The death of Queen Elizabeth II will trigger some changes in Australia that you might not have expected. Some have been automatic, while others will take some time before we notice.
Queen’s birthday public holiday
The Queen’s birthday public holiday will probably change its name to the King’s birthday but it will ultimately be a matter for the states and territories to decide.
The change in monarch will not likely have an impact on when the actual holiday is held. Nowhere in Australia marked the Queen’s actual birthday in April with a public holiday. New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, South Australia and the Northern Territory mark the holiday on the second Monday of June, while it is taken in September in Queensland, and in October in Western Australia.
The Queen’s birthday honours will also likely become the King’s birthday honours.
Currency
The Queen is the only monarch to feature on the heads of Australian coins in the decimal era for Australian currency, a period which began after Australia transitioned from pounds in 1966.
Existing coins bearing the Queen’s face will remain in circulation, and new coins bearing King Charles’s face will begin circulation in 2023. The new king will be facing left on the coins, rather than right which has been tradition dating back to the 1600s.
A portrait of the Queen has adorned the $5 note since 1995, and her face used to appear on $1 notes before Australia ditched it for coins in 1984.
QCs become KCs
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, senior barristers in Australia have had the choice of the title Queen’s Counsel (QC) or Senior Counsel (SC). For those who took the former title, their title has automatically changed to King’s Counsel (KC).
You can see this reflected in the very speedy updates made to the Victorian Bar’s find-a-barrister service.
The letterheads and business card changes might take a little more time.
The Queen becomes the King in criminal cases
In criminal cases, the prosecution in the case is often referred to as the Queen, eg the Queen v “defendant”.
Similar to KCs, the change to now use King following the Queen’s death has already taken place.
Court of Appeal: Zirilli v The King https://t.co/aJ2CqFyVxh #Judgment #viclaw #auslaw #PracticeAndProcedure pic.twitter.com/L9gDA0LvHk
— Law Library Victoria (@LawLibraryVic) September 9, 2022
Victorian MPs will need to swear an oath or affirmation again
State MPs in Victoria will not be allowed to sit in parliament or on parliamentary committees again until they make an oath or affirmation to the King.
Section 23 of the Victorian constitution states:
Whenever the demise of the crown is notified by the governor to the council and the assembly, the members of the council and of the assembly shall before they are permitted to sit or vote therein respectively take and subscribe the like oath or affirmation to the successor for the time being to the crown.
Victoria is only state where this needs to happen. In all other states, as well as for federal MPs, it is not necessary.
This process is likely to take place on Tuesday next week.
The Victorian parliament was due to return next week, however the premier, Daniel Andrews, has said it will not sit next week. He said the days may be made up later in the year. It is just over two months until the state election in November.
