Pauline Hanson has written to the National Disability Insurance Agency seeking an explanation over the apparent removal of the Australian flag and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms from official employee email signatures.
In a letter dated 30 January, the One Nation senator said she had been alerted to changes in NDIA email footers that no longer display national symbols, while retaining the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
The NDIA is the government agency responsible for delivering the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
In her correspondence to NDIA chief executive Graeme Head AO, Senator Hanson described the move as a matter of “considerable concern” for many Australians, arguing that the agency had removed important national symbols from official communications.
She said the Australian flag and coat of arms represent “not only the Australian nation but every Australian citizen” and should be displayed prominently to foster national unity and identity.
Senator Hanson has asked the NDIA to confirm whether the national flag and coat of arms have been removed from official agency communications, to outline the agency’s position on displaying national symbols, and to detail any internal policy or ministerial direction that may have led to the change.
She also called on the agency to reassure Australians of its commitment to ensuring that official national symbols appear in government communications.
Posting on social media, Senator Hanson said she had sought a “please explain” from the NDIA and warned she would pursue the matter further if a response were not received.
“If I don’t receive a response over the next week, I’ll seek to get answers from them at Senate Estimates,” she wrote.
Email signatures circulated alongside her post show NDIA branding accompanied by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and an Acknowledgement of Country, without the Australian national flag or Commonwealth crest.
The NDIA has not publicly commented on the matter at the time of publication.
The issue comes amid ongoing political debate over the use of national symbols and cultural acknowledgements within government agencies, particularly those funded by taxpayers.
Senate Estimates hearings allow parliamentarians to question public service agencies directly on policy decisions, expenditure and administrative practices.
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