth realms within the 56 member Commonwealth of Nations. Effective with the Australia Act 1986, no foreign government can advise the monarch on any matters pertinent to Australia; on all matters of the Australian Commonwealth, the monarch is advised solely by Australian federal ministers of state. Likewise, on all matters relating to any Australian state, the monarch is advised by the ministers of that state, tendered via the premier. It is unclear however whether for each state there is also a distinct Crown, separate from the Crown of Australia. In other words, the monarch may also be King of Victoria, etc. for each of the states. Prior to the passage of the Australia Act, the monarch acted as sovereign of the United Kingdom at the state level. With that Act's passage, either independent Crowns emerged for each of the states or the Crown of Australia transformed into a federal Crown in which the monarch receives advice from both state and commonwealth ministers in exercising their respective powers. Such a distinction may be relevant if either Australia or an individual state wished to become a republic, as with separate crowns, a federal republic would not necessarily abolish the Crown at a state level.

The title of the monarch is Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Australia and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Prior to 1953, the title had simply been the same as that in the United Kingdom. A change in the title resulted from occasional discussion among Commonwealth prime ministers and an eventual meeting in London in December 1952, at which Australia's officials stated their preference for a format for Queen Elizabeth II's title that would name all the realms. However, they stated they would also accept Elizabeth II (by the Grace of God) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, [name of realm], and all of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth (Defender of the Faith). The latter composition was adopted, despite some objections from the South African and Canadian governments. The sovereign's title in all her realms thus kept mention of the United Kingdom, but, for the first time, also separately mentioned Australia and the other Commonwealth realms. The passage of the Royal Style and Titles Act 1954 by the Parliament of Australia put these recommendations into law. In 1973 the Whitlam government replaced the 1953 royal styles Act, with Whitlam arguing that the inclusion and position of the Queen's title in the UK made the title not "sufficiently distinctively Australian" and that the phrase "Defender of the Faith" had "no historical or constitutional relevance in Australia". A new Royal Titles and Styles Bill that removed these references was passed by the federal Parliament. The governor general, Sir Paul Hasluck, reserved royal assent for the Queen, as governor general Sir William McKell had done with the 1953 Royal Titles and Styles Bill to allow Queen Elizabeth II to give her assent in person, which she did at Government House in Canberra on 19 October 1973. At the state level, Western Australia and South Australia have independently legislated the monarch's title to be the same as the Commonwealth title. There is limited reference to the monarch's title in the other states, however parliamentarians have used expressions include "Queen of [state]" and "Queen in right of [state]" during parliamentary debates. In 1973, Queensland sought to pass legislation to include Queensland specifically in the monarch's title. The Queensland parliament passed legislation seeking an advisory opinion from the Privy Council as to whether they had the legislative power to do, however this legislation was declared unconstitutional by the High Court. In seeking this title, the Queensland government's motivation was to dissuade the British from accepting the Whitlam's government advice that all of the British government's then authority over the states should be transferred to the federal government. The dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 removed the impetus for the title change and no further steps were taken in the matter.

Royal succession is according to British laws that have been incorporated into Australian law, both federal and state: namely, the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701. These acts limit the succession to the natural (i. e. non adopted), legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and stipulate that the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England upon ascending the throne. With the passage of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, Australia agreed to change its rules of succession only in agreement with the United Kingdom and the other then Dominions. In that spirit, the Commonwealth realms reached the Perth Agreement in 2011, committed all to amend the laws governing line of succession to follow absolute primogeniture for those in the royal family born in and after 2011. As part of the agreement, Australia, along with the other realms, repealed the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which gave precedence to male heirs and excluded from succession a person married to a Roman Catholic. In Australia, federal legislation to do this required a request and concurrence from all the states, meaning the federal legislation was not assented to until 24 March 2015 and took effect on 26 March 2015 (BST). The Northern Territory also added its request and concurrence, although this was not constitutionally required. Upon a demise of the Crown (the death or abdication of a sovereign), it is customary for the accession of the new monarch to be publicly proclaimed by the governor general on behalf of the Federal Executive Council, which meets at Government House after the accession. Parallel proclamations are made by the governors in each state. Regardless of any proclamations, the late sovereign's heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony. Following an appropriate period of mourning, the monarch is also crowned at a coronation ceremony in the United Kingdom; though, this is not necessary for a sovereign to reign, being primarliy a symbolic event. For example, Edward VIII was never crowned, yet was undoubtedly king during his short time on the throne. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she typically continues to reign until death. The monarch legally cannot unilaterally abdicate; the only Australia monarch to do so, Edward VIII, did so after Australia (and the other dominions) assented to the British Parliament legislating on their behalf in accordance with the Statute of Westminster to ratify the abdication with the passage of the abdication Act. While the UK has passed regency acts from 1936 onwards to prepare for a situation when the monarch is incapacitated, the dominions did not agree for these acts to be extended into domestic law as it was felt that governors general could exercise all the powers a regent would need to exercise.

