The 29-year-old captained the Australian team to victory at Glasgow 2014, having been forced to settle for silver four years earlier in Delhi.

Geitz, a World Championship gold medallist in 2011 and 2015, is the fifth high profile athlete to be named as an ambassador for the Games.

She joins hurdles champion Sally Pearson, swimming star Cameron McEvoy, cycling legend Anna Meares and wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley.

The group will assist the Gold Coast 2018 with promotion of the Games, scheduled to be held between April 4 and 15 in 2018.

"To be involved in Gold Coast 2018 as an ambassador and to help tell the world about how amazing the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia is will be exciting, I can’t wait to welcome the Commonwealth’s best athletes to my home state in April 2018," said Geitz, who was presented with a commemorative surfboard to mark becoming an ambassador.

"It was an amazing feeling winning gold at Glasgow 2014, but to have a home Commonwealth Games in Queensland will be truly special, with friends and family in the stands cheering us on.

"The Commonwealth Games is the pinnacle for Australian netballers and the prospect of winning back-to-back gold medals is very exciting.

"This is a new chapter in my life, as I prepare to welcome my first child into the world, and the next 16 months in the lead up to Gold Coast 2018 will be a whirlwind of excitement."

Geitz’s unveiling came at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where the netball star joined Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Commonwealth Games Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters and Merrilyn Krohn, winner of the mascot design competition, were also present.

The event was held to mark the plush toy versions of the koala mascot Borobi being placed on sale, with Geitz handing out toys to children at the hospital.

 "I’m excited to announce Laura as a Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Official Ambassador, she is a proud Queenslander and the ideal person to promote the Games to Australia and the world," said Palaszczuk.

"Laura is a wonderful role model for young women and her sporting feats as a member of the Australian netball team have made her a household name."