There has been a lot of talk about an upcoming referendum.
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It's one of the first announcements Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made after his election in May, 2022. Since then, it's been a consistent talking point.
Most recently, Mr Albanese was joined at a press conference by NBA star Shaquille O'Neal to tout the probability of the coming referendum.
But Australians have not had a referendum since 1999. That was 23 years ago, and a whole generation of voters wasn't even born by then! So how does a referendum work?
What is a referendum?
The Australian Electoral Commission defines it as a national vote on a potential change to the constitution.
The federal parliament will set a question which will then be distributed to the Australian public to vote yes or no.
While speaking at a Top End gathering of Indigenous people groups in July, 2022, the Prime Minister gave the Australian people a draft question for the referendum.
"We should consider asking our fellow Australians something as simple but something as clear as this: Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice," he said at the Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land on July 31.
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What's the difference between a plebiscite and a referendum?
Cast your mind back to September 2017, do you remember the same sex marriage postal vote? That was a plebiscite. So what made it different?
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, a referendum is binding while a plebiscite is advisory. The government does not have to act on the decision determined by a plebiscite in the same way that it must in a referendum.
Also, very importantly, plebiscites do not deal with matters of the constitution. So if something in the constitution is proposed to change, it must be done via a referendum.
A plebiscite is not compulsory either. In 2017, you didn't have to respond to the marriage postal survey (but you were strongly encourage to!)
The double majority vote
Unlike an election, a referendum requires a double majority to be successful.
This means there must be a majority of yes votes according to two separate criteria.
Firstly, the overall population of Australians must vote yes in the majority. Secondly, at least four of the six states must vote yes in the majority majority too.
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Voters in the ACT and Northern Territory count toward national tally, but they do not count toward the state tally, because the way the territories are governed differs.
The double majority requirement makes it difficult for referenda to be successful.
Of the 44 referendums Australia has had since Federation in 1901, only eight have actually been successful.
One of the successful referendums, and perhaps the best known Australian referendum, took place in 1967.
It sought to remove a section of the constitution that barred Indigenous Australians from being included in the population count.
When was the last referendum?
The last time Australians voted in a referendum was in 1999.
Then Prime Minister John Howard set that one in motion, and it was to determine whether Australians wanted to become a republic.
That one was defeated by the 54.87 per cent of voters who voted no.
What will the upcoming referendum be about?
The upcoming referendum will decide whether Indigenous Australians will be given a constitutional voice to parliament.
If successful, an advisory group of Indigenous Australians will be set up to act outside the parliament for the purpose of consultation on legislative matters directly impacting the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
When will the referendum be called?
That's still unknown.
Next year will be the 56th anniversary of the historic 1967 referendum, and so there has been some early speculation that the upcoming referendum may be held on May 27, 2023.
But that is looking unlikely following Mr Albanese's admission that it will not be held in the first half of 2023.
We do know, at least, that the Prime Minister will be pushing for the referendum to be held within his first term.
While speaking at the Garma Festival at the end of July, the Prime Minister announced his commitment to seeing "a successful referendum in this term of parliament".
But ultimately, a date is yet to be set.