Referendum basics: how to enrol, how to vote

It's been a long time since we've had a referendum, so there are no dumb questions about how it works.

This year’s referendum will comprise of a single yes or no question about adding words into the Constitution about an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The referendum takes place Saturday 14 October.

The proposed law that Australians are being asked to approve at the referendum would insert the following lines into the Constitution:

“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:

i. there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;

ii. 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;

iii. 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.”

How do I enrol to vote? 

If you're eligible to vote or are an Australian citizen aged over 16, you can add your name to the electoral roll - everyone on the roll aged over 18 is eligible to vote.

Senior secondary teachers - showing your students how to enrol is a key learning moment, don’t miss it!

If you're enrolled for elections, you're also enrolled for referendums. However, it's important that your current address is accurate and up to date.

The simplest way to update your details is via the AEC website.

You’ll need identification documents such as a driver's licence, Australian passport number, Medicare card number, Australian citizenship number, or have someone who is enrolled confirm your identity.

You can also fill in physical forms which are available online or from an AEC office and return them to the AEC office.

Once you have successfully enrolled, you are placed on the electoral roll. 

More details at: Australian Electoral Commission

What is a referendum? 

A referendum is a national vote on a question about a proposed change to the Australian Constitution. The Constitution is a set of rules which governs Australia that can only be changed by holding a referendum. 

How do I complete a referendum ballot paper?

If you're voting in person or via post, you will receive a ballot paper with the proposed alteration to the Constitution on it, followed by a question asking if you approve the proposed alteration.

Unlike a federal or state election, where there are typically multiple candidates, on this polling day voters only need to write the word “yes” or “no” in a little box in response to a single question.

To vote, you will need to clearly write: 

YES in the box if you approve the proposed alteration, or 

NO in the box if you do not approve of the proposed alteration. 

The strong directive from the AEC is to write the word in full to make your view as clear as possible.

Where do I vote?

Polling stations will operate much as they do in federal elections: at 8000 places like local primary schools, community halls, and childcare centres.

You can vote early at a polling place if you meet certain criteria, for example if you wouldn’t be able to leave your workplace on polling day. Postal votes are also an option if you can’t get to a polling place on the day: applications for postal votes close at 6pm on the Wednesday before polling day. Apply online here.

All enrolled voters will be sent authorised pamphlets, as per referendum rules, outlining the No and Yes cases well ahead of time. These are already available on the AEC website here. 

Aged care facilities will also see an increase provision of mobile polling services, something that wasn’t possible on a large scale during the last federal election due to COVID restrictions. Residential mental health facilities will also have this service offered to them for the first time.

Telephone voting will be available for voters who are blind or have low vision, as well as for those stationed in Antarctica.

How does the referendum work?

To succeed, a Yes case must achieve a majority of voters nationally (including territories) and a majority of voters in a majority of states (but not including territories).

If there is no national majority, the referendum fails.

If three states say no, the referendum fails.

If the national Yes vote is above 50 per cent and four states say yes, it passes, and there will be a Voice to Parliament.

It’s hard getting a Yes vote

It is very difficult to get a Yes vote in an Australian referendum. In Australia’s history, only eight out of 44 national proposals to change the Constitution have succeeded. The makers of the constitution wanted to make it as difficult as possible to amend the Constitution, fearing that smaller states might be disadvantaged if it was too easy.

“For people who are just not interested and don’t care, the default choice is always no,” says Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Sydney. Yes campaigners must motivate enough people to learn a little about the proposal, and to resist doubt and confusion sown by malcontents.

Australia’s “birth certificate”

Former Olympian Nova Peris, whose mother grew up on an Aboriginal mission, says the constitution was Australia’s birth certificate but it “doesn’t have the first born on it”.

“You don’t lose your history when you acknowledge us, you gain 65,000 years, you have nothing to lose, and you have everything to gain. Just put us on the birth certificate...and when laws affect us, let us be this consumer watchdog.”