WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Changing to decimalised dollars from pounds occurred without the consent of the Australian people and was unlawful.
OUR VERDICT
False. The constitution empowers the Commonwealth to legislate over currency and decimalisation was an election pledge in 1958.
AAP FACTCHECK - Australia's shift from pounds and shillings to a decimalised dollar system in the 1960s was not unlawful, despite a claim made in a widely shared social media video.
The constitution explicitly empowers the Commonwealth to legislate over currency, while Prime Minister Robert Menzies promised a decimal dollar at the 1958 election.
The false claim was made in a Facebook video featuring a man discussing government decisions over the past century that he alleges were unlawful.
One of the decisions he highlights was the shift to an Australian dollar from pounds in the 1960s, which he claims occurred without the consent of the Australian people (timestamp 3 minutes 50 seconds).
"They decided to change our currency from pounds, shillings and pence, which is in our constitution, to dollars and cents, without our consent," the man claims.
"That's unlawful."
The video also claims that Australia's move from an imperial to a metric measurement system was unlawful.
The man is correct in that currency is mentioned in the constitution.
Section 51 (p16) of the Australian Constitution outlines areas the Commonwealth has legislative power over, explicitly listing "currency, coinage, and legal tender" as one such area.
It also gives the Commonwealth legislative power over "weights and measures".
Australia officially switched to a decimalised dollar from pounds and shillings in 1966 after Prime Minister Robert Menzies accepted it in principle during the 1958 election campaign.
The subsequent Menzies government set up a committee to consider the change and make a plan. After being re-elected, the Menzies government introduced legislation (p1) for a dollar in 1963.
The bill passed through parliament and later received Royal Assent in October 1963 (p1), although the new currency wasn't actually introduced until February 1966.
Legislation officially moving Australia to the metric system of measurement was passed by parliament and received Royal Assent in 1970.
Metric measurements were subsequently phased in through the decade.
Harry Hobbs, an expert in pseudo law at the University of Technology Sydney, said claims about the change to the dollar have been made before.
He told AAP FactCheck that Commonwealth currency legislation is indeed lawful, pointing to section 51(xii) of the Australian Constitution, which empowers the federal parliament with the authority to make laws on "currency, coinage, and legal tender".
"The changing of Australia's currency from the pound to the dollar was done by passage of legislation in Parliament in the ordinary manner," he said.
"It was not unlawful or without our consent."
Under the constitution, the federal parliament is responsible for introducing, voting on and passing legislation. Voters elect members of parliament and senators to do this.
A constitutional overview authored by the Australian government solicitor explains (page v) that the constitution outlines the principle of representative government as "government by representatives of the people who are chosen by the people".
Parliament can introduce new laws or change existing laws as outlined by the constitution, but cannot itself change the constitution, which requires a referendum.
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