1999 republic referendum During the 1998 Constitutional Convention on the future of Australia's
constitutional monarchy, the league along with the five other constitutional monarchist groups formed a united front led by
Lloyd Waddy QC, the National Convenor of
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy which was by far the dominant monarchist group. Positions on the official Vote No Committee were filled according to votes received at the Convention election where the league had won 6.05% of the vote. Accordingly, all eight monarchist seats went to an alternative organization which had won 72.39% of the monarchist vote,
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (along with two supporting an elected head of state). Nevertheless, the Australian Monarchist League played a role in the proceedings, including Benwell privately taking the
Australian Electoral Commission to the
Federal Court in an unsuccessful attempt to gain a firmer definition of what would count as a "yes" vote in the referendum, arguing that the planned approach (accepting any vote in which the voter's intention was clear) was such that the counting would be weighted towards "yes" and "opened the door for electoral fraud".
Post-1999 actions Both prior and subsequent to the referendum, the Australian Monarchist League has acted to protect the image of the constitutional monarchy. Some examples of successes in this area include complaints lodged by the organisation in 2005 regarding an image depicting
Princess Diana by photographer
Erwin Olaf at the
Australian Centre for Photography. Similarly, they wrote to the Japanese ambassador in 1998 after
Toyota ran an advertisement showing a
Range Rover with the words "Don't worry, Your Majesty, you're not the only British export that's had its day", resulting in Toyota withdrawing the advertisement and in 2008 complained to both the Coopers Brewery and the Advertising Standards Bureau after Coopers ran an advertisement stating "Forget the monarchy, support the publicans", forcing its withdrawal. The league continues to maintain vigilance, more recently lodging complaints against the ABC, claiming bias. Along with their actions during the referendum, the league have been active in protecting the symbols of Australia's constitutional monarchy; they acted to ensure that the pledge of loyalty to the monarch remained a part of
Scouts Australia, and spoke against the removal of references to the Queen from the Victorian legal system. Aside from campaigning, the AML distributed copies of
William Dargie's
portrait of Queen Elizabeth II after the Commonwealth Government Bookshops ceased selling photographs of the monarch.
Recent activities Other activities include disseminating literature and maintaining a library on
Australian history and the
Australian Constitution and conducting public seminars. The league condemned Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese in June 2022 for the appointment of
Matt Thistlethwaite as Assistant Minister for the Republic. Following the coverage of the
Coronation of King Charles III on the 6 May 2023, the league accused the
ABC of "despicable" news coverage of the coronation and claimed that it was biased. Resultingly, the league submitted a signed letter of dissatisfaction from members to the Chair of the ABC later that month, demanding an apology. From this, the ABC completed an internal investigation into the way the Coronation was broadcast after 1,000 people voiced their disproval of the coverage.
Petition to Reform the Appointment of the Governor-General The Australian Monarchist League has expressed concern over the modern process by which the
Governor-General of Australia is nominated. In a public petition, the League referenced the 1930 nomination of
Sir Isaac Isaacs by Prime Minister
James Scullin as a turning point in Australia's constitutional history. Isaacs was the first Australian-born Governor-General, and his appointment—made against initial reservations from King
George V—marked the beginning of Australia's direct involvement in such nominations. The League criticises the shift towards unilateral nominations by prime ministers, citing
Bob Hawke’s 1988 selection of
Bill Hayden as an example of diminished consultation. It argues that this concentration of authority undermines democratic principles and the impartiality expected of the office. In response, the League advocates for reform of the nomination process. Rather than an election or parliamentary vote—which it views as potentially politicizing—the League proposes a model based on bipartisan consensus between the prime minister and the
leader of the opposition. According to the League, such an approach would help preserve the confidentiality and dignity of the office, avoid contentious appointments, and reinforce the non-political nature of the Governor-General’s role. ==Membership==