Referendums in Australia

Common card · No. 340139

In Australia, referendums (also spelt referenda) are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia. In the past, however the terms were used interchangeably, with the non-constitutional 1916 Australian conscription referendum and the 2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum being examples. Voting in a referendum is compulsory for those on the electoral roll, in the same way that it is compulsory to vote in a general election. As of 2023, 45 nationwide referendums have been held, only eight of which have been carried. Of those eight, all but one had bi-partisan support. Since multiple referendum questions are often asked on the same ballot, there have only been 20 separate occasions...

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