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# Australia

## Commonwealth of Australia

Last modified: 2026-07-04 by ian macdonald
Keywords: australia | southern cross | stars: southern cross | stars: 7 points |
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image by Zoltan Horvath, 10 April 2024

- Design of the flag
- Colours
- History of the flag
- Construction Details
- Australian Ensigns in Current Use
- Centenary Flag (official "flag of state")
- Special Flag Flying Days
- Flying the Union Jack in Australia
- Australian National Flag in Gazettes and Legislation
  - Consolidated Statutory Rules 1914, 1927 and 1956

See also:

- Index of Australian flag pages
- States and territories
- Clickable map of Australia
- Other Australian Flags
  - Commonwealth of Australia
  - Military flags
  - Emergency Services
  - Other Government Bodies
  - Historical flags
  - Indigenous Peoples
  - Company Flags
  - Political, Union, etc. Flags
  - Other Flags
  - Other Sites
- Changing the flag debate
- Flags on Australian stamps
- Quarantine flag regulations in Australia

Other sites:

- Australian government page on the flag, including flag-flying protocols

## Design of the flag

The Australian flag is composed of three parts:

- The Union Jack (British flag) in the top left corner,
- The 'Star of Federation' in the bottom left corner, and
- The Southern Cross, taking up the right half of the flag.

The Union Jack shows that the first colonisation by Europeans was by Britain. In case you didn't know, Australia started as a penal colony. The Star of Federation is a seven pointed star. They came to the number seven, by giving each state (six in all) a point on the star, and having one more point for Australia's territories (of which there are several). There are two mainland territories, and several overseas, including two in Antarctica. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.
Giuseppe Bottasini

All the stars have an inner diameter (circle on which the inner corners rest) of 4/9 the outer diameter (circle of outer corners), even the 5-point star. The positions of the stars are as follows:

- commonwealth star - centred in lower hoist,
- alpha - straight below centre fly 1/6 up from bottom edge,
- beta - 1/4 of the way left and 1/16 up from the centre fly,
- gamma - straight above centre fly 1/6 down from top edge,
- delta - 2/9 of the way right and 31/240 up from the centre fly,
- epsilon - 1/10 of the way right and 1/24 down from the centre fly.

The positions of alpha-epsilon are given with respect to the centre of the square fly, and distances in terms of hoist width of the flag.
Christopher Vance, 26 February 1998

For more details, including a picture and a comparison with the New Zealand flag, see our page on the construction of the Australian flag.

## Colours

- There are many Australian sources for its design and colors as well, I found one online here (Australian Flags can be used as an educational resource and a source of general information about the history and proper use of the Australian National Flag and other flags of Australia by the Australian community, flag marshals and visitors to Australia).
  It gives colors as:
  Blue: Pantone 280
  Red: Pantone 185
- According to the Flag Manual - Beijing 2008, the PMS colors PMS 032 (red) and PMS 281 (blue).
- The Album des Pavillons 2000 [pay00] gives colors in Pantone and CMYK colors, PMS colors are PMS 287C (blue) and PMS 032C (red), CMYK color are 100-70-0-10 (blue) and 0-90-90-0 (red). (More colors are also given for other maritime flags.)
- Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12] gives PMS 280 blue, PMS 185 red.
- CISM Flags Manual 2018 is not relevant in this issue, while Australia is not member of CISM.
- The Album des Pavillons 2023 already specifies the colors of the flags in three color systems.
  Blue: Pantone 2738c, CMYK 100-92-21-6, RGB 0-0-145
  Red: Pantone 2347c, CMYK 0-100-100-0, RGB 225-0-15
  (More colors are also given for other flags)
- Vexilla Mundi gives PMS 281C (blue) and PMS 186C (red) and PMS White.
- Wikipedia gives more sources, and color values come from Style manual for authors, editors and printers (Published in 2002).
  Pantone: Blue 280 C, Red 185 C, White Safe
  RGB: Blue 0–0–139, Red 255–0–0, White 255–255–255
  Hex: #00008B, Red #FF0000, White #FFFFFF
  CMYK: Blue 100–80–0%–0, Red 0–100–100–0, White 0–0–0–0.

Zoltan Horvath, 10 April 2024

## History of the flag

Below is a summary of the history of the Australian flag. We have a separate page with a more detailed history. The links in the summary below point to the appropriate sections of the detailed history.

