THEY have honoured and celebrated her for more than half a century but the Girl Guides have voted to cut ties with God and the Queen.

Promising to serve God and the Queen and pledging obedience have been ruled old-fashioned and out of step with modern Australian life by junior and senior Guides.

Australia's 28,000 Guides will instead vow to serve their community and country and "live with courage and strength".

The change to the Guiding Promise and Guide Law begins in units across Australia from today.

Girl Guides South Australia state commissioner Michelle Stone said she supported the changes.

"It is wonderful that our values and principles have been reworded in a modern way," she said. "It further enhances our diversity, awareness of the local, national and global communities and the relevance of our leadership program for next 100 years of Guiding in South Australia."

Girl Guides NSW/ACT state commissioner Belinda Allen said it was up to members to decide if the Queen's photograph was removed from Guide halls. "Whether they take down pictures of the Queen or keep them in the halls is totally up to the girls in the unit," she said.

Around one million Australian women have been part of the Guiding movement since it began in 1910.

The review of the wording was a two-year process that involved a survey of all members. The last review was held in the 1960s.

"The Queen is much loved by many Guides, as she is by much of the population, and we all absolutely admire her in her jubilee year, but our community comes from many different backgrounds," Ms Allen said.

"She is not part of the (Australian) citizenship pledge and being responsible to one's community is one of the essences of Guiding. We very much espouse that rather than the Queen."

Scouts Australia made its pledge of duty to the Queen optional in 2001 but retained God in its Promise.

Ms Allen said the girls voted to retain their sashes with badges - "the younger girls ... liked their sash" - but God, the Queen and obedience were sticking points.

"Obedience was universally seen as not appropriate for women in 2012," she said. "The underlying values haven't changed but how it is expressed has changed.

"We felt it was an appropriate time as we moved into the second century of Guiding to be relevant and up to date. Our wording did not reflect the inclusiveness of Guiding."

Guiding, which encourages leadership, team work, adventure and community service, has already undergone radical changes. The ranks of Brownies and Rangers have been slashed and old-style uniforms swapped for tracksuits, jeans and shirts.

Not all Guiding traditions are changing - the three-fingered salute, devised by Scouting founder General Robert Baden-Powell, remains.

The Queen's representative in Australia, Governor-General Quentin Bryce, declined to be drawn into the issue. A spokeswoman said: "That is a matter for the Girl Guides".