In 1930 , shortly before the Statute was enacted , the Labor Prime Minister James Scullin recommended Sir Isaac Isaacs ( then the Chief Justice of Australia ) as the Governor-General of Australia , to replace Lord Stonehaven . This was a departure from previous practice whereby the British monarch , acting on the advice of the British prime minister , would offer the Australian prime minister a number of choices for the position . However , the Australian prime minister , acting in line with the principles of the Balfour Declaration permitting Dominion governments to look after their own affairs , insisted on the appointment of Isaacs . Although King George V disapproved of Isaacs , the 1930 Imperial Conference upheld the procedure under the declaration , and so the King appointed Isaacs . The other Dominions supported this demonstration of political independence
1930 Imperial Conference
1930 Imperial Conference
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942