The Council

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition appointed a 16-member Referendum Council to talk to Australians about changing our Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Since December 2016, we held a range of consultations with Indigenous Australians and the broader community.

The Referendum Council was jointly appointed by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten on 7 December 2015.

Our job was to advise the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on progress and next steps towards a successful referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.

We built upon the extensive work of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians and the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

On 30 June 2017, we handed down our report to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.

Our work has now concluded.

The Council

Past Council Members