Succession to the Crown Act 2015
| Succession to the Crown Act 2015 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament of Australia | |
| |
| Citation | No. 23 of 2015 |
| Territorial extent | States and territories of Australia |
| Enacted by | Australian House of Representatives |
| Enacted | 17 March 2015 |
| Enacted by | Australian Senate |
| Enacted | 19 March 2015 |
| Royal assent | 24 March 2015 |
| Commenced | 26 March 2015 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Australian House of Representatives | |
| Bill title | Succession to the Crown Bill 2015 |
| Introduced by | Christian Porter |
| First reading | 5 March 2015 |
| Second reading | 17 March 2015 |
| Third reading | 17 March 2015 |
| Second chamber: Australian Senate | |
| Bill title | Succession to the Crown Bill 2015 |
| Member(s) in charge | Michaelia Cash |
| First reading | 18 March 2015 |
| Second reading | 19 March 2015 |
| Third reading | 19 March 2015 |
| Amends | |
| Act of Settlement 1701 | |
| Related legislation | |
| Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 Australia Act 1986 | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Succession to the Crown Act 2015 (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, which was enacted at the request of all six Australian states as required by the Australian Constitution. The Australian acts were the final part of the Perth Agreement's legislative program agreed by the prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms to modernise the succession to the crowns of the sixteen Commonwealth realms, while continuing to have in common the same monarch and royal line of succession, as was the case at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931.
As the Statute of Westminster ended the ability of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to legislate on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australia Acts eliminated the remaining possibilities for the UK to legislate with effect to the Australian states, Australia had the most challenging legal environment of the Commonwealth realms, as each of the six state governments and the federal government has a separate direct relationship with the monarch.
It was brought into effect simultaneously with the similar laws enacted by the other Commonwealth realms after the Governor-General proclaimed the law to commence at "the beginning of 26 March 2015 by United Kingdom time".