On 30 March 2023 the Federal Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, introduced the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 (the Constitution Alteration, the Bill) to the House of Representatives (the House). Following the introduction of the Bill, both the House and the Senate agreed to the establishment of the Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum (the Committee). The Committee was tasked with reviewing the Constitution as per the resolution of appointment, which is contained in the Terms of Reference section in this report.

Given the scope of the resolution of appointment and its focus on the provisions of the Constitution Alteration, the Committee determined that the inquiry should concentrate on the Bill’s provisions rather than the Voice as a general proposition. The Committee was not asked to assess the merits of the proposal more broadly, or to assess the cases for either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in the proposed referendum.

This report sets out the Committee’s review of the evidence, its findings and its recommendations.