The Great Seal of Australia is one of the country’s most official symbols.
Most Australians know the flag. Many know the coat of arms. Fewer know the Great Seal. Yet this symbol sits close to the heart of government authority. It is not used in everyday life. It does not fly above buildings or appear at sporting events. It is used quietly, formally and rarely — but when it is used, it matters.
A seal is a mark of authenticity.
For centuries, governments, monarchs, courts, companies and institutions have used seals to prove that important documents are genuine. Before signatures became common, seals carried enormous authority. A document with the correct seal showed that it had been approved by the proper power.
The Great Seal of Australia continues that tradition.
It is used on some of the Commonwealth’s most important official documents. These can include proclamations, commissions, letters patent and documents connected to the work of the Governor-General and the formal exercise of Commonwealth authority.
The story of the Great Seal begins with Federation.
When the Commonwealth of Australia was created on 1 January 1901, the new nation needed more than a Parliament and a Constitution. It needed official symbols of government. The Letters Patent signed by Queen Victoria in 1900, which established the office of the Governor-General, made provision for a Great Seal for the new Commonwealth.
This meant Australia would have its own seal for documents that passed under Commonwealth authority.
In 1901, a public competition was held to design the first Great Seal of Australia. Several hundred entries were received. The winning design combined the work of two artists: D.H. Souter, a cartoonist for The Bulletin, and Blamire Young, a painter.
The first seal reflected the identity of Australia at the time.
It was both Australian and imperial. It connected the new Commonwealth to Britain while also showing the federal nature of the nation. The design included British royal symbolism and references to the Australian states. This reflected how Australia saw itself in the early years after Federation: a new nation, but still very much part of the British Empire.
The first Great Seal was authorised by King Edward VII in 1903.
Over the following decades, the seal changed as monarchs changed. New versions were issued in the names of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. The changes were often connected to royal titles and formal design updates rather than a complete rethinking of Australia’s identity.
The most significant modern change came in 1973.
That year, Queen Elizabeth II authorised a new version of the Great Seal. This version showed the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and used the Queen’s Australian title. It came during a period when Australia was becoming more confident in its own national identity and gradually moving away from older imperial language and symbolism.
The Commonwealth Coat of Arms at the centre of the seal is itself a major national symbol. It features the shields of the six states, supported by the kangaroo and emu, with the Commonwealth Star above. It represents the authority and ownership of the Commonwealth of Australia.
For more than fifty years, the 1973 version remained the Great Seal of Australia.
Then, in 2024, it changed again.
During King Charles III’s visit to Australia, a new Great Seal of Australia was authorised. On 21 October 2024, King Charles III, the Governor-General and the Prime Minister were present as the King signed Royal Warrants granting the use of the new Great Seal. The 1973 seal was formally decommissioned a few days later.
The new design places the Coat of Arms of Australia at the centre and surrounds it with a laurel of wattle, Australia’s national floral emblem.
That design change matters.
The previous seal included direct reference to the monarch by name and title. The new seal does not. Instead, it presents the Commonwealth Coat of Arms within an Australian floral frame. This makes the seal feel more nationally focused and less personally tied to a single monarch.
What it means today
Today, the Great Seal of Australia is more than a technical tool of government. It is also a symbol of how Australia understands its own authority.
Legally and constitutionally, Australia remains a constitutional monarchy. The King is Australia’s head of state, represented federally by the Governor-General. The Great Seal still operates within that constitutional structure. It is used for formal documents connected to Commonwealth authority and, in some cases, royal authority.
But the 2024 redesign has raised bigger questions.
In an article published by The Guardian on 31 October 2024, the redesign was described as removing the direct reference to the monarch, breaking with more than a century of tradition. The article reported criticism from monarchist and Coalition voices, including claims that the change amounted to “republicanism by stealth”. It also reported wider constitutional questions from historians and legal commentators about sovereignty, national identity and the absence of First Nations recognition within the design.
That is why the Great Seal is more interesting than it first appears.
It is not just a stamp.
It sits at the intersection of law, monarchy, national identity, Federation, symbolism and the ongoing argument over what Australia is becoming.
For some Australians, the removal of the monarch’s name from the seal may seem like a natural update. Australia has its own institutions, its own Parliament, its own courts, its own people and its own national identity. A seal centred more clearly on the Coat of Arms and wattle may feel appropriate for a modern country.
For others, the change raises concerns. If the seal is connected to royal authority, should it name the monarch? If Australia remains a constitutional monarchy, should its highest symbols continue to show that connection clearly? Or should official symbols reflect an Australia that is increasingly independent in spirit, even while the constitutional structure remains unchanged?
There is also the deeper question of First Nations recognition.
The Great Seal represents Commonwealth authority, but the Commonwealth was built on a continent already occupied, governed, named and cared for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for tens of thousands of years. The seal speaks in the language of Federation, monarchy and the Commonwealth. It does not speak directly to the older sovereignty, law and culture of First Nations peoples.
That absence is part of the modern debate.
Australia’s symbols often carry more than one meaning. The flag, the coat of arms, the Constitution and the Great Seal all tell part of the national story. But they also reveal what was left out when the nation was formed.
The Great Seal tells the story of Australia as a legal Commonwealth.
It tells the story of Federation, formal authority and government continuity. It shows how official power is recognised, authenticated and expressed. It connects modern Australia to the Crown, the Governor-General and the constitutional system created at Federation.
But it also shows how Australia’s identity has changed.
The first seal was openly imperial. The 1973 seal was more Australian but still clearly tied to the Queen’s title. The 2024 seal moves further again, placing the Australian Coat of Arms and wattle at the centre, without naming the monarch around the edge.
That shift may seem small, but symbols matter.
They show what a country chooses to emphasise.
The Great Seal of Australia is rarely seen by the public, but it belongs to the machinery of national life. It marks important documents as official. It confirms authority. It carries the weight of the Commonwealth.
Its history reminds us that Australia was not born fully independent. It was created as a self-governing Commonwealth within the British Empire. Over time, it became more independent, more Australian and more willing to define itself on its own terms.
The Great Seal has followed that journey.
From imperial beginnings to modern redesign, it reflects the slow, complicated evolution of Australian identity.
It is a mark of government.
It is a symbol of authority.
And today, it is also a quiet reminder that Australia is still deciding how to tell its own story.
Editorial Note:
The official name is the Great Seal of Australia, not the “Great Australian Seal”. This article uses the official title while recognising that many people may refer to it informally in different ways. The Great Seal should also be understood carefully: it is not the same as the Australian flag or the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, although the Coat of Arms appears in the modern design. It is a formal instrument of Commonwealth authority, and its recent redesign has become part of a wider conversation about monarchy, national identity and First Nations recognition.
References Used:
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet — The Great Seal of Australia
National Archives of Australia — Royal Seal of Approval
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet — His Majesty The King Charles III grants the use of a new Great Seal of Australia
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet — Proclamation of King Charles III and continued use of the Great Seal of Australia
National Archives of Australia — Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General of Australia
The Guardian — “Republicanism by stealth”: Australia’s Great Seal redesign ditches reference to monarch
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