Australia vs New Zealand

Both flags use a British blue ensign base with the Southern Cross constellation. Australia displays five white, seven-pointed stars plus a large Commonwealth Star below the canton. New Zealand displays four red, five-pointed stars with white borders.

Play Similarities Ten lookalike rounds.

Australia

New Zealand

Australia versus New Zealand
Spec	Australia	New Zealand
Proportions	1:2	1:2
Adopted	1908	1902
Colors	Navy Blue #00008B White #FFFFFF Red #FF0000	Navy Blue #00008B White #FFFFFF Red #CC142B
Look for	Large seven-pointed Commonwealth Star (Federation Star) below Union Jack Five stars in Southern Cross (four 7-pointed, one small 5-pointed) All stars are pure white	No star underneath the Union Jack Only four stars in the Southern Cross constellation Stars are red with a crisp white perimeter border

Which flag is Australia?

Neighboring Ensigns Born Under the Southern Cross

Both nations developed their flags from British maritime defaced blue ensigns during the expansion of the British Empire in the South Pacific. New Zealand acted first, adopting its current Southern Cross flag in 1902 after First Lord of the Admiralty recommendations for colonial vessels.

Australia held a public design competition in 1901 following the federation of its six colonies. Over 32,000 entries were submitted, and five nearly identical designs shared first prize. King Edward VII approved a simplified design in 1903 with a six-point Commonwealth Star. The seventh point (territories) was added in 1908 — the current flag.

Because New Zealand adopted its design a year before Australia, New Zealand politicians occasionally call out Australia for 'copying' their flag. In 2018, New Zealand Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters publicly called on Australia to change its design to stop international confusion.

Telling them apart

The Southern Cross (Crux) constellation appears on flags across the Southern Hemisphere, including Brazil, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea.
Australia includes the tiny fifth star, Epsilon Crucis, which has only five points because it is fainter in the night sky.
New Zealand omits Epsilon Crucis entirely, focusing on the four primary navigational stars.

Questions

Why did New Zealand not change its flag in the 2016 referendum?

In March 2016, New Zealand held a nationwide binding referendum. The public voted 56.6% to 43.2% to retain the existing flag over the proposed silver fern design.

What does the large star under Australia's Union Jack represent?

It is the Commonwealth Star. Six of its seven points represent the original six federating states, while the seventh point represents Australia's territories.