The governor general has two official residences: Government House in Canberra (commonly known as Yarralumla) and Admiralty House in Sydney. The Australian monarch stays at Government House when in Canberra, as do visiting heads of state. When HMY Britannia was in Australian waters and in use by the monarch of Australia, it was not available to British officials for meetings or promotions.

The monarch is the locus of many oaths of allegiance. Various employees of the Crown are required by law to recite this oath before taking their posts, such as all members of the Commonwealth Parliament and of the state and territory parliaments, as well as most magistrates, judges, police officers, and justices of the peace. This is in reciprocation to the sovereign's coronation oath, taken most recently by King Charles III who promised "to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [and] your other Realms according to their respective laws and customs". The prime minister, ministers and parliamentary secretaries also make an oath or affirmation of office on their appointment to a particular ministry, which traditionally included a promise of allegiance to the monarch. The oath of citizenship similarly contained a statement of allegiance to the reigning monarch until 1994, when a pledge of allegiance to Australia and its values was introduced. However, the importance of allegiance to the monarch has been stressed by several justices in the context of determining whether a person is an "alien" for the purposes of section 51 the Constitution. For example, Justice Callinan held in Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Te (2002) that "judged from a constitutional — rather than a statutory — perspective, the fundamental criterion of membership [of the Australian body politic] is allegiance to the Queen of Australia". However, the precise relationship and relative importance of constitutional and statutory definitions of "the people" is the subject of evolving interpretations of the court.

Key features of Australia's system of government include its basis on a combination of written and unwritten rules, comprising the sovereign, governors, and governor general. The Constitution does not mention the term head of state. According to the Parliament of Australia website, Australia's head of state is the monarch and its head of government is the prime minister, with powers limited by both law and convention for government to be carried on democratically. However, the governor general's website states that the office holder is in practice Australia's head of state. A leading textbook on Australian constitutional law formulates the position thus: "The Queen, as represented in Australia by the governor general, is Australia's head of state." Additionally, Queensland and South Australia describe the monarch as the head of state for their particular state. New South Wales and Western Australia on the other hand describe their governors as their respective heads of state, whilst Tasmania and Victoria state that the governor "exercises the constitutional power" of the head of state. While current official sources use the description head of state for the monarch, in the lead up to the referendum on Australia becoming a republic in 1999, Sir David Smith proposed an alternative explanation that the governor general is head of state. This view has some support within the group Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.

Australia has a written constitution based on the Westminster model of government, implementing a federal system and a distinct separation of powers. It gives Australia a parliamentary system of government, wherein the role of the sovereign and governor general is both legal and practical. The sovereign of Australia is represented in the federal sphere by the governor general—appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister of Australia—and in each state by a governor—appointed by the monarch upon the advice of the relevant state premier.

One of the main duties of the governor general is to appoint the prime minister. This is, in accordance with convention, the individual most likely to maintain the support of the House of Representatives; usually the leader of the political party with a majority in that house; but, also when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as a minority government situation) or other scenarios in which the governorgeneral's judgement about the most suitable candidate for prime minister has to be brought into play. The governor general also, on the advice of the prime minister, appoints the other ministers of state, a subset of which form the Cabinet. In accordance with the principles of responsible government, these ministers are, in turn, accountable to the Parliament and, through it, to the people. The monarch is informed by the governor general of the acceptance of the resignation of a prime minister and the swearing in of a new prime minister and other members of the ministry and the monarch holds audience with Australian ministers where possible. The prime minister and Cabinet advises the governor general on how to execute his or her executive powers over all aspects of government operations and foreign affairs. This means ministers direct the use of the royal prerogative that resides in the monarch, which includes the privilege to declare war, maintain peace, direct the actions of the Australian Defence Force, and negotiate and ratify treaties, alliances, and international agreements. The governor general is empowered by the constitution to summon and prorogue parliament and call elections. Use of the royal prerogative does not require parliamentary approval. As such, the monarch's and the governor general's roles are primarily symbolic and cultural, acting as a symbol of the legal authority under which all governments and agencies operate. Still, the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown, not to any of the ministers, and the governor general may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional situations, such as when, during the constitutional crisis in 1975, Sir John Kerr dismissed prime minister Gough Whitlam, on the occasion of a stalemate over government funding between the House of Representatives and the Senate. The only role the monarch must perform personally is appoint the governor general. The monarch has also been personally involved in issuing letters patent for the creation of Australian honours. Members of various executive agencies and other officials are appointed by the governor general, including High Court judges. Ministers and parliamentary secretaries are also appointed to the Federal Executive Council. Royal commissions, a powerful type of public inquiry, are also commissioned by the Crown through a royal warrant.

