On this page

Monash University official statement

Monash University has reaffirmed its commitment ’to contributing to the process outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart’. This is a process ‘intended to empower Indigenous Australians and contribute to justice and self-determination’. Together, we look ‘forward to a future where Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians walk together toward a fair and truthful relationship and celebrate a vibrant and prosperous future’.

Our factsheets

First Peoples Disability Network Easy Read Uluru Statement

In this Easy Read fact sheet you can find out about:

• What the Uluru Statement says
• Why the Uluru Statement is important
• Why First Nations people want a Voice to Parliament

Your official referendum booklet

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) official referendum booklet contains:

• the Yes/No referendum pamphlet, which contains the Yes and No cases prepared by parliamentarians who voted for and against the proposed law. This has not been amended or fact-checked by the AEC.
• the official guide, which provides information on where to vote, what happens at the polling place, and what the ballot paper looks like. This was written by the AEC.

The booklet (English) Accessible formats Screen reader version Translated versions (CALD) Translated versions (First Nations)

The AEC is simply a post-box for the Yes/No referendum pamphlet – the AEC was not involved in the development of the content of the Yes and No cases. Each case was prepared and authorised by parliamentarians who voted for and against the proposed law and the AEC’s legal obligation was to accept and distribute each case as it was submitted.

Programs and events

Blogs and articles

Multicultural communities

Visit the Life without Barriers Resource Hub featuring factsheets, videos, audio and social media toolkits for multicultural communities. The factsheets show the information in English with further translations and posters in multiple languages.

• Translated Social Media Toolkits and Resources
• Translated Factsheet 1
• Translated Factsheet 2

Understanding the referendum in your language

Videos

Books, chapters and policy submissions

Castan Centre for Human Rights Law academic members have contributed and collaborated on academic publications, as well as government policy submissions on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples.
.

Time to Listen - An Indigenous Voice to Parliament

By Professor Melissa Castan, Monash Law and Professor Lynette Russell, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre

Read the Monash University media release

Published by Monash University Publishing, Time to Listen is available in both print and digital formats. The book can be purchased through major retailers, online platforms, and directly from the Monash University Publishing Website.

In 2023, debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament swirls around us as Australia heads towards a referendum on amending the Constitution to make this Voice a reality. The idea of a ‘First Nations Voice’ was famously raised in 2017, when Indigenous leaders drafted the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was envisioned as a representative body, enshrined in the Constitution, that would advise federal parliament and the executive government on laws and policies of significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But while Indigenous people may finally get their Voice, will it be heard? Time to Listen, Professor Melissa Castan and Professor Lynette Russell explore how the need for a Voice has its roots in what anthropologist WEH Stanner in the late 1960s called the ‘Great Australian Silence’, whereby the history and culture of Indigenous Australians have been largely ignored by the wider society. This ‘forgetting’ has not been incidental but rather an intentional, initially colonial policy of erasement. So have times now changed? Is the tragedy of that national silence—a refusal to acknowledge Indigenous agency and cultural achievements—finally coming to an end? The Voice to Parliament can be a transformational legal and political institutional reform, but only if we really listen to Indigenous people, and they are clearly heard when they speak.

The case for voting No

Information about the Voice referendum No case.

Campaign resources