Voting rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples facts for kids
The voting rights of Indigenous Australians became a big topic from the mid-1800s. This was when Australia's colonies started governing themselves, and people were discussing who should be allowed to vote. It took until the mid-1900s for all Indigenous Australians to get equal voting rights.
Indigenous Australians, which means Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, slowly gained the right to vote like other adults in the Australian colonies from the late 1800s. In most places, Indigenous men could vote alongside non-Indigenous men. In South Australia, Indigenous women also gained the right to vote from 1895.
After Australia became a country (Federation) in 1901, a law called the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 limited voting rights for Aboriginal people in federal elections. For a while, some Indigenous people could vote in their state, but not in federal elections. From 1949, Indigenous people who had served in the military could vote.
In 1962, the government changed the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. This change allowed all Indigenous Australians to sign up and vote in federal elections. In 1965, Queensland was the last state to remove its rules stopping Indigenous people from voting in state elections. This meant that all Indigenous Australians in every state and territory finally had equal voting rights at all levels of government.
Some of the old rules about voting rights only applied to certain Indigenous people. For example, the Franchise Act mainly limited people who were considered "full-blood" Indigenous or mostly Indigenous. It didn't always apply to Indigenous people of mixed heritage. However, sometimes local officials still stopped a wider range of Indigenous people from voting.
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History of Indigenous Voting Rights
Before Australia became a united country in 1901, each colony had its own laws about who could vote. This meant that Indigenous Australians' right to vote depended on where they lived.
The Constitution Act of 1900 brought the colonies together to form the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1962, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 finally gave all Indigenous Australians the right to vote in federal elections.
Important Dates for Indigenous Voting Rights
| Date | What Happened | |
|---|---|---|
| Before Australia Became a Country | ||
| 1829 | Britain took control of all of Australia. Everyone born in Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, became British subjects. | |
| 1850s+ | Australian colonies started governing themselves. Most adult (21 years) British men could vote in South Australia (1856), Victoria (1857), New South Wales (1858), and Tasmania (1896). This included Indigenous men. However, Queensland (1859) and Western Australia (1890) stopped Indigenous people from voting. | |
| 1885 | Queensland passed a law that stopped all Indigenous people from voting. | |
| 1893 | Western Australia passed a law that stopped Indigenous people from voting. | |
| 1895 | All adult women in South Australia, including Indigenous women, gained the right to vote. | |
| 1901 | The Commonwealth Constitution began. This gave the new Australian Parliament the power to make federal voting laws. | |
| After Australia Became a Country | ||
| 1902 | The Australian Parliament passed its first federal voting law, the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902. This law gave men and women in all states the right to vote in federal elections. However, it specifically stopped "aboriginal natives" of Australia (and Asia, Africa, or Pacific Islands except New Zealand) from voting if they didn't already have the right to vote in state elections. | |
| 1915 | Queensland made voting compulsory. Other areas followed later. | |
| 1922 | Rules in the Northern Territory stopped Indigenous people from voting. Officials could decide who was Indigenous. | |
| 1940s | People like Professor AP Elkin and groups like the Aborigines' Friends' Association pushed for better conditions and voting rights for Indigenous people. | |
| 1944 | In Western Australia, a law allowed Indigenous people to apply for citizenship and the right to vote. But they had to meet very strict conditions, like getting references, living a "civilised life," and cutting ties with other Indigenous people. | |
| 1949 | The right to vote in federal elections was given to Indigenous people who had served in the armed forces. It was also given to those who could already vote in state elections. However, most Indigenous people in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia still couldn't vote in their own state/territory elections. | |
| 1957 | In the Northern Territory, almost all Indigenous people were declared "wards of the state" and couldn't vote. In 1961, 17,000 people were in this situation. | |
| 1962 | The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 was changed. It gave Indigenous Australians the right to sign up and vote in federal elections, including Northern Territory elections. However, signing up was not compulsory. | Western Australia gave Indigenous citizens the right to vote in state elections. |
| 1965 | Queensland allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to vote in state elections. Queensland was the last state to grant this right. | |
Voting Rights in the Colonies
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania
When the colonies set up their own governments in the 1850s, voting rights were given to all British men over 21. Indigenous people were considered British subjects, so they were technically allowed to vote.
However, very few Indigenous people knew about their rights. They were not encouraged to sign up to vote, and very few actually voted in elections.
Some Indigenous people did vote. For example, at Point McLeay, a mission station in South Australia, a polling station was set up in the 1890s. Indigenous men and women voted there in South Australian elections.
Queensland
Queensland became self-governing in 1859. It gave voting rights to all British men over 21 in 1872. But in 1885, Queensland specifically stopped Aboriginal people from voting. This rule stayed in place until 1965.
Western Australia
Western Australia became self-governing in 1890. In 1893, it gave voting rights to all British men over 21, but it specifically excluded Aboriginal men. Aboriginal people were not allowed to vote in Western Australia until 1962.
Federal Voting Rights in the Early 1900s
First Federal Election
The first election for the Australian Parliament in 1901 used the voting laws of the six colonies. This meant that people who could vote in their state elections could also vote in the federal election. Aboriginal men could theoretically vote in all states except Queensland and Western Australia. Aboriginal women could vote in South Australia.
Some Indigenous people voted in this first federal election. For example, at the Point McLeay mission station in South Australia, Indigenous men and women voted in 1901.
New Laws and Restrictions
The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 took away some Aboriginal voting rights for federal elections. It said that "No aboriginal native of Australia..." could be on an Electoral Roll unless they already had the right to vote under a specific part of the Constitution. This part of the Constitution said that anyone who could vote in state elections could vote in federal elections.
The law also stopped people from Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands (except New Zealand) from voting.
In 1924, a man named Mitta Bullosh, who was Indian and lived in Melbourne, challenged this law. He was allowed to vote in Victoria but not in federal elections. He won his case, which meant that Indigenous Australians in all states except Queensland and Western Australia could vote in federal elections.
Full Voting Rights for Indigenous Australians
Groups campaigning for civil rights for Indigenous Australians became stronger from the 1930s. In 1938, important Indigenous activists like Douglas Nicholls helped organize a protest called the "Day of Mourning." This protest marked 150 years since British settlers arrived in Australia. They started a campaign for full civil rights for all Aboriginal peoples.
In 1949, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1949 was changed. This change confirmed that anyone who could vote in their state could also vote in federal elections. This gave Indigenous people in all states except Queensland and Western Australia the right to vote. Also, Indigenous people who had served in the military were specifically allowed to vote.
In the 1960s, inspired by strong civil rights movements in the United States and South Africa, many changes happened for Indigenous peoples' rights. This included removing rules that stopped them from voting. In 1962, the government changed the Commonwealth Electoral Act. This gave Indigenous people the right to sign up and vote in federal elections, no matter what their state voting rights were. If they signed up, it became compulsory for them to vote, just like non-Indigenous citizens. However, signing up itself was not compulsory. Western Australia gave Indigenous citizens the right to vote in state elections in the same year, and Queensland followed in 1965.
In 1983, the Electoral Act was changed again. This time, it made signing up to vote compulsory for Indigenous citizens. It also removed any differences or special rules based on race in the Australian voting system.
See also
- Australian Aborigines' League
- Maori voting rights in Australia
- Self-determination of Australian Aborigines
- Suffrage in Australia
Readings
- Pat Stretton and Christine Finnimore, 'Black Fellow Citizens: Aborigines and the commonwealth Franchise’, Australian Historical Studies, vol. 25, no. 101, 1993, pp. 521–35
