References to the Monarch Updated to Reflect the King
Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
criminal justice government accountability government administration law enforcement monarchy royal titles
Introduced by: The Hon Jaclyn Symes MLC (ALP); Danny Pearson MP (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The bill updates references to the Sovereign to reflect that the current monarch is a King rather than a Queen, replacing references to Her Majesty with His Majesty and the Queen with the King.
References to the Sovereign now refer to whoever is the current Sovereign.
The law updates titles in the Interpretation of Legislation Act.
The law updates titles in the Accident Compensation Act.
The law updates titles in the Administration and Probate Act.
The law updates titles in the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General Act.
The Governor is now the person allowed to act on behalf of the King for sentencing matters.
The titles for the Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Opposition no longer refer to the Sovereign.
Police forms now refer to 'the peace' instead of 'Her Majesty's peace'.
The bill replaces references to 'Her Majesty' with 'the Crown in right of Victoria' in the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General Act.
A new rule ensures that if the monarch is a Queen, references to the King are read as the Queen, and if the monarch is a King, references to the Queen are read as the King.