Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) 1977 (Cth)
Constitution Alteration (Referendums) 1977 (Cth)
Relates to
Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (Imp)
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Cth)
Australia Act 1986 (Cth & UK)
Status: Amended
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system. Its eight chapters sets down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament, the executive government and the judicature.
The Constitution was drafted between 1891 and 1898 at a series of conventions conducted by representatives of the six self-governing British colonies in Australia: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.[a] This final draft was then approved by each state in a series of referenda from 1898 to 1900. The agreed constitution was transmitted to London where, after some minor modifications, it was enacted as section 9 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into effect on 1 January 1901 at which point the six colonies became states within the new Commonwealth of Australia.
The Constitution is the primary, but not exclusive, source of Australian constitutional law, alongside constitutional conventions, state constitutions, the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Australia Acts 1986, prerogative instruments and judicial interpretations of these laws by the High Court of Australia.
The document may only be amended by referendum, through the procedure set out in section 128. This requires a double majority: a nationwide majority as well as a majority of voters in a majority of states. Only eight of the 45 proposed amendments put to a referendum have passed.[3] Proposals to amend the document to recognise Indigenous Australians and to become a republic are the subject of significant contemporary debate. The most recent referendum occurred on 14 October 2023, in which a proposed amendment to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was rejected.[4]
^"The Federation of Australia". Parliamentary Education Office. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
^"Referendum dates and results". Australian Electoral Commission. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
^Worthington, Brett (14 October 2023). "Australians reject Indigenous recognition via Voice to Parliament, referendum set for defeat". ABC News.
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and 29 Related for: Constitution of Australia information
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Global Information
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act at Wikisource
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