Establish a Constitutional reform body to guide and rewrite the Australian Constitution so it is fit for purpose. Despite many inquiries and reports, government attempts at reform have been ad hoc and lacking in strategy, consistency and engagement with the people.
Transparency & AccountabilityReforming the Constitution
Transparency & Accountability · Reforming the ConstitutionOur Constitution never mentions the Prime Minister. Or your vote.
The founding document does not refer to a head of state, cabinet, prime minister, political parties, oppositions or local government, and it never mentions universal suffrage, compulsory voting or citizenship rights. Only 8 of the 44 referendum proposals have been carried since 1901, and Australians have not agreed to a change in more than three decades. Our plan is a Constitutional reform body to guide the rewrite, carrying nine commitments — among them a republic, an express right to vote, recognition of First Nations peoples and a bill of rights.
8/44 Referendum proposals carried since 1901 Eight successes in 44 attempts put to the Australian people since federation.
30+ years Since Australians last agreed to a change The most recent attempt — a Voice to Parliament, October 2023 — was politicised and divisive.
9 Commitments in the rewrite Each one written into our plan for the reform body to carry into a Constitution that is fit for purpose.
5 Disqualifications in Section 44 Including 44(i), which disqualifies dual citizens — even people who had no knowledge of holding another citizenship.
Is it actually in the Constitution?
The Prime Minister. Cabinet. Political parties. Your right to vote. Most people assume the founding document covers them. Take the quiz and see how the 1901 text actually reads.
No score kept, no judgement passed. Every answer traces back to the policy above — and to a document that never refers to a head of state, universal suffrage or compulsory voting.
The case in three beats
- The set-up
The rulebook is 1901's, and it has not kept up.
The Constitution is silent on democratic rights, on basic human rights and on the rights of First Nations peoples, and it holds race powers. Many of its sections are redundant, transitional or flawed. In many other countries constitutions are reviewed and amended as needed; ours is stuck, both in language and in meeting the needs of a modern nation.
- The cost
Reform has stalled, and the overlaps keep costing us.
Referenda put forward by the government of the day are now unlikely to be won, so reform stalls and the same problems stay in place. The Constitution still lacks jurisdictional clarity on matters such as heads of power and taxation, and the many crossovers in Commonwealth and State responsibilities — health, education, mining, energy supply and infrastructure — remain costly and inefficient.
- The fix
A reform body first, then a rewrite that holds.
Establish a Constitutional reform body to guide and rewrite the Constitution with strategy, consistency and real engagement with the people. Nine commitments go into it: a republic with an Australian head of state; an expressed right to vote; recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Nations peoples; separation of powers; a bill of rights; jurisdictional issues solved across parliaments and local government; a modified Section 44; fixed terms of office; and voluntary voting for 16- and 17-year-olds.
The plan at a glance
A republic with an Australian head of state. Australia is still a constitutional monarchy: our head of state is King Charles, and the King may annul any law for a year after the Governor-General's assent.
A clear and expressed right to vote in elections, plus a bill of rights protecting freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression, assembly, association and movement.
Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Nations peoples — in a document that holds race powers and is silent on their rights.
Clear separation of powers and roles for the executive and judiciary, jurisdictional issues solved across parliaments and local government, fixed terms of office, a modified Section 44, and voluntary voting for 16- and 17-year-olds.
The text we have, the text we need
Each gap below is named in the policy. Paired with it is one of the nine commitments our reform body would carry into the rewrite.
The 1901 text, today
- Lacks jurisdictional clarity on heads of power and taxation, never mentions local government, and leaves Commonwealth and State responsibilities crossing over at cost
- Terms of office are not fixed
- Never mentions the cabinet or the prime minister, and leaves the Governor-General's reserve powers to what is generally agreed
The rewrite we propose
- Solving jurisdictional issues across parliaments and local government — heads of power, roles, responsibilities and funding matters
- Fixing government terms of officeToday the Constitution sets only a maximum: a House of Representatives runs for up to three years, and the timing of the election inside that window is the government's to choose. Fixing the term means the length is set and the date is known in advance.
