Constitution of Australia

The Constitution of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Constitution, is the fundamental law that governs Australia's political structure, establishing the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. It was drafted between 1891 and 1898 at a series of conventions by representatives of the six self-governing British colonies, approved by each state in referendums from 1898 to 1900, and enacted as part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, taking effect on 1 January 1901. The document may only be amended by referendum requiring a double majority, a nationwide majority and a majority of voters in a majority of states, and only eight of forty-five proposed amendments have passed, most recently the rejected 2023 proposal to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.