Labor commits $364m to delivery of Voice referendum and civics campaign

Labor has committed more than $364 million in funding for the delivery of the Voice to Parliament referendum expected to go ahead later this year, including information pamphlets and a neutral public civics campaign. 

The majority of the funding will be handed to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), which will be furnished with $336.6 million over the next two years to deliver the referendum, $10.6 million of which will be spent on producing “information pamphlets” for the Yes and No cases for distribution to households across the country. 

“We are continuing to deliver on our commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full,” Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Indigenous Health Assistant Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said in a joint statement.

“Later this year Australians will be given the opportunity to recognise the First Peoples of Australia in the constitution through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.”

The budget also includes $12 million in funding for both the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) and the Museum of Australian Democracy spread over two years, for the roll-out of a “neutral public civics” campaign. 

A further $10.5 million will be spent on mental health services for First Nations peoples “for the period of the referendum”, the budget papers said, which will be carried out by the Department of Health and Aged Care.

Meanwhile, another $5.5 million will be provided to the NIAA over the next year for consultation, policy and delivery.

“The 2023-24 budget also extends existing funding to enable the investment of $20 million to progress regional Voice arrangements, to ensure that voices in remote and regional communities are heard,” Burney and McCarthy said. 

The measure has already been partially funded by the government, including a $160 million commitment outlined in the 2016 budget, handed down by then-treasurer Scott Morrison under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. 

Beyond spending, the budget also includes a tax carveout for the Voice No Case Committee, which will be listed as a deductible gift recipient under law from the date it registers with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to June 30 next year. 

The change comes as part of the relisting of five other entities, which are expected to decrease budget receipts by $7.3 million over the next five years.