The 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum was a constitutional referendum held on 14 October 2023 in which the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was rejected. Voters were asked to approve an alteration to the Australian Constitution that would recognise Indigenous Australians in the document through prescribing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice that would have been able to make representations to Federal Parliament and the executive government on "matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples".
The proposal was rejected nationally and by a majority in every state, thus failing to secure the double majority required for amendment by section 128 of the constitution. The Australian Capital Territory was the only state or territory with a majority of "yes" votes. Analysis of surveys following the referendum identified the main reasons why the majority of Australians voted no was a scepticism of granting rights to some Australians that are not held by others and an aversion to constitutional change.
Background
On 21 May 2022, the Australian Labor Party won the federal election, with party leader Anthony Albanese becoming Prime Minister. During his victory speech, Albanese committed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
Parliamentary process
The Albanese government settled on the text of the question on the ballot and the actual amendment and announced them on 23 March 2023. These were formally approved by parliament through the passage of the amendment bill, Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 (Cth). The bill was examined and endorsed by the Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum, subject to two dissenting reports authored by Liberal and National party members respectively.
The Liberal Party of Australia report put forward several changes, including the deletion of sub-section 128(ii) (to reduce a risk that representations from the body must be considered), a new section 77(iv) (to allow the parliament to control the applicability of judicial review under section 75(v) of the Constitution), the addition of the words "and the legal effect of its representations" to sub-section 128(iii) (to clarify the power Parliament has to legislate regarding the Voice), and the replacement of the words "executive government" to "ministers of state" (to reduce the possible ambit of people to whom the Voice may make representations). The Nationals' report, on the other hand, rejected the proposed bill entirely.
Following the passage of the bill, the referendum date was announced by the Prime Minister on 30 August 2023. The referendum was officially triggered on 11 September 2023 with the issuing of a writ by the governor-general to the Australian Electoral Commission.
Question
Referendum ballot papers asked voters:
A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
Proposed changes to the Constitution
The proposed amendment to the Constitution was the insertion of the following chapter:
Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:
- There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
- The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
Voting and referendum mechanisms
Double majority
For any amendment of the Constitution to proceed, it must receive a double majority of votes: that is, a majority in each of a majority of the states (i.e. at least four of the six states), as well as a majority overall (i.e. including votes in the territories).
Voters
Voting in the referendum was mandatory for all eligible Australian citizens (and some British subjects). A total of 17,676,347 voters were registered on the electoral roll, and therefore required to either vote in person, by post or by phone. This was 2.6% larger than the electoral roll of the 2022 election.
Cost
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) estimated the cost of the referendum would be about $450 million, where the federal government had supplied $364 million in the most recent budget to deliver the referendum. Funding for the referendum was provided to the AEC and National Indigenous Australians Agency in the October 2022 Australian federal budget, with a total distribution of $75.2 million (excluding Contingency Reserves) over two years (FY2022–24).
- $52.6 million for the Australian Electoral Commission to prepare for and deliver the referendum
- $16.1 million for the Australian Electoral Commission to increase the percentage of eligible First Nations people enrolled to vote
- $6.5 million for the National Indigenous Australians Agency to support preparations for the referendum, including the relevant governance structures
There is an additional $160 million of the federal Contingency Reserve available to deliver the referendum. In May 2023 the government announced a total of $10.5 million in the 2023 budget to improve mental health services for Indigenous people in the lead-up to the referendum.
The final cost of the referendum was confirmed to be $411,269,848.
Official pamphlet
The government originally attempted to remove the requirement for an official yes/no pamphlet along with other proposed changes to the referendum process in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 (Cth), arguing that a physical pamphlet was outdated and that information could instead be distributed online or via television. Instead, the government proposed funding an education campaign to inform Australians about the referendum and to "counter misinformation". However, the pamphlet was ultimately retained in order to secure bipartisan support for the bill. Following this, parliamentarians of both houses who had voted for and against the constitutional amendment bill drafted, for inclusion in the pamphlet, 2,000-word essays detailing their Yes and No cases, with the text of each essay approved by a majority respectively of the Yes and No supporters. This approach was criticised by organisations such as The Greens, who wanted these statements to be independently fact-checked, as there was no legal requirement for the pamphlets to be truthful. After the pamphlets were released, several media organisations analysed the claims in both essays, with many characterising some in the No case as "false" or "misleading". No campaigners disputed this, however, arguing that fact checkers were labelling as "false" claims that remained subject to debate.
