Succession to the Crown Act 2015

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Succession to the Crown Act 2015 (Australia) — a simple summary

What it is
- A federal Australian law that updates who can inherit the Australian throne and who needs the monarch’s permission to marry.
- It was created after discussions with all six Australian states and is part of aligning Australia with changes agreed by the 16 Commonwealth realms.
- It came into effect on 26 March 2015.

Key changes to the line of succession
- No more male-preference primogeniture for those born on or after 28 October 2011.
- Daughters born after that date can inherit before younger brothers.
- The monarch must still be Protestant.
- Catholics cannot become monarch, so the position remains closed to Catholics.
- Marriage rules for the heir and those close to the throne were simplified.
- Only the first six people in line to the throne now need the sovereign’s consent to marry.
- If someone in the first six marries without the sovereign’s consent, they and their descendants cannot succeed to the Crown, though the marriage itself remains legally valid.
- The act repeals the old Royal Marriages Act 1772 for Australia, ending the blanket requirement that many more distant relatives needed the monarch’s permission.
- A broader change to old laws was made to fit the new system.
- The act adjusts references to historic laws (like the Act of Settlement 1701 and related Acts) so they work together with Australia’s law.
- It keeps the principle from the earlier laws that the monarch must be Protestant.

What stayed the same
- The overall line of succession is still governed by historic rules and the common framework shared with other realms, but now with modernised Australian rules in place.
- The line can still be affected by religious affiliation (Catholics cannot be monarch due to the Protestant requirement).

Why this was done
- To modernise and simplify the rules so Australia’s laws match contemporary understandings of succession.
- To implement changes agreed by the Commonwealth realms while keeping a common system of succession across those realms.

In short
The Succession to the Crown Act 2015 updates who can inherit the throne and who must get the monarch’s permission to marry, limits the need for consent to the first six in line, ends male-preference in newer births, and keeps the monarch as Protestant. It aligns Australian law with international agreements while preserving the core rules about succession.