Parliament consists of the sovereign, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their authority in the House of Representatives is represented by the Mace of the House (which also represents the authority of the house itself and its Speaker). However, neither the sovereign nor the governor general participate in the legislative process save for the granting of royal assent. Further, the constitution outlines that the governor general alone is responsible for summoning, proroguing, and dissolving the federal parliament. All laws in Australia, except those in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), are enacted only with the granting of royal assent, done by the governor general, relevant state governor, or administrator in the case of the Northern Territory (NT). This is done in the federal context by the governor general signing two copies of the bill. If the law is one in which takes effect on proclamation, the governor general will also make this proclamation to which the Great Seal of Australia is then affixed in authentication of the corresponding letters patent. Laws passed by the ACT and NT legislatures, unlike their state counterparts, are subject to the oversight of the government of Australia and can be disallowed by the Australian Parliament. The governor general may reserve a bill for the King's (or Queen's) pleasure; that is withhold his consent to the bill and present it to the sovereign for their personal decision. Under the constitution, the sovereign also has the power to disallow a bill within one year of the governor general having granted royal assent. The purpose of this section was originally to allow the UK parliament to supervise the workings of the Commonwealth parliament, as this power would only be exercised by the monarch as advised by their British ministers. However, the power was never actually used and it is very unlikely that it will be used in the future. However, he does not personally rule in judicial cases, meaning that judicial functions are normally performed only in the monarch's name. However, offences in Western Australia and Tasmania are brought in the name of the particular state. Civil lawsuits against the Crown in its public capacity (that is, lawsuits against the government) are permitted due to statute. In international cases, as a sovereign and under established principles of international law, the monarch of Australia is not subject to suit in foreign courts without his express consent. The prerogative of mercy lies with the monarch, and is exercised in the state jurisdictions by the governors.

In accordance with the Australia Act 1986, the sovereign has the power to appoint, on advice tendered by the relevant state premier, a governor in each of the Australian states, who themselves appoint executive bodies, as well as people to fill casual Senate vacancies, if the relevant state parliament is not in session. The state governors continue to serve as the direct representatives of the monarch, in no way subordinate to the governor general, and they carry out on his behalf all of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties in respect of their respective state. The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory resemble states in many respects, but are administered directly by the Commonwealth of Australia; an administrator, appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the Commonwealth government, takes the place of a state governor in the Northern Territory. The Australian Capital Territory has no equivalent position.

Official duties involve the sovereign representing the state at home or abroad, or other royal family members participating in a government organised ceremony either in Australia or elsewhere. The sovereign and their family have participated in events such as various centennials and bicentennials; Australia Day; the openings of Olympic and other games; award ceremonies; D Day commemorations; anniversaries of the monarch's accession; and the like. Other royals have participated in Australian ceremonies or undertaken duties abroad, such as Prince Charles at the Anzac Day ceremonies at Gallipoli, or when the Queen, Prince Charles, and Princess Anne participated in Australian ceremonies for the anniversary of D Day in France in 2004. Members of the royal family will sometimes make private donations to Australian charities or causes, such as when Queen Elizabeth II made a private donation to the Australian Red Cross Appeal after the Blue Mountains bushfires in 2009.

Section 68 of the Australian Constitution says: "The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the governor general as the Queen's [monarch's] representative." In practice, however, the governor general does not play any part in the Australian Defence Force's command structure other than following the advice of the Minister for Defence in the normal form of executive government. Australian naval vessels bear the prefix His Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) and many organisational groupings of the defence force (such as the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Engineers) carry the "royal" prefix. Members of the royal family have presided over military ceremonies, including Trooping the Colour ceremonies, inspections of the troops, and anniversaries of key battles. When the Queen was in Canberra, she laid wreaths at the Australian War Memorial. In 2003, the Queen acted in her capacity as Australian monarch when she dedicated the Australian War Memorial in Hyde Park, London. Some members of the royal family are Colonels in Chief of Australian regiments, including: the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery; Royal Australian Army Medical Corps; the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, amongst many others. The Queen's late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was an Admiral of the Fleet.

