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Monarchy of Australia

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Monarchy of Australia

The monarchy of Australia is a central component of Australia's system of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy and responsible 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 Samantha Mostyn), 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; generally the chief justice of the state's supreme court), according to the Australia Act and respective letters-patent and state constitutions. In the Northern Territory (which is legally subordinate to the federal government), the monarch is represented by an administrator appointed by the governor-general. The monarch appoints the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister, and appoints 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. However, each realm is independent of the others, the monarchy in each being distinct from the rest. Effective with the Australia Act 1986, the British government cannot 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.

Courts and academics have proposed several dates on which the Crown of Australia separated from the Crown of the United Kingdom. These include 1926, when at an Imperial Conference it was announced that governors-general would no longer represent the government of the United Kingdom or 1930, when at another Imperial Conference it was clarified that the monarch would be advised directly by dominion ministers. Anne Twomey argues for this later date at the latest. Others have suggested the Crowns separated once Australia became fully independent, with dates suggested including 1931 (when the UK Statute of Westminster was passed), 1939 or 1942 (due to Statute of Westminster Adoption Act, passed in 1942 with retrospective effect to 1939) or 1986 (when the Australia Acts severed the last possibilities of UK institutions changing Australian laws). However, members of the High Court have indicated that the separation of the Crowns was complete by at least 1948, as seen by the creation of Australian citizenship laws.

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 formal title of the current monarch is King 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 of the Australian monarch 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 1953 by the Parliament of Australia put these recommendations into law.

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