the Australian National Flag should be raised first and lowered last. the flag should be raised to the top of the flagpole briefly, and then lowered slowly and ceremoniously. flags flown at half-mast should be positioned a third of the distance down the flagpole.
The Australian National Flag should always be flown on the far left of a person facing the building. With the exception of a flagpole fitted with a gaff, a house flag or club pennant should never be flown above a national flag.
The order of the state flags is New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania (the order in which the state badges appear on the Commonwealth Coat of Arms) with flags of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory following in alphabetical order.
The flag may only be flown at night when illuminated. Two flags should not be flown from the same flagpole. The flag should not be flown upside down, even as a signal of distress.
The Australian National Flag is the correct flag to be flown on land by individuals, public, private and commercial organisations. It may also be flown on government ships, fishing vessels, pleasure craft and small craft by virtue of section 30 of the Shipping Registration Act 1981.
Custom dictates that you should display flags only from sunrise to sunset, but you can keep the stars and stripes flying 24 hours a day if it is properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
The Australian flag must be hoisted first and lowered last. When flying the Australian flag with State flags and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, in a line of flagpoles, the order of the flags should follow the rules of precedence (see below). Flags should not be flown at night unless properly lit.
To fly a flag upside down is a signal of distress. The Australian National Flag should not, therefore, be displayed with the Union Jack down on any occasion except as a signal of distress.
A flag should not be flown at half-mast at night, whether or not the flag is illuminated, unless direction to half-mast the flag for an extended period of time has been issued. When flying the Australian National Flag with other flags, all flags in the set should be flown at half-mast.
Permission is not required to fly either the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flags. Different rules however apply to reproduce each flag. In 1997, the Federal Court of Australia found that Harold Thomas was the owner of the copyright in the design of the Aboriginal flag.
When displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, the U.S. flag should be on its own right (left to a person facing the wall) and its staff should be in front of the other flag's staff. In a group of flags displayed from staffs, the U.S. flag should be at the center and the highest point.
A flag protocol (or flag code) is a set of rules and regulations for the display of flags within a country, including national, subnational, and foreign flags.
In the case of the Australian National Flag, the Union Jack should be seen in the top left quarter of the flag. Even when the flag is displayed vertically, this rule must be followed, although to the casual observer the flag appears to be back to front.
Should the flag become wet, it should be spread out and allowed to dry completely. Never place your flags in storage when wet or even damp.
You should avoid flying more than 1 flag from the same halyard. A ruined or worn flag should not be flown or displayed.
The Australian National Flag should be flown in the pre-eminent position with the United Nations Flag on the second flagpole for the day.
The Hon Anthony (Tony) Staley AO (1939 – 2023)
A State Funeral for the Honourable Anthony (Tony) Staley AO will be held at 11.00am on Wednesday 17 May 2023 at St John's Anglican Church, Toorak, Victoria.
What about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags? Because protocol dictates that the Australian National Flag should never be lower than other flags, when it is lowered to half-mast, so are all other flags, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
The rules also state that the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.
In accordance with Australian flag protocol, the Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast on Tuesday 25 April 2023 from dawn until noon in your locality, at which time the flag should be raised to the peak of the flag mast for the remainder of the day.
The Australian Red Ensign is an official flag of Australia and is proclaimed under the Flags Act 1953. The Australian Red Ensign is generally only flown at sea by Australian registered merchant ships or on land by organisations and individuals for ceremonial purposes such as Merchant Navy Day.
The Australian National Flag Association (ANFA) believes that the existing design is an integral part of the Australian heritage and an appropriate expression of our national identity. The existing design of stars and crosses should therefore be retained and not altered in any manner whatsoever.
The flag had survived 147 years due to the care of the King family and the Art Gallery of Ballarat. It was time to formalise the ownership. In 2013 the Art Gallery of Ballarat agreed to loan the Eureka Flag to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.).
The U.S. Flag Code states that the flag needs to be displayed from a permanent structure, he said. “It needs to be on a structure where, say, if the wind was blowing, it wouldn't blow the flag off or blow the branch off,” Toole said.