Australian referendum, 1988 (Parliamentary Terms)

Constitution Alteration (Parliamentary Terms) 1988 was a proposal put to referendum in the Australian referendum, 1988. It proposed to alter the Australian constitution such that Senate terms be reduced from six to four years, and House of Representative terms be increased from three years to four years. It also proposed for the fourth time that Senate and House elections occur simultaneously.

Results

A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to provide for 4 year maximum terms for members of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?

State	On rolls	Ballots issued	Yes Y	%	No N	%	Informal
New South Wales	3,564,856	3,297,246	1,032,621	31.66%	2,228,503	68.34%	36,122
Victoria	2,697,096	2,491,183	886,128	36.20%	1,561,759	63.80%	43,296
Queensland	1,693,247	1,542,293	538,779	35.15%	993,822	64.85%	9,692
South Australia	937,974	873,511	229,938	26.76%	629,454	73.24%	14,119
Western Australia	926,636	845,209	255,556	30.67%	577,555	69.33%	12,098
Tasmania	302,324	282,785	70,698	25.34%	208,297	74.66%	3,790
Australian Capital Territory	166,131	149,128	64,458	43.62%	83,328	56.38%	1,342
Northern Territory	74,695	56,370	21,092	38.13%	34,222	61.87%	1,056
Total for Commonwealth	10,362,959	9,537,725	3,099,270	32.91%	6,316,940	67.09%	121,515

Obtained majority in no State and an overall minority of 3 217 670 votes. Not carried.

See also

Elections and referendums in Australia
Federal elections	1901 1903 1906 1910 1913 1914 1917 1919 1922 1925 1928 1929 1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1964 1966 1967 1969 1970 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 next by-elections
Referendums	1906 1910 1911 1913 1916 1917 1919 1926 1928 1937 1944 1946 1948 1951 1967 1973 1974 1977 1984 1988 1999
Elections in: Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia