Victorian MPs will swear their allegiance to Australia’s newly minted monarch King Charles III and pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II in a special state parliament sitting.
Under a quirk in Victoria’s constitution, members of state parliament must pledge allegiance to the new monarch following the predecessor’s death.
Victoria is the only jurisdiction in Australia where re-swearing of MPs is required and the process is expected to take several hours.
Once completed on Tuesday, a condolence motion for the Queen will be moved allowing MPs to honour her before parliament adjourns to the following week as a mark of respect.
The final sittings of Victoria’s lower and upper houses before the November state election were scheduled for this week but have since been pushed back.
September 20 and September 21 will be normal sitting days with valedictory speeches from retiring members.
But the final sitting day on September 22 will no longer go ahead after it was declared a one-off national public holiday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Victorian Governor Linda Dessau re-swore senior public office holders during the state’s proclamation ceremony at Government House on Monday.
