{"id":"succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013","name":"Succession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013","slug":"succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30623,"registerId":"nt-succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Succession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nSUCCESSION TO THE CROWN (REQUEST) (NATIONAL UNIFORM\nLEGISLATION) ACT 2013\nAs in force at 8 November 2013\nTable of provisions\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Object of this Act ............................................................................. 1\n3 Relationship with Sovereign not affected ......................................... 2\n4 Request for Commonwealth legislation ........................................... 2\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 8 November 2013\n____________________\nSUCCESSION TO THE CROWN (REQUEST) (NATIONAL UNIFORM\nLEGISLATION) ACT 2013\nAn Act to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to enact under\nsection 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth an Act to change\nthe law relating to royal succession and royal marriages, and to make\nconsequential amendments to certain Acts\nPREAMBLE\n(1) On 28 October 2011, representatives of nations of which Her\nMajesty is the Sovereign agreed that the rules on succession to,\nand possession of, the Crown should be changed so as to make\nsuccession not depend on gender and to end the disqualification\narising from marrying a Roman Catholic.\n(2) The United Kingdom has further proposed to disqualify certain\npersons from succeeding to the Crown as a result of marriage, to\nrepeal the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and to validate certain\nmarriages made void by that Act.\n(3) It is expedient to request the Parliament of the Commonwealth to\nchange the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages by\nlegislating under section 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution of the\nCommonwealth in the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in\nthe Schedule to this Act.\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Succession to the Crown (Request)\n(National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013.\n2 Object of this Act\nThe main object of this Act is to facilitate the law relating to the\neffect of gender and marriage on royal succession being changed\nuniformly across Australia and consistently with changes made to\nthat law in the United Kingdom so that the Sovereign of Australia is\nthe same person as the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.\n\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 2\n3 Relationship with Sovereign not affected\nIt is not the intention of this Act to affect the relationship between\nthe Sovereign and the Territory as existing immediately before its\nenactment or that that relationship be in any way affected by the\nenactment by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of the Act\nrequested by section 4.\n4 Request for Commonwealth legislation\nThe Legislative Assembly requests the enactment by the\nParliament of the Commonwealth of an Act in the terms, or\nsubstantially in the terms, set out in the Schedule.\n\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 3\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nsection 4\nA Bill for an Act to change the law relating to royal\nsuccession and royal marriages, and for related purposes\nPreamble\nOn 28 October 2011, representatives of nations of which Her Majesty is the\nSovereign agreed that the rules on succession to, and possession of, the Crown\nshould be changed so as to make succession not depend on gender and to end the\ndisqualification arising from marrying a Roman Catholic.\nThe United Kingdom has further proposed to disqualify certain persons from\nsucceeding to the Crown as a result of marriage, to repeal the Royal Marriages\nAct 1772 and to validate certain marriages made void by that Act.\nFor the purposes of paragraph 51(xxxviii) of the Constitution the Parliaments of\nall the States have requested the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia to\nenact an Act in the terms, or substantially in the terms, of this Act.\nThe Parliament of Australia therefore enacts:\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.\n2 Commencement\n(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is\ntaken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other\nstatement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\nCommencement information\nColumn 1 Column 2 Column 3\nProvision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n1. Sections 1 and 2\nand anything in this\nAct not elsewhere\ncovered by this table\nThe day this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n2. Sections 3, 4 and 5 The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n3. Parts 2, 3 and 4 A time and day, or times and days, to be fixed by\nProclamation.\n4. Part 5 The day this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 4\nCommencement information\nColumn 1 Column 2 Column 3\nProvision(s) Commencement Date/Details\n5. Schedule 1 A time and day, or times and days, to be fixed by\nProclamation.\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It\nwill not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.\n(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may\nbe inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published\nversion of this Act.