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The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. [1] It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, while incorporating features unique to the constitution of Australia.
The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". [15] This was the name used in many early federal government publications. [16] However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for the name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations. [17]
The Australian system of government combines elements derived from the political systems of the United Kingdom (fused executive, constitutional monarchy) and the United States (federalism, written constitution, strong bicameralism), along with distinctive local features, and has therefore been characterised as a "Washminster mutation".
In the 1970s more Australians began to seriously reconsider Australia's constitutional framework. The constitutional crisis of 1975 occasioned many to question the role of the monarchy in a modern Australia. There were no serious attempts to alter the constitutional role of the Queen until the 1986 Australia Act.
The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia.It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system.
The Australian constitution dates from 1901, when the Dominions of the British Empire were not sovereign states, and does not use the term head of state. [2] [3] In respect of the government of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, who has reigned since 8 September 2022, is represented in Australia by the governor-general, in accordance with the Constitution.
Last year, Australia opted to put an Indigenous design rather than an image of Charles on its new $5 bill, the last banknote that had featured the British monarchy. The royal visit to Australia ...
Australia operates as a federal parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with the monarch, currently King Charles III, as the head of state. The state governments function within the framework of a federal system, where powers are divided between the federal government and state governments.