### Chronology

- 1900: Competition held by the Evening Herald in which entries are required to contain the Union flag and Southern Cross.*
- October 1900: A broader competition launched by the Review of Reviews in response.*
- 29 April 1901: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 27 Design competition for The Flag of Australia announced by the first Australian Prime Minister, Edmund Barton.
- 3 September 1901: First official raising of the blue Australian Flag at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (at the announcement of the winning design*).
- 8 February 1902: Prime Minister requests Governor General to send the design (and the 'Federation flag' design) to London for Imperial Approval.*
- King's Approval given between 21 August and 3 September 1902.*
- 6 October 1902: Telegram to Governor General advising that design has been approved.*
- 20 February 1903: Proclamation that King Edward VII had approved design for the Flag of Australia together with the warrant for Australian registered ships to fly the red ensign. (the design approved by the King differed from the original design in the number of points on the stars and the warrant was republished in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 8*)
- 2 June 1904: Federal Parliament passes a resolution to fly the flag in all public places whenever flags were used, giving the flag the same status as the Union Jack in Britain.*
- 1 June 1908: Australian Army Military Order, No 58/08, directs all military establishments to fly the 'Australian Ensign' in place of the Union Jack.*
- 19 December 1908: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 65 (page 1709) announced addition of 7th point to the Commonwealth Star to represent Australian Territories.
- 1911:Naval Order 78/1911 directs all vessels of the Royal Australian Navy to fly the flag of the 'Australian Commonwealth' at the jack staff and the White Ensign of the Royal Navy at the stern as the symbol of the authority of the crown.
- 23 March 1934: Commonwealth Gazette No.18 gives descriptions and specifications of the Australian Blue Ensign and the red merchant flag of Australia.
- 14 April 1954: Commonwealth Government 'Flags Act 1953' (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 24*) the status of The Flag confirmed by legislation and title to be the Australian National Flag.
- 3 September 1996: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. S321 Proclamation of Australian National Flag Day - (Anniversary of our Flag). Commemorating the day in 1901 on which the Australian National Flag was first flown.
- 24 March 1998: Flag Amendments Bill amended the Flags Act 1953 to ensure that the Australian National Flag can only be changed if the electorate approves.
- 20 September 2001: Commonwealth Gazette No. S382 (Special) Proclamation of the Centenary Flag Warrant. The Centenary Flag is the flag presented on 3 September 2001 to the Prime Minister by the Australian National Flag Association, being an Australian National Flag suitably inscribed with flag centenary message.

Nigel Morris, 7 June 2002
* added by editor.

## Flying the Union Jack in Australia

The (Australian) Flags Act,1953; Section 8 (p. 2) states “This Act does not effect the right or privilege of a person to fly the Union Jack.”
I understand that this particular Section was drafted during the period of Prime Minister Robert Menzies to ensure that any Australian could continue to fly the Union Jack if they so desired.
One could run the argument that prior to the Proclamation of the Flags Act, 1953 ( in 1954 ); that the Union Jack was actually the National Flag of the Commonwealth of Australia, being a Dominion, and that the Australian Red Ensign ( Maritime and de facto Civilian ), and the Australian Blue Ensign ( Government ) were, being Ensigns, subsidiary to the National Flag, being the Union Jack.
If you look at photos pre-1954 you will notice that where both the Union Jack and the Red or Blue Australian Ensign appear together, the Union Jack is to the left of the Australian Ensign; however, post proclamation, the Union Jack is displayed to the right of the Australian Blue Ensign, which is now called the Australian National Flag.
Therefore, the practical effect of the Flag Act, 1953 is that while recognising the former Australian Blue Ensign as the Australian National Flag , the continued flying of the Union Jack was specifically authorised to continue, and furthermore, this is still the case to this day.
Philip Miller, 9 October 2018

Indeed, the Flags Act 1953 had the effect of reversing the protocol priority of what had de facto developed as a dual national flag: the Australian blue ensign and the Union Jack, as explained by Mr Miller. Over time, the usage of the Union Jack in Australia diminished, so by the 1970s it was rarely seen alongside the Australian National Flag.
Ralph Kelly, 10 October 2018

When first enacted the Flags Act 1953 Section 8 amounted to a declaration of loyalty, and of reassurance to the very many Australians of the time who still thought of themselves as British. It gave all Australians a legislated 'right or privilege' to fly the Union Jack that British nationals did not have. As the relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom evolved over time (with complete legislative independence from 3 March 1986) it became difficult to see any particular reason (other than historic or commemorative) why an Australian should want or need to fly the Union Jack. The UK is now a foreign nation in relation to Australia, so essentially Australians have the legal 'right or privilege' to fly a foreign nation's de facto national flag.

The specified Pantone number for the red of the Australian National Flag and presumably the Australian Red Ensign is 185, a brighter red than the 186 specified for the British and New Zealand flags. Many Australian flags do in fact use this lighter red which looks particularly striking in the case of the Australian Red Ensign. However this also implies that there is an 'Australian Union Jack' using Pantone 185 red, as found in the Union cantons of many Australian flags.
Jeff Thomson, 21 July 2019

## Australian National Flag in Gazettes and Legislation

This is a list of known appearances of the Australian National Flag in Commonwealth of Australia Gazettes as notifications from 1903 to 2001. These may be viewed at Gazettes 1901 - December 2012 - Federal Register of Legislation then select the year, then select the individual Gazette (as a pdf file) from the list. Then to find the special Gazettes S321 and S382, scroll down towards the foot of the screen.