Royal symbols are the visual and auditory identifiers of the Australian monarchy. The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign, and their image is used to signify Australian sovereignty. Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, for instance, currently appears on all Australian coins minted during her reign, the five dollar banknote, and postage stamps such as the Queen's Birthday stamp, issued by Australia Post every year since 1980. Some coins bearing King Charles III's portrait have begun to enter circulation, however the new five dollar banknote is expected to depict Indigenous Australian culture and history instead of the new monarch. A crown is depicted on the Queensland and Victorian state badges (which are included on the Australian coat of arms,) and on various medals and awards. The latter reflects the monarch's place as the fount of honour—the sovereign head of the Australian honours and awards system. The sovereign is further both mentioned in and the subject of songs and loyal toasts. Australia inherited the royal anthem "God Save the King" (alternatively, "God Save the Queen" in the reign of a female monarch) from the United Kingdom. It was the national anthem of Australia until 1984, and has since been retained as the country's royal anthem, its use generally restricted to official occasions where the monarch or a member of the royal family is present. The Queen's Personal Australian Flag, adopted in 1962, was used to signify Queen Elizabeth II's presence when she visited Australia. It features the coat of arms of Australia in banner form, defaced with a gold seven pointed federation star with a blue disc containing the crowned letter E, surrounded by a garland of golden roses. Each of the six sections of the flag represents the heraldic badge of the Australian states, and the whole is surrounded by an ermine border representing the federation of the states. The current monarch, King Charles III, has not adopted a personal flag for Australia. As in other Commonwealth realms, the King's Official Birthday is a public holiday and, in Australia, is observed on the second Monday in June in all states and territories, except Queensland and Western Australia. In Queensland, it is celebrated on the first Monday in October, and in Western Australia it is usually the last Monday of September or the first Monday of October. Celebrations are mainly official, including the Australian Birthday Honours list and military ceremonies.

Until its new constitution went into force in 1962, the Anglican Church of Australia was part of the Church of England. Its titular head was consequently the monarch, in his or her capacity as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. However, unlike in England, Anglicanism was never established as a state religion in Australia.

A poll taken by Morgan in October 2011 found that support for constitutional change was at its lowest for 20 years. Of those surveyed, 34 per cent were for a republic, as opposed to 55 per cent preferring to maintain the current constitutional arrangements. A peer reviewed study published in the Australian Journal of Political Science in 2016 found that there had been a significant increase to support for monarchy in Australia after a 20 year rapid decline following the 1992 annus horribilis. A Newspoll in November 2018 found support for the monarchy had climbed to its highest point in 25 years. A YouGov poll in July 2020 found that 62 per cent of respondents supported replacing the monarch with "an Australian head of state". A 2021 Ipsos poll found 40 per cent of respondents were opposed to Australia becoming a republic, 34 per cent were in favour, and 26 per cent didn't know. This was the lowest support recorded for republicanism since 1979.

Whereas prime minister Julia Gillard stated that she would like to see Australia become a republic, she, on 21 October 2011, at a reception in the presence of the Queen at Parliament House, asserted that the monarch is "a vital constitutional part of Australian democracy and would only ever be welcomed as a beloved and respected friend". After Kevin Rudd was appointed as prime minister, he affirmed that a republic was still a part of his party's platform and stated his belief that the debate on constitutional change should continue. Gillard had, during her time as prime minister, propounded that an appropriate time for Australia to become a republic would be after the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Following Elizabeth's death, the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said in an interview he wanted to Australia to have an appointed head of state, but he did not have a timetable for a referendum, did not commit to advising one take place during his time as prime minister, and postulated that no vote should happen until demand rose from the grassroots. Albanese had earlier stated he would, out of respect for the Queen, merely refrain from having the governor general call a referendum before the next election for the House of Representatives. Republicans have dismissed the large public turnouts during royal tours as "the cult of celebrity". However, following Prince William's and Catherine's visit to the Blue Mountains after devastating bush fires in 2014, historian Jane Connors opined that "there is still a sense that having the royal family come to see you is more healing and significant than just having anyone come to see you", citing comments made by some who had come to the area while the royal couple were present. Ex governor general Michael Jeffery has also argued that the constitutional monarchy has been key to Australia's political stability and lack of civil wars. The idea of a uniquely Australian monarch, resident in Australia, has been voiced occasionally. The proposition was first published in 1867. It was later reiterated by Alan Atkinson in his 1993 book The Muddle Headed Republic, by Harry Meklonian in 2009, and by Richard Hughes in 2017. In a similar vein, Waleed Aly suggested in 2022 replacing the monarch with a life appointed Indigenous "First Elder". Another possibility would be to crown someone in the line of succession to the Australian throne, but who is not expected to become monarch by the present rules of succession. Australian legislators later spoke in parliament of the Australian royal family and John Mason, who acted as the British high commissioner to Australia between 1980 and 1984, referred to Queen Elizabeth II and her relations as the Australian royal family. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated in 2023 that "we [Australians] don't have an Australian royal family".