Senate elections, counting Indigenous Australians and the republic: How every referendum in Australian history played out

In the 122 years since Federation, Australia has held 44 referendums to alter the Constitution – but only eight have been successful.

From repeated efforts to mandate holding Senate and House of Representatives elections on the same day, the failed republic proposal, and a 1948 attempt to allow the federal government to regulate rents and other prices, most referendums haven't received enough support.

As Australia heads to the polls for the 45th time to vote on the Voice to parliament, let's take a look at how each of the previous referendums played out.

Australia's first-ever referendum was also one of the most successful.

The proposition was a fairly simple one.

It changed the start date for senators' terms, pushing them back six months so federal elections for both the Senate and House of Representatives could be held at the same time.

Fittingly, the referendum was held at the same time as the 1906 federal election.

It passed with resounding support, with all states and 82.65 per cent of voters saying Yes.

Less than four years later, Australians were back at the polls for another referendum, this one with two proposals.

The first was to create a system where the Commonwealth would give the states a payment from its surplus revenue, proportional to each state's population.

This was a close-run thing, but ultimately achieved neither part of the required super majority; 49.04 per cent of respondents voted Yes, while Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania voted against it.

The other proposal – to give the Commonwealth unrestricted power to take over state debts – was successful, passing with the support of 54.95 per cent of voters and all states except NSW.

Just a year later there was another referendum, again with two proposals.

The first was a wide-ranging amendment that would have given the Commonwealth wider powers over trade, commerce, corporations and labour, including wages.

It failed, with only WA and 39.42 per cent of the nation voting in favour.

The other proposal, to allow the Commonwealth to nationalise monopolies, met an identical fate: a resounding No vote of more than 60 per cent, with WA the only state supporting the change.

The next referendum was the biggest in Australian history, with a whopping six proposals put to voters.

Many of them were quite similar to the alterations put forward in 1911, including the bid to extend Commonwealth powers around trade and commerce.

The states were split on the proposal, and 49.38 per cent of votes cast were in favour.

The same fate befell the proposal to extend Commonwealth powers over corporations...

... and industrial matters.

The proposal to give the Commonwealth legislative power over industrial relations in state rail services was the least successful of the six in the popular vote, with only 49.13 per cent of votes in favour...

...while the idea of giving the Commonwealth legislative power over trusts resonated with the most voters.

The Yes vote reached 49.78 per cent for this amendment – the highest of the six – but once again, only three states voted in favour.

Just as in 1911, the 1913 attempt to nationalise monopolies fell flat.

In all six votes, each of Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia supported the change, while NSW, Victoria and Tasmania voted against.

After two failed attempts, you may have forgiven those who were seeking to extend the Commonwealth's powers over trade, commerce and corporations for throwing in the towel.

Instead, they gave it one more shot in the 1919 referendum, with the key difference being the proposal would only have extended those powers temporarily.

It didn't work. The amendment was voted down once again with a little over 49 per cent of the country in favour. This time Victoria joined WA and Queensland in voting Yes, while South Australia voted No.

Once again, the referendum contained another proposal to nationalise monopolies.

Once again, it was voted down.

It was seven years before the next referendum was held. In 1926, the proposal put to voters was, in the words of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC):

"To authorise the creation of authorities to control the terms and conditions of industrial employment, to give state authorities similar powers to Commonwealth authorities, and to regulate and control trusts and combinations."

Only 43.5 per cent of voters supported the Yes case, while just NSW and Victoria were in favour.

Once again, a second question was on the referendum.

This one proposed giving the Commonwealth powers to protect against "actual or probable interruption of any essential service".

Perhaps due to its vague nature, it received even less support, with the same two states and just 42.8 per cent of voters in favour.

In 1928, Australia amended its Constitution for just the third time.

All states and 74.30 per cent of the population voted in favour of the State debts alteration.

This essentially ensured the legality of the Financial Agreement reached between the federal and state governments, discontinuing per-capita payments from the Commonwealth to the states while also restricting state borrowing.

The 1937 referendum was the first vote to gain enough support from the general population but fall short of the required super majority.

Only Victoria and Queensland voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth legislative powers over aircraft and air travel.

The other proposal – to give the Commonwealth legislative powers in relation to marketing – was a bit of a disaster at the polling both.

No states supported it, and only 36.26 per cent of voters did.

Perhaps the widest-ranging referendum was put to Australians in 1944.

While just one proposal, the post-war reconstruction proposal would have given the government extended powers over 14 different areas – leading to its moniker of the "14 powers" or "14 points referendum" – for five years.

Those areas ranged from rehabilitating former soldiers to foreign investment, monopolies and trusts (sound familiar?), and Indigenous Australians.

Prime Minister John Curtin argued the powers were required, as keeping wartime provision would be essential in transitioning Australia to peacetime.

His citizens weren't quite so convinced. While SA and WA voted in favour, the other states didn't, and the Yes vote could only reach 45.99 per cent.

Before 1946, the only social services the federal government had legislative power over in the Constitution were invalid and old-age pensions.

But after the referendum that year passed, the Commonwealth was granted the power to look after:

"...maternity allowances, widows' pensions, child endowment, unemployment, pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits, medical and dental services... benefits to students and family allowances."

The level of support wasn't overwhelming – at 54.39 per cent of the popular vote, it had the smallest majority of any referendum to have passed – but all six states voted in favour.