Talk of the the Voice has been dominating news and politics in this country all year. Now, prime minister Anthony Albanese has officially announced the date we’ve all been waiting for – the day of the referendum. On October 14, 2023, Australians will have to cast either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament – with the end result set to fundamentally shift our nation forever.
And yes, this vote is compulsory.
If you’re confused about what the Voice is, how to vote, and what will happen if it goes through, you’re not alone.
This is everything you need to know about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and what it means for you.
Early voting NSW: early voting locations near me in Australia 2023?
If you can't get to a polling booth on Saturday, October 14, you can apply for a postal vote by clicking here. You've got to get in quick, though – postal vote applications must be received by the Australian Electoral Commission by 6pm (local time) on the Wednesday prior to voting day.
Your other option (if you can't make it to the polls on voting day) is to pre-poll at an early voting centre, which are open now (as of the two weeks prior to referendum day). To find a place to vote before referendum day, click here.
What is the Voice?
The ‘Voice’ is a proposed change to the Australian constitution. It will mean that a collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members will form a permanent group whose main aim is to advise the Australian government on all matters that concern First Nations people across the country. This will exist in Australia’s constitution forever, and won’t be able to be changed by any future governments.
What does having a Voice in parliament actually mean?
This Voice body would be totally independent of both the Australian Parliament and the Executive Government (the Executive are the public service and government ministers who put laws into practice).
‘The Voice’s’ individual community members would give independent advice to the parliament. This means that they could go to the government about an issue that they reckon needs attention before the government gets to it. They would have their own resources to research First Nations issues that need solving. Plus, the government would be able to go to ‘The Voice’ body and ask them for advice before they make relevant policies or laws.
The Voice wouldn’t be able to distribute funding. It wouldn’t manage services. It couldn’t mediate conflicts between opposing Aboriginal and Torres Strait organisations. It wouldn’t have unlimited power.
What will the Voice do in Australia if it gets through?
The purpose of the Voice is to ensure that all decisions made in parliament about First Nations people better consider First Nations people now and for the future. It will focus largely on issues surrounding Aboriginal health, inequality, housing, education and jobs.
“It’s about drawing a line on the poor outcomes from the long legacy of failed programs and broken policies, and listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” said Linda Burney, minister for Indigenous Affairs.
“Things like incarceration and child removal. Housing, health and educational outcomes. This voice is about making sure that what happens in the federal parliament is going to be a positive step forward both in terms of us as a nation, but also the life outcomes for First Nations people in Australia”.
How did the idea for forming the Voice come about?
The idea for the formation of the Voice arose out of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a 2017 petition by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders. The Uluru Statement from the Heart called for a First Nations Voice to be enshrined in the Constitution. The Statement represented diverse First Nations views from across Australia.
How do I vote for or against the Voice?
Just like in a normal election, you have to go to a polling booth location in your local area on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The polling areas will be open from 8am to 6pm. You might even be able to get a democracy sausage.
If you can’t make it on October 14, you can vote early either a) through the post, or b) at an early voting centre.
The postal vote hasn’t opened yet, but we’re told that more details will be announced on this page soon. This is how you can vote by post in the Voice referendum. And this is what you do if you’re overseas.
Early voting centres will be open two weeks prior to the election.
To help you figure out how to vote, you can dive deeper into the intricacies of the campaign with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC's) pamphlet that explains both the YES and NO arguments. Bear in mind that the two arguments in this pamphlet have been written by politicians from both sides, and haven’t been fact-checked by the AEC.
As with all things, you might want to do some research of your own, too.