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бюлетені) in 1934, and in 1954 the flag became recognised by, and legally
defined in, the Flags Act 1953, as the "Australian National Flag".
The Australian flag uses three prominent symbols: the Union Flag, the
Commonwealth Star (also the Federation Star) and the Southern Cross (or

Crux – сузір'я Південного Хреста).
In its original usage as the flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Union Flag itself was formed from three heraldic crosses which

represent the Constituent Countries of the United Kingdom (as ‘constituted
in 1801):
The red St George's Cross of England
The white diagonal St Andrew's Cross of Scotland

The red diagonal St Patrick's Cross of Ireland
The Union Flag is thought locally to symbolise Australia's history as
six British colonies and the principles upon which the Australian Federation

is based, although a more historic view sees its inclusion in the design as
demonstrating loyalty to the British Empire.
The Commonwealth Star originally had only six points, representing

the six federating colonies. However, this changed in 1908 when a seventh
point was added to symbolise the Territory of ‘Papua and any future
territories. The star is also known as the Federation Star.

The Southern Cross is one of the most distinctive constellations visible
in the Southern Hemisphere, and has been used to represent Australia since
the early days of British settlement. Ivor Evans is one of the flag's designers.
A complete specification for the current design was published in the

Commonwealth Gazette in 1934.
Governance. Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal
division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government with

Queen Elizabeth II at its apex [’e peks – верхівка] as the Queen of
Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other
Commonwealth realms [relmz– царина]. The Queen resides [z] in the
United Kingdom, and she is represented by her viceroys [віце-король] in

Australia. Supreme executive authority is vested by the Constitution of
Australia in the sovereign, but the power to exercise it is conferred by the
Constitution.

The federal government is separated into three branches:
The legislature: the bicameral [bai-] Parliament, defined in section 1 of the
constitution as comprising the Queen (represented by the Governor-General),

the Senate, and the House of Representatives;

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