Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's suggestion of conducting a postal survey in deciding how best to become an Australian republic has been jumped on by the country's republican movement.
Mr Turnbull on Monday suggested a postal survey or plebiscite as the best avenues for assessing public opinion on the issue.
"I think the first thing you'd need to do is to have an honest open discussion about how a president would be elected," he told reporters.
"You've got to have that discussion and it may be a plebiscite.
"Maybe even a postal survey, given the success of the marriage postal survey, could be one way to deal with that."
The prime minister's comments were welcomed by the Australian Republic Movement, who are urging Mr Turnbull to hold a national vote on the issue during the next parliament.
"The leaders on both sides of politics clearly want this to happen. Now it's not a question of if, but how," ARM Chair Peter FitzSimons said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister Mr Turnbull should now commit to a national vote on an Australian republic during the next parliament."
However, Mr Turnbull said he believed the next genuine opportunity to move towards an Australian republic would be after the Queen's reign was over.
"There is no point pretending that there is an appetite for change when there isn't one at the moment," he said.
