No, you generally do not need permission to use the Aboriginal Flag for most purposes, as the Australian Government acquired the copyright in 2022, making it freely available for public and commercial use (like on clothing, websites, or art) in a respectful manner, though commercial manufacturing of the flag itself is restricted to the licensed supplier. The main restriction is that you can't use it to make and sell the physical flag or bunting, as that's exclusive to Carroll & Richardson-Flagworld.
The Aboriginal Flag is now freely available for public use after the Morrison Government completed negotiations with Harold Thomas. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Aboriginal Flag copyright has been transferred to the Commonwealth.
The flag was first raised on 9 July 1971. In 1995, the Aboriginal flag was recognised by the Australian Government as an official 'Flag of Australia' under the Flags Act 1953. In January 2022, the Commonwealth of Australia acquired the copyright of the Aboriginal Flag.
The Australian National Flag can be used for commercial purposes, including advertising, without formal permission, except when importing products, applying for trademarks and registering designs.
You can fly any country's national flag, the Saltire, the Union Flag, the Red Dragon, and county or local flags without consent. Some local planning authorities may give extra guidance (especially in conservation areas).
There are no specific laws that stop you from flying a foreign national flag on private property in Australia.
Councils' and residents' responses. Several local councils, including Birmingham City Council, City of York Council and Tower Hamlets London Borough Council among others, have taken down the flags, citing safety concerns and a lack of permission to fly these on council property.
The $20 million paid for the Aboriginal flag's copyright went to Luritja artist Harold Thomas, the flag's designer, and the license holders, with the Australian Federal Government acquiring the rights in 2022 to make the flag freely available for public use, ending long-standing disputes and licensing issues. The deal also included funding for an Indigenous student scholarship and directing royalties to NAIDOC.
Any person may fly the Australian National Flag. However, the flag should be treated with the respect and dignity it deserves as the nation's most important national symbol. Flag protocol is based on longstanding international and national practice.
Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Islander flag protocol
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flown alongside the Australian national flag on public buildings on these days: 26 May – National Sorry Day • 27 May – 3 June – National Reconciliation Week • 3 June – Mabo Day • July – NAIDOC Week.
But what does it all mean? Well, that Aboriginal flag-looking symbol on the front of Aussie passports is not, in fact, an Aboriginal flag. It's actually the code to indicate the passport is an ePassport.
In a deal worth more than 20 million Australian dollars ($14 million), Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government secured the rights from Indigenous artist Harold Thomas, who created the flag over 50 years ago.
Free issue of Australian flags
The Australian National Flag, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag can be obtained free of charge by contacting the electorate office of your local Senator or Member of the House of Representatives.
In 1997, the Federal Court of Australia found that Harold Thomas was the owner of the copyright in the design of the Aboriginal flag. The Federal Government acquired the rights to the Aboriginal flag on behalf of the Commonwealth in an agreement with Harold Thomas in 2022.
(a) It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flag staffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
The most prominent flag to be flown during ceremonies is the Australian National Flag. The Australian National Flag can be flown alongside other flags on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important days. Other flags you might see include: Australian Aboriginal Flag.
The Australian National flag should be hoisted first and lowered last. (b) Flags should always be flown or displayed in a dignified manner, and flags should never be used for the unveiling of a monument or plaque, or used as a table or seat cover, or let fall to or lie upon the ground.
Personalised flags are an ideal finishing touch to any event, meeting or special occasion. From marketing tools for your business to supporting a cause from your bedroom, make your own flag and hang it with pride. Custom flags are available in four pre-set sizes, or you can use your own custom dimensions.
Some guidelines for the Australian National Flag: The flag should be raised quickly and carefully, and lowered slowly. Do not raise the flag earlier than sunrise, or lower the flag later than sunset.
Gwoya Tjungurrayi is a figure whose legacy reaches far beyond his life in the Australian Outback. Born around 1895 in the Tanami Desert, Tjungurrayi was a Warlpiri-Anmatyerre man who became an enduring symbol of Indigenous Australian culture, most notably immortalised on the Australian $2 coin.
The Commonwealth Government announced on 24 January 2022 that the Aboriginal Flag is now free for public use, after reaching a copyright agreement with Luritja artist Harold Thomas.
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney Cove (Warrane) in Australia, raising the Union Jack to establish the first British penal colony, marking the beginning of formal British colonization and a profound, often traumatic, change for the Aboriginal peoples who lived there. This event, initially celebrated as "Foundation Day," is now recognized as Australia Day, a date viewed with deep pain by many Indigenous Australians as "Invasion Day" or "Survival Day" due to the subsequent dispossession and conflict it initiated.
So the idea that the flag was only called a jack when flown at sea simply doesn't hold up. 🔹 In 1908, Parliament clarified that “the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag”, whether on land or sea. 🔹 Both the Flag Institute and the Royal Navy accept “Union Jack” and “Union Flag” as correct terms today.
Opponents of changing the flag have made the following arguments: It is a popular symbol. No alternative national flag has attained the same degree of acceptance accorded to the existing flag. The flag is a unique combination of devices recognised by law, custom and tradition as Australia's chief national symbol.
Although St George never visited England, his reputation for virtue and holiness spread across Europe and his feast day – the 23rd April – was celebrated in England from at least the early 8th century. He became popular with English kings.