What is the Commonwealth of Nations?

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary group of nations which share historical ties with the United Kingdom and share common aspirations for a peaceful, just and democratic world. To become a member, a nation should have had a constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, it should comply with Commonwealth values as set out in the Harare Declaration, and it should accept and abide by Commonwealth norms and conventions.

There are 53 member nations in the Commonwealth (including the United Kingdom).

Sixteen still have the Queen of the United Kingdom serving as their Head of State. These countries are Constitutional Monarchies and (other than the UK) have Governors-General as local representatives of the Queen: Antigua and Barbuda; Australia; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Canada; Grenada; Jamaica; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and Grenadines; Solomon Islands; Tuvalu and United Kingdom).

Six of the members in the Commonwealth declared independence from Britain and now have their own monarch as Head of State. These six states are: Brunei Darussalam; Lesotho; Malaysia; Samoa; Swaziland and Tonga.

Thirty-one are republics with their own Head of State: Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe.

Australia can remain a member of the Commonwealth if we become a republic.

After World War II many British colonies became republics. When India achieved its independence in 1947 and became a sovereign republic in 1949, the Commonwealth abandoned its former rule that member states must swear allegiance to the British monarchy. In 1949 a conference of Commonwealth prime ministers allowed republics to become full and equal members of the Commonwealth. Today, a clear majority of Commonwealth countries are already republics and these countries, like Australia, compete in the Commonwealth Games and participate in Commonwealth conferences.

During the 1999 referendum campaign, monarchists maintained that Australia's membership of the Commonwealth – and its ability to compete in the Commonwealth Games – would be threatened if Australia became a republic. In response to these claims, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anaouku, issued a statement on 3 November 1999 stating: "Let me make it absolutely clear that, whatever the outcome of the referendum, there is no question of Australia's membership of the Commonwealth being in doubt."

In the lead up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games the ARM approached the current Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Donald McKinnon, to confirm the precise situation of republics within the Commonwealth. His letter of 9 November 2005 states in part:

“Let me confirm that a country’s position as a member of the Commonwealth is unaffected by a constitutional change in its status to become a republic… ever since the London Agreement of 1949, republican forms of government have been entirely compatible with Commonwealth membership… any constitutional change in Australia to become a republic would not affect its membership in the Commonwealth.”

Please visit the following website if you would like more information:The Commonwealth Secretariat