1999 Referendum Results

1999 REFERENDUM RESULTS

Introduction

The following data on the 1999 referendum is provided as an information service only. For further information on these issues and other electoral matters go to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website. Use of all referenda details on this site is courtesy of the AEC.

Requirements to change the Australian Constitution

The requirements to change the Australian Constitution are detailed at Section 128 of The Constitution. In summary, two conditions must be met for any referendum question to be passed to change the Constitution. They are.

A majority of voters nation-wide (all States and Territories) must agree to the change, and
A majority of people in a majority of States (4 of the 6 States) must also agree to the change.

Territories are not included in 2 above. Other provisions relating to amending the Constitution are detailed in the penultimate paragraph of Section 128.

Compulsory Voting

Voting in all elections and on referenda questions is compulsory for all Australians who are eligible to vote.

Referendum Results

Results for the republic question and the preamble question which were put to the Australian people on 6 November 1999 are shown below.

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Republic Question

A map showing state/territory breakdown of voting results for the republic question is shown below while the actual voting figures are shown in the table immediately beneath the map:

Table of Voting Results for the Republic Question

State/Territory

Yes Votes

No Votes

Formal

Informal

Total

Status

New South Wales

1,817,380

46.43

2,096,562

53.57

3,913,942

99.12

34,772

0.88

3,948,714

Victoria

1,489,536

49.84

1,499,138

50.16

2,988,674

99.07

28,063

0.93

3,016,737

Queensland

784,060

37.44

1,309,992

62.56

2,094,052

99.31

14,642

0.69

2,108,694

Western Australia

458,306

41.48

646,520

58.52

1,104,826

99.15

9,500

0.85

1,114,326

South Australia

425,869

43.57

551,575

56.43

977,444

99.09

8,950

0.91

986,394

Tasmania

126,271

40.37

186,513

59.63

312,784

99.09

2,857

0.91

315,641

ACT

127,211

63.27

73,850

36.73

201,061

99.23

1,553

0.77

202,614

N/A

Northern Territory

44,391

48.77

46,637

51.23

91,028

99.07

852

0.93

91,880

N/A

National

5,273,024

45.13

6,410,787

54.87

11,683,811

99.14

101,189

0.86

11,785,000

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Preamble Question

A map showing state/territory breakdown of voting results for the preamble question is shown below while the actual voting figures are shown in the table immediately beneath the map:

Table of Voting Results for the Preamble Question

State/Territory

Yes Votes

No Votes

Formal

Informal

Total

Status

New South Wales

1,647,378

42.14

2,261,960

57.86

3,909,338

99.01

39,144

0.99

3,948,482

Victoria

1,268,044

42.46

1,718,331

57.54

2,986,375

98.99

30,341

1.01

3,016,716

Queensland

686,644

32.81

1,405,841

67.19

2,092,485

99.23

16,174

0.77

2,108,659

Western Australia

383,477

34.73

720,542

65.27

1,104,019

99.06

10,436

0.94

1,114,455

South Australia

371,965

38.10

604,245

61.90

976,210

98.95

10,325

1.05

986,535

Tasmania

111,415

35.67

200,906

64.33

312,321

98.94

3,343

1.06

315,664

ACT

87,629

43.61

113,293

56.39

200,922

99.16

1,696

0.84

202,618

N/A

Northern Territory

35,011

38.52

55,880

61.48

90,891

98.90

1,015

1.10

91,906

N/A

National

4,591,563

39.34

7,080,998

60.66

11,672,561

99.05

112,474

0.95

11,785,035

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