\n3 Object of this Act\nThe main object of this Act is to change the law relating to the effect of gender\nand marriage on royal succession, consistently with changes made to that law in\nthe United Kingdom, so that the Sovereign of Australia is the same person as the\nSovereign of the United Kingdom.\n4 Relationship with Sovereign not affected\nThis Act is not intended to affect the relationship between the Sovereign and the\nCommonwealth, the States and the Territories as existing immediately before its\nenactment.\n5 Definition of Crown\nIn this Act:\nCrown means the Crown in all of its capacities.\nPart 2—Succession to the Crown not to depend on gender\n6 Succession to the Crown not to depend on gender\nIn determining the succession to the Crown, the gender of a person born after 28\nOctober 2011 (by United Kingdom time) does not give that person, or that\nperson’s descendants, precedence over any other person (whenever born).\nPart 3—Marriage and succession to the Crown\n7 Removal of disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic\n(1) A person is not disqualified from succeeding to the Crown or from possessing it\nas a result of marrying a person of the Roman Catholic faith.\n(2) Subsection (1) applies in relation to marriages occurring before the\ncommencement of this section if the person concerned is alive at that\ncommencement (as well as in relation to marriages occurring after that\ncommencement).\n\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 5\n8 Disqualification arising from marriage\nA person is disqualified from succeeding to the Crown if the person is\ndisqualified by subsection 3(3) of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 of the\nUnited Kingdom, as in force at the commencement of this section, from\nsucceeding to the Crown in right of the United Kingdom.\n9 Amendments and repeal relating to marriage and succession to the Crown\nEach Act of England or Great Britain that is specified in Schedule 1, so far as\nthat Act is part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, is\namended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in Schedule 1, and any\nother item in Schedule 1 has effect according to its terms.\nPart 4—Other modifications of parts of the law of the\nCommonwealth, States and Territories\n10 References to Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement\nReferences, however expressed, in any law that forms part of the law of the\nCommonwealth or a Territory, to the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Act\nof Settlement relating to succession to, or possession of, the Crown are to be read\nas including references to the provisions of this Act.\n11 Union legislation affected by this Act\nSo far as they are part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory,\nthe following are subject to this Act:\n(a) Article II of the Union with Scotland Act 1706 of England;\n(b) Article II of the Union with England Act 1707 of Scotland;\n(c) Article Second of the Union with Ireland Act 1800 of Great Britain;\n(d) Article Second of the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 of Ireland.\nPart 5—Repeal or amendment of this Act\n12 Repeal or amendment of this Act\nThis Act may be expressly or impliedly repealed or amended only by an Act\npassed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States.\n\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 6\nSchedule 1—Further provisions relating to marriage and\nsuccession to the Crown\nPart 1—Amendments relating to marriage to a Roman Catholic\nAct of Settlement\n1 Preamble\nOmit “or marry a papist”.\n2 Preamble\nOmit “or marrying”.\n3 Section 2\nOmit “or shall marry a papist”.\nBill of Rights\n4 Section 1\nOmit “or by any King or Queene marrying a papist”.\n5 Section 1\nOmit “or shall marry a papist”.\n6 Section 1\nOmit “or marrying”.\n7 Application of amendments\nThe amendments made by this Part apply in relation to marriages occurring\nbefore the commencement of this Part if the person concerned is alive at that\ncommencement (as well as in relation to marriages occurring after that\ncommencement).\nPart 2—Repeal of the Royal Marriages Act 1772\n8 The whole of the Act\nRepeal the Act.\n9 Validation of some marriages voided by the Royal Marriages Act 1772\n(1) A marriage that was void under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 of Great Britain,\nso far as that Act was part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a\nTerritory, is to be treated as never having been void if:\n(a) neither party to the marriage was one of the 6 persons next in the line\nof succession to the Crown at the time of the marriage; and\n\nSchedule Requested Commonwealth legislation\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 7\n(b) no consent was sought under section 1 of that Act, or notice given\nunder section 2 of that Act, in respect of the marriage; and\n(c) in all the circumstances it was reasonable for the person concerned\nnot to have been aware at the time of the marriage that the Act\napplied to it; and\n(d) no person acted, before the commencement of this item, on the basis\nthat the marriage was void.\n(2) Subitem (1) applies for all purposes except those relating to succession to the\nCrown.