While it is the government that decides to establish a royal commission into a particular matter, royal commissions are formally commenced by the King’s representative, the Governor (on a state level) or the Governor-General (on a federal level). A royal commission is commenced by the Governor or Governor-General issuing Letters Patent, a formal document that sets out the terms of reference and appoints one or more royal commissioners to conduct the inquiry. In the context of Australia’s constitutional monarchy, this practice reflects that historically the power to establish a royal commission was a prerogative power of the Crown.