- Clear separation of powers and roles of the executive and judiciary
The rights it never wrote down
No right to vote anywhere in the text — no universal suffrage, no compulsory voting, no citizenship rights — and silent on democratic rights and on basic human rights
A clear and expressed right to vote in elections, and a bill of rights: thought, belief, opinion, expression, assembly, association and movement
The 1901 text is silent on democratic rights and on basic human rights, and it never mentions universal suffrage, compulsory voting or citizenship rights. Two of the nine commitments our Constitutional reform body would carry into the rewrite are written here: a clear and expressed right to vote in elections, and a bill of rights protecting freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression, assembly, association and movement.
The full policy
Word for word — the platform as our members wrote it.
The Issues
The Australian people have not agreed to proposed changes to the Constitution in more than three decades. Only eight of the 44 referendum proposals have been successful since 1901. The most recent referendum — a Voice to Parliament, October 2023 — was politicised, divisive and strongly opposed by the Opposition.
It is now clear that referenda put forward by the government of the day are unlikely to be won, and so why bother?
The facts are that the Australian Constitution is outdated. It is silent on democratic rights, on basic human rights, and those of First Nations peoples. The Constitution holds race powers and lacks jurisdictional clarity on matters such as heads of power and taxation.
The Constitution does not refer to a head of state, cabinet, prime minister, political parties, oppositions or local government. Nor does it mention universal suffrage, compulsory voting, or citizenship rights. The many crossovers in Commonwealth/State responsibilities — such as health, education, mining, energy supply, and infrastructure — are costly and inefficient. Many sections in the Constitution are redundant, transitional or flawed.
Despite many inquiries and reports, Government attempts at constitutional reform have been ad hoc and lacking in strategy, consistency and engagement with the people.
Our Plan
Establish a Constitutional reform body to guide and rewrite the Australian Constitution so it is fit for purpose and includes:
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A republic with an Australian head of state.
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A clear and expressed right to vote in elections.
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Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as First Nations peoples.
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Clear separation of powers and roles of the executive and judiciary.
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Protecting fundamental human rights through a bill of rights (freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression, assembly, association, and movement).
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Solving jurisdictional issues across parliaments and local government — heads of power, roles, responsibilities and funding matters.
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Modifying Section 44 eligibility requirements for standing for Parliament so dual citizenship and office of profit under the Crown are not disenfranchised.
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Fixing government terms of office.
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Introducing voluntary voting for 16- and 17-year-olds.
The Evidence
After a series of conventions held during the 1890s, a federal system of government was hammered out and the Commonwealth came into being. The six colonies became the six states of Australia, then the Constitution was taken to the people for endorsement.
Australia, as well as being a federation of states, is still a constitutional monarchy and our head of state is King Charles. The King may annul any law for a year after the Governor-General’s assent. The 1975 Dismissal of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, demonstrated that the monarchy and its appointed governor-general could dissolve the parliament and appoint a caretaker government.
The Governor-General’s reserve powers are generally agreed to include: the power to appoint a Prime Minister if an election has not resulted in a clear outcome; the power to dismiss a Prime Minister if they have lost the support of the majority of members of the House of Representatives; the power to refuse a request for a double dissolution; the power to dismiss a Prime Minister or minister if he or she breaks the law; and the power to refuse a request from a Prime Minister to call an election.
The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act begins with: “WHEREAS the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Government under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established ” In many other countries, constitutions are reviewed and amended as necessary, but Australia’s Constitution is stuck, both in language and in meeting the needs of a modern nation.
Section 44 is directed to eligibility for election to the Parliament. It sets out a list of five disqualifications for being a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The part of Section 44 that is the primary issue is Section 44(i), which recently dealt with allegiance and includes a disqualification for those who are dual citizens. Section 44(i) says: “Any person who is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.”
The notion that persons have an allegiance to another country because of their descent or the happenstance of their birth, even when they had no knowledge of possessing such citizenship, is clearly implausible.
It is also inconsistent with the principle that parliament ought to be representative of the people it governs. With nearly half of Australians being born overseas or having a parent who was born overseas, the strict requirements in Section 44(i) seem out of touch with modern Australia.
— Graham Reilly, Melbourne University
References
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See here for the Constitution and amendments made to date.
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Report of the Inquiry into Constitutional Reform and Referendums, December 2021.
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See submission 11 to the Nationhood, National Identity and Democracy Inquiry (July 2019/20) on the flaws of the Constitution.
Make it happen.
Policies like this only become law when enough people push. Push with us.