The

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

has maintained a variety of vehicles for use by the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, other ministers and the

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

for transport to official and ceremonial events in both the states and territories and overseas. They are also used by the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

and other members of the Royal Family when visiting Australia.

Aircraft

No. 34 Squadron of the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

operates the current VIP fleet of two 737 Boeing Business Jets and three Challenger 604s for use by members of the government; in particular the

and other ministers. The aircraft are regularly used for both domestic and international travel. The two 737 BBJs were acquired on a 13-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

in 2002 and are fitted with facilities such as conference tables, offices suites, and secure satellite and communication capabilities. The two planes also have a longer range than is standard for 737 BBJs. Both the BBJs and Challengers are based at

Defence Establishment Fairbairn Fairbairn (), formerly RAAF Base Fairbairn, is a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base, located in Australia's national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the ...

in Canberra and are maintained by

Qantas Defence Services Qantas Defence Services is a defence service company that was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas. In August 2013, QDS was sold to Northrop Grumman for Australian dollar, A$80 million. The subsidiary had been providing maintenance for L ...

Automobiles

Official convoy Op Catalyst Welcome Home Parade

The King

When the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

visits Australia, the King’s Personal Australian Flag will be flown on the car in which he is travelling. During the late Queen's 2011 tour of Australia, the Queen and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

were driven in a Range Rover Vogue.

Governor-general

The

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Rolls-Royce Phantom VI The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI is a British limousine made from 1968 to 1990 by Rolls-Royce. A total of 374 Phantom VIs were made, of which fewer than 40 were manufactured in the last decade of production. The exterior is almost identical to the f ...

limousine for ceremonial occasions, such as the

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

. They more regularly use Australian-built luxury cars, such as a

Holden Caprice The Holden Caprice is a full-sized car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Betwe ...

, when on official business. The official cars of the governor-general fly the

Flag of the Governor-General of Australia The flag of the Governor-General of Australia is an official flag of Australia and is flown continuously on buildings and other locations when the Governor-General of Australia is present. History The flag has existed as three versions, th ...

and display a representation of

St. Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...

instead of number plates. A similar arrangement is used for the governors of the six states.

Prime minister

The official state car of the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

is a white armoured

BMW 7 Series The BMW 7 Series is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker BMW since 1977. It is the successor to the BMW E3 "New Six" sedan and is now in its seventh generation. The 7 Series is BMW's flagship car and is on ...

, supported at all times by an armoured BMW X5. Prior to 2013, vehicles in the prime ministerial fleet were white Ford Territory and

models. The prime ministerial vehicle is also escorted by police vehicles from state and federal authorities. The prime minister's car bears the number plate ''C1'' (meaning "Commonwealth 1") and a centrally mounted

Australian flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...

. The prime ministerial car fleet operates as part of COMCAR, a division of the Australian Government's Department of Finance. In 2013, BMW was selected to provide a fleet of 7 Series High Security vehicles as part of a tender to replace the ageing armoured Holden Caprice fleet that formerly transported the Australian prime minister. The

off-the-shelf Off-the-shelf may refer to: * Commercial off-the-shelf, a phrase in computing and industrial supply terminology * Government off-the-shelf * Ready-to-wear * Shelf corporation, a type of company * Off the Shelf Festival, a festival of writing and r ...

replacements offer greater protection and better value for money. A

BAE BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

and GM-Holden

Consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

also bid for the contract.

Rail transport

The various government railway operators of Australia have operated a number of royal trains for members of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

on their numerous tours of the country.

Other

The

Australian State Coach The Australian State Coach is an enclosed, six horse-drawn coach used by the British Royal Family. The coach was presented to Queen Elizabeth II of Australia and the United Kingdom as the official gift on the occasion of the Australian Bice ...

is a coach that was a gift from the Australian people to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In 1952, ''

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

'' was sent to

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

shipyards to be refitted to become the

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Although the tour was cancelled due to the death of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

, considerable work had already been completed and she returned in 1953 to complete the refit, which included a white-painted hull. In 1954 the Queen's visit to Australia occurred and ''Gothic'' was used for the visit. The Australian Government film ''The Queen in Australia 1954'' featured the ship in Sydney on arrival and Fremantle on departure three months later. This visit was part of Queen

's coronation world tour in 1954.

References

{{reflist

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Prime Minister of Australia Monarchy in Australia Government of Australia Transport in Australia Governors-General of Australia Vehicles of Australia Royal vehicles