The yes/no pamphlet was published on the AEC website on 18 July 2023 and on 11 August 2023 it began to be posted to households.
Key dates
Key dates in relation to the voting process for the referendum were:
- 11 September – Writ issued
- 11 September – Applications for postal voting opens
- 18 September (8pm) – Close of electoral roll (17,676,347 people were enrolled at the close of the roll)
- 25 September – Remote voting commences
- 2 October – Early voting centres open in Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia
- 3 October – Early voting centres open in Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
- 11 October (6pm) – Applications for postal voting closes
- 14 October – Referendum day
- 27 October – Last day for receipt of postal votes
- 6 November – Writ returned
Proposed design of the Voice
On 23 March 2023 the Australian Cabinet endorsed a set of design principles that would be used in the design of the Voice in the event the referendum is successful, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stating that these principles would "underpin the shape and function of the Voice". Additionally he stated that if the referendum is successful, another process would be established to work on the final design, with a subsequent government produced information pamphlet stating that this process would involve Indigenous Australian communities, the Parliament and the broader community, with any legislation going through normal parliamentary scrutiny procedures.
These principles stated that the Voice would be "proactive" and "independent" when giving advice to both Parliament and the government, Voice members would be chosen according to "the wishes of local communities" and "representative" being gender balanced and including remote and youth representatives. Additionally, the Voice would be "community-led, inclusive, respectful and culturally informed". Also, the Voice would be subject to standard transparency measures, would exist in addition to current organisations, would not deliver programs nor have a "veto power".
Positions
Political parties
The following tables summarise the positions of registered political parties at the federal level. Disagreement between federal party rooms and state-level party branches within the Liberal–National Coalition is discussed below.
Different stances within the Coalition
Nationals leader David Littleproud announced on 28 November 2022 that his party would not support the Voice, with Senator for the Northern Territory Jacinta Price speaking out strongly against it. The decision led to Andrew Gee leaving the party to sit as an independent. The Nationals oppose the Voice on a federal level and in two states (South Australia and Victoria), although the party supports it in New South Wales, and Western Australia.
Federally, the Liberal Party opposed the Voice, with leader Peter Dutton repeatedly asking for more information before they could make a decision, before deciding on 5 April 2023 to reject the Voice. The Liberals offered an alternative proposal and do support the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. Only backbenchers have been allowed a conscience vote on the issue, while members of the Coalition Shadow Ministry are obliged to oppose the Voice. Despite the Liberal Party's federal position, the party is supportive of the Voice in New South Wales and Tasmania. The Western Australian branch was initially supportive, but changed their position in August 2023. On 3 September, Dutton committed to hold a second referendum on Indigenous recognition if the Voice referendum failed, while also expressing support for his party's election proposal for a series of legislated local bodies (without a national one).
Former Liberal MP, and Indigenous Australians Minister, Ken Wyatt, quit the Liberal Party on 6 April 2023, in response to the Federal Liberal Party's opposition to the Voice. Later, Julian Leeser (the member for Berowra) resigned from the Shadow Cabinet to support the Voice and campaign for an improved wording, although he did not quit the party and still remains in Parliament as a Liberal backbencher.
Since the resignation of Dominic Perrottet (a supporter of the Voice) as leader of the NSW Liberal Party after he led the party to defeat at the 2023 state election, most of the support for the Voice from Liberal members has come from Tasmania or from backbenchers, despite state branches refusing to bind their party or frontbenches by a stance (despite the federal Coalition binding its shadow ministers to oppose the Voice). Of other state Liberal leaders, New South Wales leader Mark Speakman supports the Voice, while Western Australian leader Libby Mettam initially supported the Voice, but then began opposing it due to the state's controversial Aboriginal heritage laws. The Liberals for Yes campaign was launched in 2023 as an attempt to attract support for the Voice from centre-right, liberal conservative individuals.
Similar to New South Wales, the Victorian Liberal Party allowed its members a conscience vote on the issue. The Victorian branch did not declare its stance on the Voice. However, party leader John Pesutto confirmed his personal stance and other members have voiced their personal opinions (see below).
Newspaper endorsements
Legal opinion in Australia was divided over the suitability of the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment.