The Flags Amendment Act was passed after the 1996 Australian federal election, during a period where the republican movement was influential, and both the government and opposition parties were committed to bringing the issue to a head as a matter of policy. The Flags Amendment Act 1998 added to section 3 of the Flags Act and provided that the present Australian National Flag could only be replaced if a majority of State and Territory electors qualified to vote for the House of Representatives agree. It was promoted by its supporters as "ensuring a degree of protection for" and "the first substantive parliamentary steps towards defining a process for the change of" the Australian National Flag.