When Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the Australian Constitution on 9 July 1900 making it law, the Australian nation was born. Each year, the National Archives celebrates Constitution Day on 9 July.
Why celebrate the Australian Constitution?
The Australian Constitution is the single most important document in Australia’s history. It outlines the powers of Australia’s federal and state governments, the court system, the frequency of elections, who can vote and stand for Parliament, and many other things affecting the day-to-day lives of Australians.
Its creation was a remarkably inclusive and democratic process. It was drafted in the 1890s by the six then self-governing colonies of Great Britain that came together to form a nation: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
The colonial people subsequently voted to ratify it, and the British Parliament passed an Act to legislate it.
A living document
The Constitution is a living document. It took some 10 years to write and involved heated arguments, compromise and much redrafting.
Throughout its history, it has continued to be discussed, debated, referred to the people 44 times for vote on amendments and changed eight times.
It continues to underpin our democracy and empower the citizens of our evolving nation.
Have your say
This blog features articles on the Constitution by leading Australians. Read their views, and have your say!
The 2011 forum, held in Darwin, included the Hon Jane Aagaard MLA, Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and Chair of the NT Constitutional Convention Committee; Professor Mick Dodson AM, member of the Yawuru people, and Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies and Professor of Law at the Australian National University; Marshall Perron, Northern Territory Chief Minister 1988–95; and Ken Parish, legal academic at Charles Darwin University and former Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1991–94.
Audio files of the National Archives’ Constitution Speakers Forum, are available on the ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas website.
- 2011 – A Constitution for all Australians: the Top End experience – recorded at Northern Territory Parliament House in Darwin on 30 June 2011
- 2010 – A Constitution for all Australians – recorded at Parliament House in Canberra on 1 July 2010
