Fears Indigenous Australians could be disfranchised in voice referendum unless voting rules changed

There are calls to allow enrolment on referendum day so as not to prevent people in remote Indigenous communities from voting

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The voice to parliament referendum could lead to a “perverse” outcome where many First Nations people don’t have a say if rules around enrolment aren’t altered, according to Indigenous rights activists.

An amendment to the Referendum Machinery Provisions Act – which will determine how the referendum will be held – passed this week, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, unveiled the final wording of the constitutional amendment and referendum question. Despite the Greens pushing the government to allow voters to enrol on referendum day, voters will be required to enrol in advance in order to cast their vote – something advocates say could negatively affect Indigenous communities.

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