What does the Australian flag represent?

The Australian flag is a defaced Blue Ensign that represents three strands of national identity: British heritage, federation of the states, and the country's place in the southern hemisphere. The blue background and the small red, white, and blue Union Jack in the upper-left canton signal Australia's origins as a federation of British colonies and its membership of the Commonwealth.

Below the Union Jack sits the white seven-pointed Commonwealth Star, also called the Federation Star. Six of its points stand for the six original states that joined together on 1 January 1901, and the seventh, added in 1908, represents the territories and any future states. On the right-hand side of the flag are the five stars of the Southern Cross, the constellation that has guided travellers and farmers in the southern hemisphere for thousands of years and that appears on the flags of several other southern nations.

The current design was selected from more than 32,000 entries in a public competition held in 1901, with five winners sharing the prize. King Edward VII approved the design in 1903, and it was confirmed as the Australian national flag by the Flags Act 1953, which received royal assent on 14 February 1954 from Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to Australia.

Flag protocol is set out in the Flags Act and in guidance from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The flag should never touch the ground, should be flown above other flags when on the same pole, and should be flown at half-mast on days of national mourning such as the death of the sovereign or a major national tragedy. Australia Day on 26 January, ANZAC Day on 25 April, and Remembrance Day on 11 November are the main days Australians fly the flag from homes, schools, and public buildings.