Australia. Referendum, 1984
Question 1
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?
Constitution Alteration (Terms of Senators) 1984 proposed to introduce simultaneous elections for both Houses of Parliament.
Australia. Referendum, 1984. Question 1
| State | Number on rolls | Ballot papers issued | For (v) | For (%) | Against (v) | Against (%) | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Obtained majority in two States and an overall majority of 112 211 votes.
Not carried
Question 2
An Act to enable the Commonwealth and the States voluntarily to refer powers to each other.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
The Constitution places some hurdles in the way of easy cooperation between the Commonwealth and State governments. Constitution Alteration (Interchange of Powers) 1984 sought to introduce more flexibility into the constitutional provisions relating to Commonwealth–State relations.
Australia. Referendum, 1984. Question 2
| State | Number on rolls | Ballot papers issued | For (v) | For (%) | Against (v) | Against (%) | Informal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Obtained majority in no State and an overall minority of 508 730 votes.
Not carried