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Part 3

The Australian Constitution

The rulebook of government — and how a referendum changes it.

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The yarn

  • The Australian Constitution is a legal document that sets out the basic rules for the government of Australia. It is the supreme law by which the government must abide.
  • Its full name is the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. It was originally passed as part of a British Act of Parliament in 1900, and came into effect on 1 January 1901.
  • The Constitution established the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia (a House of Representatives and a Senate) and the High Court of Australia.
  • It can only be changed by a referendum — a vote by all voters on a proposed change to the Constitution.
  • A referendum needs a 'double majority' to succeed: a majority of voters in a majority of states, AND a majority of voters across the nation.
  • In the 1967 Referendum, more than 90 per cent of Australians voted 'Yes' to allow Aboriginal peoples to be counted in the Census.