1946 Australian referendum (Social Services)

1946 Australian Commonwealth Power in Social Affairs referendum

28 September 1946 (1946-09-28)

Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled —

"Constitution Alteration (Social Services) 1946" ?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 2,297,934 54.39%
No 1,927,148 45.61%
Valid votes 4,225,082 94.86%
Invalid or blank votes 228,859 5.14%
Total votes 4,453,941 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 4,739,853 93.97%

The Constitution Alteration (Social Services) Bill 1946,[1] was a successful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to give the Commonwealth power over a range of social services. The question was put to a referendum in the 1946 Australian referendum with two other (unrelated) questions. It was carried and inserted into section 51 of the Australian Constitution.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Social Services Bill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).