Significant progress towards the Voice referendum

24 March 2023

Dear subscriber,

This week the Australian Government has made significant progress towards holding the Voice referendum later this year.

The Australian people will have the opportunity to cast their vote on whether to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Read on below to find how we’re making progress towards the Voice.

Constitutional amendment and referendum question announced

On 23 March, the Prime Minister announced the proposed constitutional amendment and question to be put to the Australian people at a referendum later this year.

The amendment and question were agreed to by the First Nations Referendum Working Group and the Government, and will soon be introduced into Parliament through a Constitution Alteration Bill.

You can read more at the Voice website.

Voice principles released

The Prime Minister also released the design principles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The principles outline further information about the Voice, ahead of a parliamentary process to legislate the Voice if a Yes vote is successful at the referendum.

The principles were developed and agreed by the First Nations Referendum Working Group. You can read the principles for how the Voice will be designed at the Voice website.

Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 passed

On 23 March, the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 passed both houses of Parliament with unanimous support.

The Referendum Act has not been used since 1999 and is out of step with updates made to the Electoral Act, which governs how our Federal elections are conducted.

This Bill amends the Referendum Act to ensure a consistent voter experience across elections and referendums. You can read more about the Bill.

First Nations Referendum Working Group update

The Referendum Working Group has met on a number of occasions in March, and discussed the wording of the proposed amendments to the Constitution to include an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament and the wording of the question on the ballot paper.

The Referendum Working Group has now provided its advice to Government on the constitutional amendment and referendum question. You can read the advice at the Voice website. You can also read meeting communiques - 9 March 2023 or 16 March 2023

Constitution Alteration Bill

The Government will introduce the Constitution Alteration Bill to Parliament on Thursday 30 March 2023. The Bill will define the question Australians will be asked at the referendum and contain the proposed amendment to the Constitution.

This will be followed by a parliamentary inquiry which will provide Australians, including First Nations people, with the opportunity to make formal submissions on the proposed constitutional amendments and the question to be put to the Australian people. 

First Nations Referendum Engagement Group update

The fourth meeting of the Referendum Engagement Group was held in Adelaide on 17 March.

The Group heard from AFL Legend and 2014 Australian of the Year Adam Goodes about the importance of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in our Constitution, the opportunities a Voice might provide to young Indigenous Australians, and how best to ensure communities are supported throughout the Referendum campaign.

They also heard from the Hon Susan Close, Acting Premier of South Australia, the Hon Kyam Maher MLC, Attorney-General of South Australia and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Dale Agius, South Australia’s inaugural Commissioner for the First Nations Voice, on the progress of the South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament.

The Australian Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, also talked to the Group about the work the AEC is undertaking to increase electoral participation and improve awareness of the referendum process.

You can read the meeting communique.

Civics awareness program

The Government will deliver a neutral, fact-based civics awareness program in the coming months to raise awareness about the Constitution, referendum and the proposal for a Voice to Parliament.

The program will provide information, including in translation, so that all Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can make an informed decision at the upcoming referendum.

This information will be published on the Voice website.

Stay tuned for more.

Help us get the word out!

If you know someone who would also like to be updated on the Voice and referendum, please encourage them to sign up for email updates at https://voice.niaa.gov.au/