The preamble to the Bill sets out the history of the decision to alter the law of royal succession in Australia, consistent with changes made to that law in the
United Kingdom.
Clause 1 sets out the main purpose of the Bill. The main purpose of the
Bill is to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to change the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages by enacting legislation under section 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth in the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in Schedule 1 to the Bill.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Bill (except clause 7 and Schedule 2) on the date of Royal Assent. Clause 7 and
Schedule 2 to the Bill will come into operation on the date and time the corresponding provisions of the proposed
Commonwealth Act contained in Schedule 1 to the Bill commence.
Clause 3 sets out the object of the Bill. The main object of the Bill is to facilitate the law relating to the effect of gender and marriage on royal succession being changed uniformly across Australia and consistently with changes made to that law in the United
Kingdom. This is to ensure that the Sovereign of Australia is the same person as the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
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Clause 4 provides that it is not the intention of the Bill to affect the relationship between the Sovereign and the State as existing immediately before its enactment, or that that relationship be affected by the enactment of the proposed Commonwealth Act set out in Schedule 1 to the Bill.
Clause 5 requests the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact, under section 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, the proposed Commonwealth Act in the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in Schedule 1 to the Bill.
Clause 6 clarifies that on the coming into operation of an item in
Schedule 2 to the Bill, which includes consequential amendments to the Crimes Act 1958 and the Imperial Acts Application Act
1980 , the Act specified in the heading to the relevant item in
Schedule 2 is amended as set out in the item.
Clause 7 provides that references to the Bill of Rights or the Act of
Settlement relating to the succession to, or possession of, the
Crown are to be read as including references to provisions of the
Bill and the proposed Commonwealth Act.
Proposed section 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Commonwealth Act.
Proposed section 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed
Commonwealth Act (except Parts 2, 3 and 4 and Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth Act) on the date of Royal Assent.
Parts 2, 3 and 4 and Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth
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Act commence on a time and day, or times and days, to be fixed by Proclamation.
Proposed section 3 provides that the main object of the proposed
Commonwealth Act is to change the law relating to the effect of gender and marriage on royal succession consistently with changes made to that law in the United Kingdom, so that the
Sovereign of Australia is the same person as the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
Proposed section 4 provides that it is not intended that the proposed
Commonwealth Act affect the relationship between the
Sovereign and the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories as existing immediately before its enactment.
Proposed section 5 provides for the definition of Crown in the proposed
Commonwealth Act to mean the Crown in all of its capacities.
Proposed section 6 provides that, in determining the succession to the Crown, the gender of a person born after 28 October 2011 (by United
Kingdom time) does not give that person, or that person's descendants, precedence over any other person (whenever born).
This change means that there will be no priority for male heirs over female heirs and allows an older daughter to precede her younger brother in the line of succession for all royal births occurring after 28 October 2011 (the date of the Commonwealth
Heads of Government meeting in Western Australia where the
16 Realms of which Her Majesty is the Sovereign agreed to the change).
Proposed section 7 removes the disqualification from succeeding to or possessing the Crown as a result of marrying a person of the
Roman Catholic faith. The effect of this provision is that marriage to a Roman Catholic will not disqualify an heir from succession. The removal of the disqualification applies both to marriages occurring before the commencement of the section if the person concerned is alive at the commencement of the section, as well as marriages occurring after the commencement of the section.
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Proposed section 8 disqualifies a person from succeeding to the Crown if they are disqualified from succeeding to the Crown under subsection 3(3) of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 of the
United Kingdom.
Subsection 3(3) of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 of the
United Kingdom provides for the consequences of a person's failure to obtain Her Majesty's consent before marrying, if that person (when the person marries) is one of the 6 persons next in the line to the throne. That is, the person and the person's descendants from the marriage are disqualified from succeeding to the throne.
The effect of this item is that the Sovereign's consent to marriage will only be required for the first six people in the line of royal succession.
Proposed section 9 confirms that each Act of England or Great Britain specified in Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth Act, so far as that specified Act is part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, is amended or repealed as set out in
Schedule 1, and any other item in Schedule 1 has effect according to its terms.
Proposed section 10 provides that references in any law of the
Commonwealth or a Territory to the Bill of Rights or the Act of
Settlement relating to the succession to, or possession of, the
Crown are to be read as including references to provisions of the proposed Commonwealth Act.
Proposed section 11 provides that, so far as they are part of the law of the
Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, the following are subject to the proposed Commonwealth Act:

Article II of the
England;
Union with Scotland Act 1706 of

Article II of the
Scotland;
Union with England Act 1707 of

Article Second of the
Great Britain; and
Union with Ireland Act 1800 of
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
Article Second of the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 of
Ireland.
These four Acts deal with the succession to the Crown, the first two referring among other things to the prohibition relating to marriage to a Roman Catholic and the second two referring to succession according to existing laws and to the terms of union between England and Scotland.
Proposed section 12 provides that the proposed Commonwealth Act may be expressly or impliedly repealed or amended only by an Act passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States.
Items 1 to 6 make consequential amendments to the Act of
Settlement and the Bill of Rights to remove certain references, which provide that marriage to a papist
(Roman Catholic) constitutes a bar on succession to the throne.
Item 7 provides that the amendments in items 1 to 6 in this
Part apply to marriages occurring before the commencement of this Part where the relevant person is alive at the commencement of this Part. Items 1 to 6 also apply to marriages occurring after the commencement of this Part.
Item 8
Item 9 repeals the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . validates marriages that were voided by the Royal
Marriages Act 1772 , subject to certain specified conditions listed in subitem (1).
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This change reflects item 8 in Schedule 1 to the Bill which changes the law relating to royal marriages, so that the consent of the Sovereign is only required where the person being married is one of the six people nearest in line to the throne.
Subitem (2) provides that subitem (1) applies for all purposes except those relating to succession to the
Crown.
Item 1.1 amends section 9A of the Crimes Act 1958 . That section provides for the offence of treason. This amendment will replace the reference to "son" in section 9A(1)(b) of the Crimes Act
1958 with "child". The effect of this is that the offence of treason, in relation to the heir apparent of the Sovereign, will apply regardless of the gender of the eldest child and heir apparent of the Sovereign.
This amendment is consequential to the changes in section 6 of the proposed Commonwealth Act, which provides that a person's gender does not give them precedence in the line of succession to the Crown. This item will take effect at the same time as section 6 of the proposed Commonwealth Act.
Item 2.1 amends Division 3 of Part II of the Imperial Acts Application
Act 1980 to remove specified references to the prohibition on the
Sovereign marrying a papist (Roman Catholic).
These amendments are consequential on the proposed amendments to the Bill of Rights contained in items 4, 5 and 6 of Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth Act.
The amendments will take effect at the same time as items 4, 5 and 6 of Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth Act.
Item 2.2 repeals Division 5 of Part II of the Imperial Acts Application
Act 1980 . This amendment is consequential on the repeal of the
Royal Marriages Act 1772 in item 8 of Schedule 1 to the proposed Commonwealth Act. This amendment will take effect at the same time as item 8 of Schedule 1 to the proposed
Commonwealth Act.
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Item 2.3 amends the Schedule to the Imperial Acts Application Act 1980 to omit the entry relating to Royal Marriages.
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