The 1984 Australian referendum was held on 1 December 1984. It contained two referendum questions, neither of which passed.[1] As of 2022, this is the last referendum in which any state voted in favour of a constitutional amendment.
| Question | NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | ACT[3] | NT[3] | States in favour | Voters in favour | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (37) Terms of Senators | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | 2:4 | 51% | Not carried |
| (38) Interchange of Powers | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | 0:6 | 47% | Not carried |
The referendum was held in conjunction with the 1984 federal election.
An Act to change the terms of senators so that they are no longer of fixed duration and to provide that Senate elections and House of Representatives elections are always held on the same day.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
| State | Electoral roll | Ballots issued | For | Against | Informal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote | % | Vote | % | |||||
| New South Wales | 3,423,624 | 3,216,256 | 1,621,894 | 52.86 | 1,446,150 | 47.14 | 148,212 | |
| Victoria | 2,617,291 | 2,475,891 | 1,244,451 | 53.20 | 1,094,760 | 46.80 | 136,680 | |
| Queensland | 1,549,749 | 1,447,284 | 642,768 | 45.65 | 765,329 | 54.35 | 39,187 | |
| South Australia | 908,424 | 856,226 | 398,127 | 49.98 | 398,463 | 50.02 | 59,636 | |
| Western Australia | 858,763 | 806,637 | 358,502 | 46.47 | 412,996 | 53.53 | 35,139 | |
| Tasmania | 289,142 | 277,100 | 102,762 | 39.29 | 158,777 | 60.71 | 15,561 | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 150,416 | 140,982 | 76,901 | 56.68 | 58,764 | 43.32 | 5,317 | |
| Northern Territory | 68,857 | 58,668 | 28,310 | 51.87 | 26,265 | 48.13 | 4,093 | |
| Total for Commonwealth | 9,866,266 | 9,279,044 | 4,473,715 | 50.64 | 4,361,504 | 49.36 | 443,825 | |
| Results | Obtained a majority in two states and an overall majority of 112,211 votes. Not carried | |||||||
An Act to enable the Commonwealth and the States voluntarily to refer powers to each other.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
| State | Electoral roll | Ballots issued | For | Against | Informal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote | % | Vote | % | |||||
| New South Wales | 3,423,624 | 3,216,256 | 1,475,971 | 49.04 | 1,533,799 | 50.96 | 206,486 | |
| Victoria | 2,617,291 | 2,475,891 | 1,139,565 | 49.86 | 1,146,136 | 50.14 | 190,190 | |
| Queensland | 1,549,749 | 1,447,284 | 578,674 | 41.69 | 809,249 | 58.31 | 59,361 | |
| South Australia | 908,424 | 856,226 | 355,588 | 45.94 | 418,433 | 54.06 | 82,205 | |
| Western Australia | 858,763 | 806,637 | 336,184 | 44.28 | 423,022 | 55.72 | 47,431 | |
| Tasmania | 289,142 | 277,100 | 87,933 | 34.65 | 165,878 | 65.35 | 23,289 | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 150,416 | 140,982 | 74,741 | 56.10 | 58,487 | 43.90 | 7,754 | |
| Northern Territory | 68,857 | 58,668 | 25,684 | 47.78 | 28,066 | 52.22 | 4,918 | |
| Total for Commonwealth | 9,866,266 | 9,279,044 | 4,074,340 | 47.06 | 4,583,070 | 52.94 | 621,634 | |
| Results | Obtained a majority in no state and an overall minority of 508,730 votes. Not carried | |||||||
