About the Voice
South Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament (the Voice) will be a representative, elected body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Through the Voice, First Nations people can have their say at the highest levels of decision-making in South Australia, including to Parliament, on matters, policies and laws that affect them.
The Voice is an advisory body and will not have veto powers or decision-making powers in South Australia’s Parliament. It will allow the opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to raise community priorities in a public, transparent, and accountable way.
Rules for the SA First Nations Voice to Parliament Election
The Electoral Commissioner has made the SA First Nations Voice to Parliament Election Rules, determined under the First Nations Voice Act 2023.
The Election Rules help set out all the things that need to happen under this law, which includes the election and all parts of its process, information about nomination and voting, and what happens during the election and scrutiny and count processes.
What was the process to establish a First Nations Voice to the South Australian Parliament?
The South Australian Government committed to a state-based implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, starting with a First Nations Voice to the Parliament.
As a first step, in July 2022 the government appointed the inaugural Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, to lead a series of community engagements and to provide advice to the government on these engagements.
The Commissioner held 2 rounds of engagements with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across South Australia between August 2022 and January 2023.
The first round focused on input from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community on the underpinning design principles for the Voice. This engagement found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are seeking:
- A direct voice to South Australian Parliament
- A voice that is elected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to represent local communities
- A voice to represent the diversity of South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – including nation group diversity, gender, youth, and Elders.
- Direct access to government decision-makers, i.e. Ministers and Chief Executives
Following this, the South Australian Government developed a draft Bill and model based on these findings. The draft Bill and 2 boundary options was released for feedback.
In November 2022, the Commissioner commenced a second round of community engagement to seek feedback on the draft Bill, model, and boundary options. This included face-to-face state-wide engagements with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, as well as written submissions from the broader community.
The feedback received in this process informed the final design of the model and legislation.
In March 2023, the South Australian Parliament passed the First Nations Voice Act.
The Federal Voice Referendum
The Federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament refers to the proposal for a constitutionally enshrined advisory body (Voice) to the Federal Parliament.
On 14 October, the majority of the Australian population voted not to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution.
The result of the Federal Referendum does not affect the establishment of the SA Voice to Parliament or the SA Voice to Parliament Election being held in March 2024.
How it will work
South Australia’s First Nations Voice will have 2 levels, a Local First Nations Voice and a State First Nations Voice. They will work together but will have different roles and responsibilities.
Local First Nations Voice
The Local First Nations Voice will be elected. There will be 6 regions across South Australia, with an elected body for each.
All elected members will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and will be elected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in their region.
Of the 6 regions:
- Five will have 7 elected members
- One (the Central Local First Nations Voice region) will have 11 elected members, as it has a higher population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Find out more about the boundaries and regions
Roles and responsibilities
The Local First Nations Voice bodies will:
- talk to and listen to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about issues that are important to them
- engage with government or other organisations in the local area
- share their community’s views with the State First Nations Voice.
Each Local First Nations Voice will choose 2 joint presiding members. They will chair local meetings and be their region’s representatives on the State First Nations Voice.
State First Nations Voice
The State First Nations Voice will be made up of the 2 joint presiding members of each Local First Nations Voice, with a total of 12 members.
The State First Nations Voice will choose a male and female member to become joint presiding members. These joint presiding members will lead the State First Nations Voice by engaging directly with Parliament.
Roles and responsibilities
The State First Nations Voice will:
- hear the views of each Local First Nations Voice
- form state-wide views and positions that represent the diversity of First Nations people in South Australia
- present those views to the South Australian Parliament, Ministers, and government Chief Executives.
Find out more about roles and responsibilities
How the Voice will work — requirements under the First Nations Voice Act
The First Nations Voice Act 2023 provides flexibility for each Local First Nations Voice to decide how it will engage with communities, the government agencies they want to connect with, and the matters they wish to engage on. Some requirements will need to be met.
Find out more about how the Voice will work
How is the Voice elected?
There will be an elected body for each of the 6 Local First Nations Voice regions.
Representatives will be elected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living within each Local First Nations Voice region.
The Electoral Commission of South Australia will run Voice elections every 4 years, at the same time as the South Australian government election, with the exception of the first Voice election.
The first Voice election will occur on 16 March 2024. After the election, each Local First Nations Voice will meet to elect two representatives as their joint presiding members (one male and one female). They will also represent their region on the State First Nations Voice.
