The King and Queen will undertake an autumn tour of Australia and Samoa between 18 and 26 October 2024. This will be the King’s first visit to another Commonwealth Realm as Monarch, while the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa will be his first as Head of the Commonwealth. 

This Insight looks at the constitutional status of the King of Australia as well as the King’s role as Head of the Commonwealth.  

The King of Australia 

As well as being the UK’s head of state, the King is also head of state in 14 other Commonwealth Realms – independent states which remain constitutional monarchies. This means he is, separately, “King of Australia”. 

Under section 1 of the Commonwealth of Australia constitution, the King is part of the federal Parliament of Australia, and under section 2 he has the power to appoint a Governor-General. Under section 61, executive power is vested in the King and can be exercised by the Governor-General as his “representative”. The King commissioned Sam Mostyn (on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister) as Governor-General on 4 June 2024. She made her Affirmation of Office on 1 July.  

Despite the terms of the Australian constitution, the King does not play a day-to-day role in the government. While under sections 58 and 59 bills may be “reserved” for the “King’s pleasure” (approval) or laws “disallowed” (vetoed by the King), the last time the Monarch approved an Australian bill was the  Privy Council (Appeals from the High Court) Act 1975. The Monarch has never disallowed an Australian bill.  

Similarly, there is a power under section 74 for the High Court of Australia to certify appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which is the highest court of appeal for many Commonwealth countries as well as the Crown Dependencies and the UK’s Overseas Territories. The Australian High Court has only exercised this power once (in 1912) and it has made clear it will no longer do so. 

Under section 42 of the constitution, members of the federal and state parliaments of Australia continue to swear (or affirm) that they “will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, His heirs and successors according to law”. 

The October visit 

Section 2 of the Royal Powers Act 1953 provides that when the Monarch is “personally present in Australia” then “any power under an Act exercisable by the Governor-General may be exercised by the Queen”. This enabled Queen Elizabeth II, a frequent visitor to Australia, to carry out state openings, investitures and other functions. Under section 16 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the 1953 act also applies to King Charles III. 

During their October visit, the King will address a reception for “political and community leaders” at Parliament House in Canberra, where he and the Queen will be welcomed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. There are no plans for the King to open the federal Parliament, as Queen Elizabeth II did on three occasions, most recently in 1977 (PDF). Their Majesties will also lay a wreath at the Australian War Memorial and visit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander memorial. In Sydney, the King and Queen will conduct a Fleet Review of the Royal Australian Navy. 

King Charles III has visited Australia 16 times. In 1966, he completed two terms as an exchange student at Timbertop, Geelong Grammar School in the state of Victoria. The King’s most recent visit was in 2018, when he opened the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Support for a republic 

It is a longstanding policy of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to hold another referendum on becoming a republic. In January, however, he indicated that his government had put that referendum on hold. The campaign group Australian Republican Movement continues to advocate “on behalf of the Australian people for an Australian republic with an Australian as our Head of State”. 

In the 1999 Australian republic referendum, Australians voted against a proposed law to replace the Governor-General with a President, by 55% to 45%. 

Becoming a republic would mean amending the codified (written) Australian constitution. Section 128 provides that any proposed amendment must be approved by a “double majority” in a referendum, that is: 

  • a national majority of voters in the states and territories 
  • a majority of voters in a majority of the states (at least four out of six states) 

This is a high bar. Of the 45 referendums held in Australia, only eight have been successful. Polling by Lord Ashcroft in May 2023 revealed 42% of Australians surveyed were in favour of a republic (with 35% in favour of remaining a constitutional monarchy), although other surveys since 1999 have found a majority for the status quo. 

Head of the Commonwealth 

After visiting Australia, the King and Queen will travel to Samoa to join leaders of 56 Commonwealth nations for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM). The Commonwealth is a “values based” organisation  and decisions are taken by consensus. 

Under the London Declaration of 1949, Commonwealth member states (many of which are republics) recognise the British Monarch as a “symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth”. The position is not hereditary, although in April 2018 Commonwealth members agreed that the then Prince of Wales (Prince Charles, now the King) would succeed Queen Elizabeth II as Head, which he did following her death on 8 September 2022.

Further reading

For more on the King’s role as Head of the Commonwealth, see the Commons Library briefing on The Commonwealth.  

About the author: Dr David Torrance is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in monarchy and the constitution. 

Image credit: Dietmar Rabich on Wikimedia Commons