Legal Status
The State Arms are described in section 4(4) of the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Act 2004 (see below) as the Arms of Dominion and Sovereignty of the State. Arms of Dominion and Sovereignty are the symbols of intangible public authority which belong to independent states and are used by their representatives (such as government agencies) and leaders.
The Royal Warrant granting the Arms states that they are "...for the greater honour and distinction of Our State of New South Wales ...to be borne by the said State on Seals, Shields, Banners, Flags and otherwise according to the Laws of Arms." These laws are derived from medieval English civil law, and relate to the authority to grant Arms, and the regulation of their use, although the enforcability of these laws in New South Wales is unclear.
The publication of the Royal Warrant in the NSW Government Gazette on 22 February 1907 confirmed their status as the official Arms of the State of New South Wales. The making of unauthorised copies of the Arms was prohibited by section 3 of the Unauthorised Documents Act 1922, and this remained the only piece of heraldic legislation in New South Wales until 2004. Although the State government made various attempts to use the Arms in a uniform manner, and despite the clear direction in the Royal Warrant about their use, there was wide variation in their use and uncertainty about their status. This was most notable in the courts, where the Royal Arms continued to be used to show the separation of executive and judicial powers.
In 2003, the NSW Parliament passed the State Arms, Symbols and Emblems Act 2004, which patriated the Law of Arms to some degree regarding the Arms of the State. The Act definitively established the NSW Coat of Arms, to be known as the State Arms, as the Arms of the State of New South Wales, and required the use the Arms wherever the authority of the State of New South Wales, or of the Crown in Right of NSW, is being represented. The Royal Arms, henceforth to be known as the UK Royal Arms, are no longer to be used for this purpose, and since then there has been an ongoing program of replacing the UK Royal Arms with the State Arms in public buildings, places, seals and documents. The Act provides an exemption from such replacement when a representation of the UK Royal Arms (such as a stone carving of the facade of a courthouse) is considered by the Heritage Council of NSW to contribute to the cultural significance of a heritage listed building.
Read more about this topic: Coat Of Arms Of New South Wales
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