\n\nENDNOTES\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 8\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nSuccession to the Crown (Request) (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2013 (Act No. 30,\n2013)\nAssent date 8 November 2013\nCommenced 8 November 2013","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating uniform changes to royal succession laws across Australia. The scope has not expanded beyond the 2011 agreement to remove gender discrimination and Catholic marriage disqualification, plus the consequential amendments to validate certain past marriages and repeal obsolete UK legislation. The Schedule includes the full text of the requested Commonwealth legislation, but this is integral to the mechanism rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Nested structure: The Act contains a complete Schedule which is itself a draft Bill for Commonwealth legislation, creating a 'legislation within legislation' format","Cross-references to UK law: Multiple references to British statutes (Royal Marriages Act 1772, Bill of Rights 1688, Act of Settlement 1701, Union with Scotland Act 1706) and their Australian applicability","Temporal conditions: Several provisions apply differently depending on whether marriages occurred before or after commencement dates, and whether persons were alive at specific cutoff dates (28 October 2011)","Constitutional mechanism: Relies on section 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution, requiring understanding of federal-state legislative powers","Retrospective validation: Complex conditions in Schedule 1, Part 2 for validating previously void marriages (four cumulative criteria must be met)","Entrenchment provision: Section 12 of the Schedule contains a 'manner and form' provision requiring unanimous state consent for future repeal or amendment"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Northern Territory law that formally asks the Australian Federal Parliament to change the rules about who can become King or Queen of Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Requests federal action:** The NT Legislative Assembly is asking the Commonwealth Parliament to pass a law that would change royal succession rules across Australia.\n- **Ends male preference:** The requested law would mean that birth order, not gender, determines who inherits the Crown. Previously, a younger brother could jump ahead of an older sister in line to the throne.\n- **Removes religious discrimination:** The requested law would allow someone to become monarch even if they marry a Roman Catholic. Previously, this was banned.\n- **Updates marriage rules:** It would scrap the old Royal Marriages Act 1772 (which required the monarch's permission for certain royal marriages) and replace it with a simpler rule: only the first six people in line to the throne need the monarch's permission to marry.\n- **Validates past marriages:** Some marriages that were technically illegal under the old rules would be made valid again.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Primarily the British Royal Family and their descendants, but also ensures that whoever is King or Queen of the UK is automatically King or Queen of Australia (maintaining the \"personal union\" of the Crown).\n- All Australians indirectly, as it determines who their head of state is.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is part of a coordinated change across all Australian states and territories (and other Commonwealth realms like New Zealand and Canada) to modernise the monarchy. The changes were agreed to by Commonwealth countries in 2011 to remove sexist and discriminatory religious rules from the succession. Because Australia's Constitution requires state consent for changes to the monarchy, each state and territory had to pass a \"request\" law like this one before the Federal Parliament could act.\n\n**Key legal note:** The NT is not changing the law itself—it is *requesting* the Commonwealth to do so under a specific constitutional power (section 51(xxxviii)) that allows the federal government to make laws at the request of the states/territories."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act remains within its original, narrow purpose: it requests Commonwealth legislation to alter succession and marriage-related rules so Australian law aligns with the United Kingdom's changes. It does not expand beyond that objective: the measures are limited to succession rules, marriage-related qualifications, repeal/validation tied to the Royal Marriages Act 1772, and related statutory housekeeping (reading references to historic succession provisions as references to the new law). There is no substantive enlargement of scope beyond the originally stated intent."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused Act: 12 sections plus a Schedule, straightforward structure","Cross-references to external UK legislation (imports subsection 3(3) of the UK Succession to the Crown Act 2013)","Amendment or repeal of historical English statutes (Bill of Rights, Act of Settlement, Royal Marriages Act 1772) as they form part of Australian law (Schedule 1)","Transitional provisions applying to persons alive at commencement and to marriages before commencement (multiple temporal conditions)","Staggered commencement: parts commence on Royal Assent and other parts by proclamation (Schedule, Part 1, s2)","Validation test with multiple conjunctive conditions for previously void marriages (Schedule 1, item 9(1)(a)–(d))","Constraint on future amendment/repeal requiring request/concurrence of all State Parliaments (Part 5, s12) adds constitutional/federal complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (straight to the point)**\n\n- This Northern Territory Act asks the Commonwealth Parliament to pass a federal law that changes the rules for who can succeed to the Crown (the monarch) so that Australian law matches the changes agreed by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.