Australian Constitution

09 July 1900

The Australian Constitution was approved by the people of the colonies in referendums held in 1899 and 1900. However, the Constitution also had to be agreed to by the British Parliament.

An Australian delegation travelled to London to present the Constitution to the British Parliament in 1900. The Australian Constitution is contained within the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (UK) 1900 which was passed by the British Parliament and signed by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900. Five months after Queen Victoria gave her Royal Assent to the Act, the Constitution came into effect and Australia was proclaimed a nation on 1 January 1901.

The Australian Constitution is the set of rules by which Australia is run. It establishes the Australian Parliament, Executive Government and the High Court of Australia and describes their roles in governing Australia. The Constitution outlines the Parliament’s law-making powers and how it shares power with the states.

The Constitution can only be changed with the approval of the Australian people in a referendum. Since Federation, Australians have only agreed to 8 changes to the Constitution. However, decisions made by the High Court, which is responsible for interpreting the Constitution, have expanded the law-making powers of the Australian Parliament.