What are Australia's national colors?

Australia's national colours are green and gold, proclaimed by Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen on 19 April 1984. The colours are drawn from the golden wattle, the national floral emblem, whose green foliage and bright yellow flowers symbolise the Australian landscape across the seasons. Green and gold do not appear on the national flag, which uses blue, red, and white, but they are the colours worn by Australian sporting teams and used at major national celebrations.

The 1984 proclamation was made by Prime Minister Bob Hawke's government alongside the formal adoption of Advance Australia Fair as the national anthem, replacing God Save the Queen for civilian occasions. Both decisions were part of a wider effort to give Australia a clearer national identity in the lead-up to the 1988 bicentenary, and to mark a stronger break from imperial British symbolism in the everyday markers of nationhood.

Green and gold are most visible on the uniforms of Australian national sporting teams. The Wallabies, Socceroos, Matildas, Kookaburras, Hockeyroos, and Australian Olympic team all play in some combination of green and gold, as do Australian cricket teams in the limited-overs formats. The Australian national rugby league team uses green and gold jerseys, and the Australian Kangaroos basketball team plays in the same colours.

Beyond sport, green and gold appear on the badges of the Australian Defence Force, on the trim of the Australian one-dollar coin, on official stationery and presidential gifts, and in the bunting hung from public buildings on Australia Day, ANZAC Day, and other national occasions. The colours are also used in the design of the Order of Australia honours, where the riband is gold with a thin band of dark green.