\n\n- The requested changes are set out in the Schedule and would: (a) end male-preference primogeniture for people born after 28 October 2011 (so a person’s gender does not give them priority in the line of succession) (see Part 2, section 6); (b) remove the disqualification from succession that arose solely because a person married a Roman Catholic (see Part 3, section 7 and Schedule 1, Part 1); (c) implement certain other marriage-related rules that mirror the United Kingdom’s Succession to the Crown Act 2013, including importing particular disqualifications as defined in that UK Act (see Part 3, section 8); and (d) repeal the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and, in limited circumstances, treat some earlier marriages that were void under that old Act as never having been void (see Schedule 1, Part 2, items 8–9).\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- People in the line of succession to the Crown (a very small, specific group). The rules specifically alter the rights of persons born after 28 October 2011 (gender rule) and persons who married Roman Catholics (marriage rule) (Part 2, s6; Part 3, s7).\n- Persons whose marriages had been void under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 may have those marriages validated for most purposes, subject to several conditions (Schedule 1, item 9).\n- Courts, registries and any laws that currently refer to the Bill of Rights or the Act of Settlement and that are concerned with succession will be read as including the new Commonwealth law once enacted (Part 4, ss10–11).\n\n**How the law works mechanically**\n\n- The Northern Territory Act itself does not change succession law directly. Instead it uses the Territory’s power under the Constitution to request the Commonwealth Parliament to enact the specified federal law (section 4 and Schedule).\n- The Schedule contains the text of the federal Bill requested. That Bill, if enacted by the Commonwealth, would: take effect on dates set by Royal Assent and proclamation (see Schedule, Part 1, section 2); change succession rules for persons born after 28 October 2011 (Part 2, s6); remove the marriage-based Roman Catholic disqualification (Part 3, s7); import certain disqualifications defined in the UK Act (Part 3, s8); amend historic English Acts as they form part of Australian law (Schedule 1); and limit when this Act itself can later be repealed or amended (Part 5, s12).\n\n**Why this matters (claimed purpose and practical implications)**\n\n- The Act’s stated purpose is to keep the person who is Sovereign of Australia the same as the person who is Sovereign of the United Kingdom, by making succession rules uniform and consistent with the UK changes (Object clauses, sections 2 and Schedule Part 1, s3).\n\n- Practical implications and trade-offs to note:\n  - Who decides: the Northern Territory requests the Commonwealth to act; the Commonwealth Parliament must still enact the requested law and fix commencement dates by proclamation (Schedule, Part 1, s2). Implementation therefore depends on federal legislative action and coordination across jurisdictions.\n  - Coordination costs and risks: the change is intended to be uniform across Australia; if the Commonwealth did not enact matching federal legislation (or if States/Territories acted inconsistently) there could be legal uncertainty about who is entitled to succeed in right of Australia.\n  - Administrative and compliance costs: minimal for the general public. The principal administrative work is legal updating (statutes, registers, and possibly family law or vital records in rare edge cases) and some transitional adjustments for previously void marriages that might be validated for non-succession purposes (Schedule 1, item 9).\n  - Concentrated benefits vs diffuse costs: the direct beneficiaries are a small group of people in or near the line of succession and people whose marriages had previously been void; the broader public bears negligible direct cost. The changes do not impose general regulatory burdens on businesses or ordinary contracting.\n  - Legal complexity and uncertainty: the requested federal Bill cross‑references UK legislation (e.g. importing subsection 3(3) of the UK Succession to the Crown Act 2013) and repeals or amends historic English statutes to the extent they form part of Australian law (Schedule 1 and Part 4). That cross-referencing requires careful statutory interpretation work and may produce transitional legal questions (for example, validating past marriages for non-succession purposes but not for succession purposes—Schedule 1, item 9(2)).\n  - Durability: the requested Bill limits how it may be repealed or amended: only by an Act passed at the request or with the concurrence of the Parliaments of all the States (Part 5, s12). That raises the bar for later change.\n\n**Bottom line**\n\nThis Territory Act is a narrow, formal request to the Commonwealth to make specific, targeted changes to the law of royal succession and marriages so Australian succession law aligns with the UK changes. The direct effects are limited (affecting those in or near the succession line and certain historical marriages). The main implementation risks are the need for coordinated federal action, cross-jurisdictional drafting, and some transitional legal complexity around validated marriages and cross-references to historic statutes."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013","history":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013/history","analysis":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/succession-to-the-crown-request-national-uniform-legislation-act-2013/documents"}}