Flags Act 1953

Who decides, who acts, and who pays (as far as the Act says)

• Electors decide whether a new flag replaces the current National Flag, by voting under the process Parliament prescribes (s3(2)–(3)).
• Parliament decides the procedural details for submitting proposals and voting (s3(3)).
• The Governor‑General decides which additional flags or ensigns to appoint (s5), who is authorized to use flags (s6), and what published guidance applies to flying or using flags (s7).
• The Act does not specify who pays for votes, referenda, proclamations, warrants, or the publication and administration of rules; the statute is silent on funding and administrative arrangements for implementation.

How the design creates incentives, costs and trade-offs

• Stability vs change: Replacing the National Flag requires submitting options in each State and Territory and a majority of all electors voting (s3(2)). That procedure concentrates decision-making in the voting electorate and raises the procedural threshold for change, which tends to reduce the likelihood of frequent replacements.
• Concentration of administrative discretion: The Governor‑General may appoint flags, grant warrants for use (including specifying defacement), and publish rules (s5–7). Those powers give the executive a central role in specifying authorised flag uses and guidance; the Act leaves the content and reach of those rules to executive decision-making.
• Compliance and uncertainty: The Act authorises published “rules for the guidance of persons” about flying or using flags (s7). The statute does not prescribe the content, enforcement mechanism, or penalties for non‑compliance with those rules, so the practical compliance burden depends on future rules made under s7.
• Public costs and opportunity costs: The Act requires a process for a nationwide vote if the National Flag is to be changed (s3(2)–(3)). The statute does not allocate the costs of conducting that process; administrative and financial burdens fall to arrangements Parliament or the executive later put in place.
• Effects on private actors and businesses: The Act creates and protects official symbols (s3, s4). It also enables the Governor‑General to authorise use (s6) and to issue guidance (s7). The statute itself does not ban private uses, nor does it set fees or licensing regimes; any practical limits or permissions depend on warrants or published rules under the Act.

What the Act claims as its purpose and how the mechanics bear on that purpose

• The Act designates official flags (s3, s4) and provides a legal route for changing the National Flag that relies on elector choice and parliamentary prescription of process (s3(2)–(3)). Mechanically, that combines a popular decision mechanism (elector vote) with parliamentary control over procedure, and executive control over other flag matters (s5–7). The statute is silent on funding, enforcement, and detail of administrative arrangements, so operational costs, timing and specific compliance obligations depend on subsequent orders, warrants, proclamations or parliamentary prescription.