No 27 of 29 April 1901 (Page 89)
No 8 of 20 February 1903 (page 93 and colour plate)
No 38 of 15 August 1903 (page 433)
No 65 of 19 December 1908 (page 1709)
No 29 of 22 May 1909 (page 1124 and colour plate)
No 18 of 23 March 1934 (pages 511, 512 and drawing)
GN35 of 4 September 1996 (with S321 of 3 September. Proclamation of Australian National Flag Day)
GN38 of 26 September 2001 (with S382 of 20 September. Centenary Flag Warrant).

GAZETTE INCLUSIONS OF E WILSON DOBBS FLAG
No 39 of 8 August 1908 (alleged colour plates, not in on-line copy)
Public Instruction Gazette (New South Wales); 30 April 1912 (page 111 et seq., drawing)

In the Gazette notifications and the various customs, military and naval regulations made before 1954 the flag we now know as the Australian National Flag was referred to by descriptions such as 'flag of the Commonwealth of Australia (Blue Ensign), 'Ensign of the Commonwealth of Australia' and so on. It was sometimes referred to as the Commonwealth Blue Ensign in government documents, and nowadays is alternatively known as the Australian Blue Ensign.

Many early Australian and external territory regulations included customs and quarantine service ensigns, prescribed as a 'blue ensign' with a particular defacement. As first drafted these implied British Blue Ensigns, but it is confirmed that an Australian Blue Ensign version of the quarantine ensign existed. It is likely the Australian Blue Ensign versions of the 1901-1904 Australian and 1901-1942/1951 Papuan customs flags existed too, although the 1901-1904 Australian one would obviously have been based upon the pre-1908 versions of the Australian Blue Ensign.

The Flags Act 1953 does not specify the proportions of the Australian National Flag, but government-issued drawings and images show it as 1:2. The majority of Australian National Flags sold in Australia are of these proportions. Exceptions are most car-flags including those of the Prime Minister and Chief of Army which are usually 2:3, and some mainly indoor flags which are also 2:3 and less often, 3:5.
Jeff Thomson, 3 February 2020

The so-called E Wilson Dobbs flag in the Gazette list above refers to a 1908 variant of the blue and red Australian flags with the seven-point Commonwealth Star and original-pattern 1901 Southern Cross with star-points Alpha to Epsilon of 9-8-7-6-5. This type remained in use with Australia's navy until about 1914. Due to an oversight, detailed drawings of this design were printed for the Department of External Affairs which was then the Australian authority for the flags. These drawings were distributed to the public until around 1911 when a new drawing with the current design of Southern Cross replaced it. Colour plates of this flag type were reportedly enclosed in the 1908 Commonwealth Gazette No 39 in a similar way to the first Commonwealth Coat-of-Arms colour plate in No 36 (25 July 1908), with no explanation, nor later inclusion in the Gazette annual index. However Gazette No 39 also carried the formal notification of the approval of the first Arms, although with no enclosed colour plates of the Arms.

The Gazette notification for the full design of the Australian flags (No 18 of 23 March 1934) finally laid out their design precisely and in full detail. This followed more than thirty years of design confusion. Although its flag drawing and details remain correct, the notification itself has not aged well. The dimensions, wording, print presentation and even the names of the flags are archaic. When the Proclamation for the Flags Act 1953 appeared in Gazette No 24 of 14 April 1954 page 1179, nothing has been found in that Gazette nor several Gazettes before and after, to cancel the 1934 notification which presumably remains in effect.
Jeff Thomson, 23 July 2025

### Consolidated Statutory Rules 1914, 1927 and 1956

These three law consolidations have been fully digitised and are readily available for viewing at the Australian Government legislation website. The 1914 and 1927 volumes contain sections entitled 'Seals, flags and armorial ensigns' that span several pages. Both also contain colour plates of the Commonwealth Blue Ensign and the Merchant Flag. These are inaccurate, showing black holding lines and the Southern Cross in 'true geometric cross' format. The Southern Cross is also spread out more than usual. Presumably due to the Flags Act 1953 being in force, the 1956 series had all flags removed from the much reduced 'Seals and armorial ensigns' section (details included for interest).
https://www.legislation.gov.au/consolidated-statutory-rules-and-prerogative-orders

From the main page, select and download 1914 Vol 3.pdf, or 1927Vol4_Part1.pdf, or 1956 Vol 5.pdf. The 'Seals, flags and armorial ensigns' sections are located at:

1914 - pdf pages 114 to 122 (book pages 1886-1893). Flag colour plate at pdf 121.
1927 - pdf pages 210 to 217 (book pages 3776-3782). Flag colour plate at pdf 215.
1956 - pdf pages 228 to 230 (book pages 5477-5479). No flag images.
Jeff Thomson, 3 August 2025