A resounding majority of Australians want to retain the Monarchy rather than become a Republic

An increasing majority of Australians, 60% (up 5% points since November 2012) believe Australia should remain a Monarchy while only 40% (down 5% points) say Australia should become a Republic with an elected President.

This special Roy Morgan SMS Poll was conducted by SMS on Monday September 12, 2022, with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,012 Australians. The survey was conducted entirely after Prince Charles took the oath on the weekend to become King Charles III.

Australians were asked: “In your opinion, should Australia remain a MONARCHY – or become a REPUBLIC with an elected President?”

Support for the Monarchy has increased from a decade ago after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last week and the ascension of King Charles III to the throne over the weekend.

King Charles III was officially proclaimed as the new ‘King of Australia’ on Sunday by Governor-General David Hurley who stated, “Because of the death of our blessed and glorious Queen Elizabeth II, the Crown has solely and rightfully come to Prince Charles Philip Arthur George.

“May King Charles III have long and happy years to reign over us. With hearty and humble affection, we promise him faith and faithfulness.”

Both genders and all age groups favour the Monarchy – but results closer for some than others

Analysis of the results by gender shows that nearly two-thirds of women (66%) favour the Monarchy compared to only 34% that favour a Republic with an elected President. However, the results for men are far evenly split with 54% in favour of the Monarchy compared to 46% that would prefer a Republic.

A look at the results by age shows young Australians under 35 are the most evenly split – 52% favour the Monarchy compared to 48% that favour a Republic with an elected President.

Support for the Monarchy is higher among older age groups with 58% of people aged 35-49, 67% of those aged 50-64 and 61% of Australians aged 65+ in favour of remaining with the Monarchy.

As a follow-up question, respondents were then asked: “And why do you say that?”

There were several key themes that emerged for respondents who favoured retaining the Monarchy or moving to a Republic with an elected President.

For the majority of Australians advocating that Australia remain with the Monarchy the key themes to emerge were those saying ‘Why change?’, ‘Why change what we have when it works?’, the stability and stable government the Monarchy has brought Australia for many decades, and the sentiment that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Alongside that theme there were those who relayed their distrust of politicians and that they don’t trust current politicians to being about a Republic because we don’t want to end up like America.

For the minority of Australians who want the country to move to a Republic with a directly elected President there were many who asserted that we need an Australian as Head of State, and that we should be a truly independent country by doing so. There were many who said that the Monarchy is outdated and doesn’t represent Australia and that holding onto our colonial history is an insult to First Australians. Many Australians also referenced the famous Australian political slogan that ‘It’s time’.

Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, says:

“Australians have given a vote of confidence in new Head of State King Charles III with a majority of 60% saying Australia should remain as a Monarchy, an increase of 5% points from November 2012, while only 40% say Australia should become a Republic with an elected President.

“Support for remaining as a Monarchy is far higher among women (66% in favour) than men (54%) and is strongest among older age groups with over two-thirds of people aged 50-64 (67%) and nearly as many aged 65+ (61%) in favour of remaining as a Monarchy.

“Although the results show an increase in support for the Monarchy from nearly a decade ago, just over a decade ago, during the former Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in June 2012, an even larger majority of 62% of Australians favoured remaining as a Monarchy.

“A look at previous results on this question shows that more Australians have been in favour of remaining as a Monarchy than becoming a Republic consistently since November 2010. Prior to that point there was a consistent majority in favour of becoming a Republic from 1994-2008.

“The main reasons provided by people for why Australia should remain as a Monarchy are ‘Why change?’, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ ‘The current system based on Monarchy has brought Australia decades of stability and stable government’. Alongside these themes were those who voiced their distrust of politicians to bring in a Republic, and do we want to end up like the USA?

“Those Australians advocating for a change and to move towards a Republic with a directly elected President mentioned that the Head of State should be Australian and that we should be a totally independent country as holding onto our colonial history is an insult to First Australians.

“The results of this latest Roy Morgan SMS Poll on attitudes towards Australia becoming a Republic or remaining as a Monarchy shows that despite the passing of the popular Queen Elizabeth II last week a clear majority of Australians are in favour of retaining the current system – and this has consistently been the case for over a dozen years now.”

This special Roy Morgan SMS Poll was conducted by SMS on Monday September 12, 2022, with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,012 Australians. The survey was conducted entirely after Prince Charles took the oath on the weekend to become King Charles III.

Australians were asked: “In your opinion, should Australia remain a MONARCHY – or become a REPUBLIC with an elected President?”

Respondents were then asked: “And why do you say that?”

To purchase full demographic breakdowns by Gender, Age, City/Country including Voting Intention and detailed quantitative and qualitative verbatim responses to the open-ended questions relating to how Australians view the Monarchy or a potential Republic for $9,800 contact Morgan Poll Manager Julian McCrann. By Email: julian.mccrann@roymorgan.com. By Phone: 9224 5365.

For further comment or more information contact:
Michele Levine 0411 129 093 or Gary Morgan 0411 129 094 or email: askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.