 Aside from this immediate effect , the case represented a clear recognition that the Australia Act 1986 finally and completely ended all legal ties between the United Kingdom and Australia , and that Australia has been a fully independent and sovereign nation in its own right since at least 3 March 1986 , when the Act came into force . Some commentators have criticised the evolutionary approach adopted by the court , and the court 's resultant failure to find a certain date on which Australia became independent , arguing that the distinction is more than merely symbolic and could have real consequences . However , even Justice Callinan , who questioned the evolutionary approach in this case , affirmed in a later case ( Attorney @-@ General Western Australia v Marquet ) that the effect of the Australia Act in finally recognising independence could not be doubted . 
