Written by Robert Vose
21 December 2025
Chapter X — A Naturalised Crown in Australia
Section 129 — The Naturalised Crown
- Since time immemorial, the peoples of Australia have lived in sovereignty. We recognise and honour the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
- The people of Australia agree to express our sovereignty by electing Australians to serve a fixed term as Head of State under the Crown of Australia.
- Commencing on 3 September 2032, successors for the Crown of Australia shall be chosen of the people, by the people, and for the people of Australia.
- The Head of State shall be ordinarily resident in Australia.
Section 130 — Selection and tenure of the Head of State
- The Head of State shall be an Australian citizen.
- The Head of State shall be chosen by the people of Australia in accordance with this Constitution.
- The Head of State shall serve for a fixed term of one year.
- A person who has served as Head of State is not eligible to serve a further term.
- The office of Head of State is to be exercised consistently with the established constitutional position of the Crown within the Australian Federation, as that position developed following the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 and the Australia Acts 1986, including its exercise exclusively through vice-regal representative offices, and in a manner that preserves its non-partisan character.
- The method of selection of the Head of State shall be such as to support the non-partisan character of the office.
Section 131 — Rotation of the office of Head of State
- The office of Head of State shall rotate among the States of Australia and the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth.
- Each State, and the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth, shall have the opportunity to provide a Head of State once in each complete cycle of rotation.
- No State, or the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth, may provide more than one Head of State within the same cycle of rotation.
- The order of rotation forms part of this Constitution and may be altered only in accordance with section 128.
Section 132 — Order of rotation
- The order in which the States and the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth are to provide the Head of State is as follows:
(a) the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth;
(b) New South Wales;
(c) Tasmania;
(d) Victoria;
(e) South Australia;
(f) Queensland;
(g) Western Australia. - The order of rotation set out in subsection (1) forms part of this Constitution.
- The order of rotation may be altered only in accordance with section 128.
- An alteration to the order of rotation does not of itself affect the term of office of a Head of State already appointed.
Section 133 — Treatment of newly admitted States
- Where a new State is admitted to the Commonwealth under section 121 of this Constitution, that State shall, for the purposes of this Chapter, be treated as part of the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth.
- A newly admitted State shall not be included separately in the rotation of the office of Head of State unless and until the order of rotation is amended in accordance with section 128.
- Nothing in this section limits or affects the power of the Parliament to admit or establish new States under section 121.
Section 134 — Election mechanics
- The Head of State shall be chosen by direct vote of the people of Australia.
- An election for the office of Head of State shall be conducted only within the State, or within the Territories acting collectively for the Commonwealth, whose turn it is under section 131.
- A person is eligible to be a candidate for election as Head of State only if that person:
(a) is an Australian citizen; and
(b) is qualified for nomination as a Senator or as a Member of the House of Representatives; and
(c) is ordinarily resident in the relevant State or Territory at the time of nomination. - Voting at an election for the office of Head of State shall be conducted by a first-past-the-post method.
- No system of preferential voting shall apply to an election under this section.
- An election under this section shall be conducted in two rounds:
(a) the first round shall determine a shortlist of candidates;
(b) the second round shall determine the successful candidate from that shortlist. - The shortlist produced by the first round shall consist of no fewer than three and no more than seven candidates, being the candidates with the highest number of votes, including any candidates tied at the relevant cutoff point.
- The successful candidate shall be the person who receives the highest number of votes in the second round.
- Where two or more candidates receive an equal and highest number of votes in the second round, the Parliament of the Commonwealth shall determine the successful candidate by a majority vote of both Houses.
- The conduct of elections under this section shall be regulated by law, provided that such laws are consistent with this Constitution.
Section 135 — Gender alternation
- The office of Head of State shall alternate between occupants who identify as female and occupants who identify as male for the purposes of this section.
- A person elected to the office of Head of State in an even-numbered year shall be female.
- A person elected to the office of Head of State in an odd-numbered year shall be male.
- The alternation of gender under this section applies to each term of office and does not reset or vary by reason of:
(a) a vacancy in office; or
(b) the appointment of an interim Head of State under section 136. - The gender of a person serving as an interim Head of State does not affect the required gender of the person elected at the next election under this Constitution.
Section 136 — Vacancy and interim arrangements
- If the office of Head of State becomes vacant before the expiration of a term, whether by death, resignation, removal, or incapacity, the office shall be filled on an interim basis in accordance with this section.
- Where the Head of State was elected in respect of a State, the Governor of that State shall perform the functions of the Head of State on an interim basis.
- Where the Head of State was elected in respect of the Territories of the Commonwealth, the Governor-General shall perform the functions of the Head of State on an interim basis.
- An interim occupant of the office under this section shall serve only until the commencement of the next scheduled term in the rotation, and no interim service shall be taken to constitute a term of office.
- The gender of an interim occupant under this section shall not affect the operation of section 135 or the gender alternation applicable to the next substantive term.
- An interim occupant of the office shall perform the role subject to the same constitutional position, conventions, and limitations as apply to a substantive occupant.
- Where an interim occupant performs the functions of the Head of State under this section, that occupant shall also perform any associated public service roles held by the departed Head of State under section 139 for the remainder of the relevant period.
Section 137 — Title and style of the Head of State
- The Head of State shall hold the constitutional title Australian of the Year.
- The Parliament may make laws prescribing additional styles, titles, or forms of address for the Head of State.
- Any law made under subsection (2) shall not confer additional powers, functions, or authority on the Head of State.
Section 138 — Dismissal of the Head of State
- The Parliament of the Commonwealth may dismiss the Head of State by resolution supported by a two-thirds majority of the members of each House.
- A dismissal under this section takes effect immediately upon the passage of the resolution.
- The dismissal of the Head of State does not require the assent of the Head of State or of any vice-regal representative.
- Upon dismissal, the office of Head of State is taken to be vacant and section 136 applies, including in relation to any associated public service roles.
Section 139 — Transitional public service roles
- A person elected to the office of Head of State shall, prior to assuming office, serve for a period of six months in a public role as an apprentice to the incumbent Head of State.
- During the period of apprenticeship, the elected person shall not exercise the powers or functions of the office of Head of State and shall act only in a preparatory and representative capacity.
- Upon the completion of a term of office, a former Head of State shall serve for a period of six months in a public role as mentor to the incoming Head of State.
- During the period of mentorship, a former Head of State shall not exercise the powers or functions of the office of Head of State and shall act only in a supportive and representative capacity.
- At all times there shall be no more than one person holding the office of Head of State.
- Service in a public role under this section does not constitute service as Head of State and does not affect eligibility, term limits, or the operation of this Constitution.
- A person serving in a public role under this section may be removed from that role by resolution of the Parliament of the Commonwealth supported by a two-thirds majority of the members of each House.
- Removal under subsection (7) does not of itself affect the office of Head of State or the operation of any other provision of this Constitution.
Proposed revised Section 59 — Constitutional conventions of the Head of State
- The Head of State shall exercise the functions of the office in accordance with the constitutional conventions governing the exercise of the Crown in Australia, as those conventions developed in practice following 3 September 1939 and as reflected in the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 and the Australia Acts 1986.
- In particular, the Head of State shall act in a manner consistent with the non-partisan, ceremonial, and restrained character of the Crown as it operated within Australia as a constitutional monarchy, including the exercise of its functions exclusively through established vice-regal representative offices.