By-Laws & Royal Charter

The Royal Charter, the By-Laws and the Petition are legally binding documents which govern how the Academy operates, and provide a legal framework for its activities.

The Royal Charter (pictured right) specifies the objectives and purposes of the Academy, granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and incorporates the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

The By-Laws are the rules which govern the day-to-day business of the Academy, including the electoral procedures for Fellows. They can only be altered with the assent of the Governor-General.

The Petition is the official request to Queen Elizabeth II to establish the Australian Academy of the Humanities from the Australian Humanities Research Council.

In recognition of the historical value of these documents, the Petition and Royal Charter are now on permanent loan to the National Library of Australia, where they are held under ideal preservation conditions. 

These documents are available: Royal Charter & By-Laws [.pdf 816KB]; The Petition [.pdf 44KB]