Referenda questions
The Australian Constitution can only be amended by referendum. For a referendum to succeed it must achieve a double majority:
- an overall majority of votes in favour; and
- a majority of voters in favour in a majority of States (ie. four States).
Australia has a poor record on Constitutional change. A total of 44 questions have been put since Federation. Only eight have achieved the required double majority (18.2%). A further five managed to achieve one majority but not the other. In considering this failure rate, it should be noted that a number of proposals have been rejected more than once.
| No. | Subject/Proposal | Referendum date | States with majority in favour | Percent of voters in favour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Senate Elections: Enable elections for both Houses
of Parliament to be held concurrently |
12 Dec 1906 | All | 82.7% |
| 2. | Finance: Allow the Commonwealth to make a fixed payment out of surplus revenue to States according to population | 13 Apr 1910 | Qld, WA, Tas | 49.0% |
| 3. | State Debts: Give the Commonwealth unrestricted power to take over State debts | 13 Apr 1910 | All except NSW | 54.9% |
| 4. | Legislative Powers: extend the Commonwealth’s power over trade, commerce, the control of corporations, labour and employment, including wages and conditions; and the settling of disputes; and combinations and monopolies. | 26 Apr 1911 | WA | 39.4% |
| 5. | Monopolies: Give power to the Commonwealth to nationalise monopolies. | 26 Apr 1911 | WA | 39.9% |
| On 31 May 1913, the two proposals rejected in 1911 were put to the electorate again as separate questions with a sixth proposal on railway disputes. | ||||
| 6. | Trade and commerce | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.4% |
| 7. | Corporations | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.3% |
| 8. | Industrial matters | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.3% |
| 9. | Trusts | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.8% |
| 10. | Nationalisation of monopolies | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.3% |
| 11. | Railway disputes: Give the Commonwealth jurisdiction over industrial relations in State railway services | 31 May 1913 | Qld, WA, SA | 49.1% |
| 12. | Legislative powers: Temporary extension of Commonwealth legislative powers over trade and commerce, corporations, industrial matters and trusts and in regard to the nationalisation of monopolies. | 13 Dec 1919 | Vic, Qld, WA | 49.7% |
| 13. | Nationalisation of monopolies: (as above). | 13 Dec 1919 | Vic, Qld, WA | 48.6% |
| 14. | Industry and commerce: to authorise the creation of authorities to control the terms and conditions of industrial employment, to give state authorities similar powers to Commonwealth authorities, and to regulate and control trusts and combinations. | 4 Sep 1926 | NSW, Qld | 43.5% |
| 15. | Essential services: Allow the Commonwealth to take measures to protect the public against interruption of essential services. | 4 Sep 1926 | NSW, Qld | 42.8% |
| 16. | State Debts: End the system of per capita payments which had been made to States since 1910, and to restrict the right of each State to borrow money for its own development by subjecting borrowing to control by a Loan Council. | 17 Nov 1928 | All | 74.3% |
| 17. | Aviation: Give the Commonwealth power to legislate on air navigation and aircraft. | 6 Mar 1937 | Vic, Qld | 53.6% |
| 18. | Marketing: Give the Commonwealth power to legislate on marketing. | 6 Mar 1937 | None | 36.3% |
| 19. | Post-war reconstruction: Give the Commonwealth power for five years to legislate on 14 matters including: rehabilitation of ex-servicemen; national health; family allowances; and
‘the people of the Aboriginal race’. |
19 Aug 1944 | WA, SA | 46.0% |
| 20. | Social services: Give the Commonwealth power to legislate on a wide range of social services. | 28 Sep 1946 | All | 54.4% |
| 21. | Marketing primary products: Allow the Commonwealth to make laws for the organised marketing of primary products. | 28 Sep 1946 | NSW, Vic, WA | 50.6% |
| 22. | Industrial employment: Give the Commonwealth the power to legislate on terms and conditions of industrial employment. | 28 Sep 1946 | NSW, Vic, WA | 50.3% |
| 23. | Rents and prices: Give the Commonwealth the power to control rents and prices. | 29 May 1948 | None | 40.7% |
| 24. | Communism: Give the Commonwealth the power to legislate in respect of
communism and communists. |
22 Sep 1951 | Qld, WA, Tas | 49.4% |
| 25. | Parliamentary nexus: Ability to increase the number of members in the House of Representatives without necessarily increasing the number of Senators. | 27 May 1967 | NSW | 40.3% |
| 26. | Aborigines: Enable the Parliament to enact special laws for Aborigines. | 27 May 1967 | All | 90.8% |
| 27. | Prices: Give the Commonwealth power to control prices. | 8 Dec 1973 | None | 43.8% |
| 28. | Incomes: Give the Commonwealth power to legislate on incomes. | 8 Dec 1973 | None | 34.4% |
| 29. | Simultaneous elections: Hold elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives on the same day. | 18 May 1974 | NSW | 48.3% |
| 30. | Constitutional change: Extend referendum vote to the two territories; and enable constitutional change where there are a majority of voters overall in favour and a majority of voters
in half the states. |
18 May 1974 | NSW | 48.0% |
| 31. | Democratic elections: Average size of electorates to be based on population rather than electors. | 18 May 1974 | NSW | 46.9% |
| 32. | Local governments: Give the Commonwealth power to borrow money for and make payments directly to local governments. | 18 May 1974 | NSW | 46.9% |
| 33. | Simultaneous elections: Ensure Senate elections are held on the same day as House of Representative Elections. | 21 May 1977 | NSW, Vic, SA | 62.2% |
| 34. | Senate casual vacancies: Ensure that Senate casual vacancies are filled with someone from the same political party, with the person holding the seat for the balance of the term. | 21 May 1977 | All | 73.3% |
| 35. | Referenda: Allow electors in territories to vote at referenda. | 21 May 1977 | All | 77.7% |
| 36. | Retirement of judges: Provide for the retirement age of judges in Federal courts. | 21 May 1977 | All | 80.1% |
| 37. | Terms of Senators: Change from fixed terms for Senators, and require elections for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives to be on the same day. | 1 Dec 1984 | NSW, Vic | 50.6% |
| 38. | Interchange of powers: Enable the Commonwealth and States to voluntary change powers with each other. | 1 Dec 1984 | None | 43.9% |
| 39. | Parliamentary terms: Four year maximum terms for both Houses of Parliament. | 3 Sep 1988 | None | 32.8% |
| 40. | Fair elections: Provide fair and democratic elections throughout Australia. | 3 Sep 1988 | None (ACT) | 37.4% |
| 41. | Local government: Recognise local government in the constitution. | 3 Sep 1988 | None | 33.5% |
| 42. | Rights and freedoms: Extend the right to trial by jury, to extend freedom of religion, and to ensure just terms for persons whose property is acquired by any government. | 3 Sep 1988 | None | 30.6% |
| 43. | Establish an Australian Republic - replacing the Queen and the Governor-General with a President. | 6 Nov 1999 | None (ACT) | 45.1% |
| 44. | Insert a new preamble. | 6 Nov 1999 | None | 39.3% |
Want to find out more?
- The Australian Parliamentary Library’s reseach paper on the history of Constitutional Referenda in Australia
Source: Dean Jaensch, The Politics of Australia, second edition, MacMillan : South Melbourne, 1997, pp54-56.