Flags Act 1953
Parliament of Australia
Long title:	An Act to declare a certain Flag to be the Australian National Flag and to make other provision with respect to Flags
Introduced by:	Robert Menzies
Dates
Date passed:	December 1953
Date of Royal Assent:	February 14, 1954
Commencement:	April 14, 1954
Other legislation
Amendments:	Flags Amendment Act 1996
Related legislation:
Status: Amended

The Flags Act 1953 was as act of the Parliament of Australia which was notable as it established the official Flag of Australia. The Act was ammended by the Flags Amendment Act 1996 which added a mechanism for public participation in any future change to the Australian Flag. The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ... Australia coat of arms Used under the educational purposes clause in Use of Arms - Guidelines This image is copyrighted and is not licenced under the GFDL. The licence holder allows anyone to use it for any non-commercial purpose, provided that it is used only in books and related material... The long title (properly, the title) is one of the parts, together with the short title, and the operative provisions (sections and Schedules), which comprise an Act of Parliament or Bill in the United Kingdom and certain other Commonwealth Realms. ... The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ... Flag ratio: 1:2 The Australian Flag at full mast. ...

Flags Act 1953

The Flags Act was passed by Parliament in December 1953, and was the first of the few pieces of Commonwealth legislation to be assented by Queen Elizabeth II. She signed the Act during her visit to Australia in 1954. It passed into law on February 14, 1954 and was the first legislation to pass into law in 1954.

Under Section 5 of the Flags Act, the Governor-General can approve official flags of Australia. Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of Australia The Governor-General of Australia is the representative in Australia of Australias head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, who lives in the United Kingdom. ...

The Act originally contained a serious drafting error in Table A. The outer diameter of the Commonwealth Star was recorded as being three-eighths of the width of the flag, instead of the true value of three-tenths of the width of the flag. The act was amended to correct the error in 1954.

Flags Amendment Act 1996

The Flags Amendent Act was passed during a peroid of active debate on changing the Australian Flag and the Austrlalian republic. The Act adds to Section 3 of the Flags Act and provides that the present Australian National Flag can only be replaced if a majority of State and Territory electors qualified to vote for the House of Representatives agree. Previously the Act had no mechanism for changes to the flag. The current Australian flag The Australian flag debate is in connection with the issue of republicanism in Australia, there has been a low-key but persistent debate over whether or not the Australian flag should be changed in order to remove the Union Flag from the canton. ... Australian republicanism is a movement within Australia to replace the countrys existing status as a Commonwealth realm under a constitutional monarchy with a republican form of government. ...

Reference

• National Archives of Australia. Flags Act 1953
• Australian Parliamentry Library. Flags Amendment Bill 1996