Before ParliamentMigration & Citizenship Introduced in the Senate, 15 Aug 2018 by HANSON, Sen Pauline

Voters would be asked if immigration is too high

Senator Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, first brought this bill in 2018. It would ask every voter one yes or no question about how many people move here. The Senate has voted it down twice, and it keeps coming back.

Official name: Plebiscite (Future Migration Level) Bill 2018

Who it affects

• Everyone enrolled to vote: You would have to vote on the question at the next federal election, the same as you vote for your MP.
• Migrants and people hoping to move to Australia: The vote would not change any visa rules, but it would give a public answer on the rate of people moving here.
• TV and radio stations: They would follow election-style rules for ads about immigration in the month before the vote.
• The Australian Electoral Commission: It would run the vote, count it and report the result.

Population grew 3.5 million

Immigration means people moving to Australia from other countries to live. Senator Pauline Hanson brought this bill to the Senate on 15 August 2018.

Her notes on the bill say Australia's population grew by 3.5 million in the ten years to 2016. They say 60% of that came from people moving here from overseas.

She argues that this growth puts pressure on roads, transport and services, mostly in big cities. She wants voters to be able to say what they think.

The bill would hold a plebiscite. That is a national vote on a question. A referendum changes the Constitution, which is Australia's founding rule book. A plebiscite does not. It only shows what people think.

The ballot question

The ballot paper would first state a fact. It would say Australia's population grew from 20.5 million to 24.4 million from December 2005 to December 2016. It would say 62% of that growth came from net overseas migration. That means people who moved here, minus people who left.

It would then ask, "Do you think the current rate of immigration to Australia is too high?" Voters would answer yes or no.

The Governor-General would start the vote with a writ, which is a formal order. It would go to the head of the electoral commission. The writ would set the voting day and the question. The Governor-General is the King's stand-in in Australia.

How the vote works

The vote would be held on the same day as the next federal election. Anyone who can vote at an election could vote.

It would run much like a referendum, using the law that runs referendums. The law would make everyone vote. You could vote early or by post. You could also vote outside your area if you could not get there on the day.

The electoral commission would run it. That is the body that runs federal elections, and it takes no side. It could work with state and territory election bodies.

Handing in a blank or spoiled ballot would not be a crime. A spoiled ballot is one marked so it cannot count. Not voting at all still would be, the same as at an election.

Booklets with the case for yes and no would not be posted to voters. That is different from referendums.

Counting the result

The result would be decided by a simple majority. If more than half of the valid votes across Australia said yes, the answer would be yes. Votes filled in wrongly would not count.

A referendum needs a double majority. That means most voters across the nation, and most voters in at least four of the six states. The bill does not use that rule, because the plebiscite would not change the Constitution.

Only federal MPs and senators could pick scrutineers. A scrutineer is a person who watches voting and counting to check it is fair. The Special Minister of State, who looks after elections, could limit how many each counting centre has.

The head of the electoral commission could order a recount if an MP asked, or on their own choice. The result would be reported for Australia as a whole, not state by state.

An MP or senator could challenge the result in the High Court, Australia's top court. The electoral commission could too. The federal and state governments would lose the right to challenge that they have for referendums.

Advertising and broadcasting rules

Election rules for TV and radio would cover ads about the level of migration. Stations would have to record who paid for political ads about it.

Say a station ran an ad for one side in the 33 days before the vote. It would have to give the other side a fair chance to run ads too. SBS, a public broadcaster, would have to do the same.

There would be a ban on ads about the plebiscite in the last days before voting. That is the same as at a federal election. Referendums have no such ban.

Some people might spend money campaigning on the plebiscite. They would not have to send in a yearly form on political spending just because of that.

The rules against misleading voters would apply from the day the law started.

Start date

Most of the bill would only start once Parliament puts aside money to pay for the vote. The Governor-General could make detailed rules to help it work.

The bill has had a long history. It died when Parliament ended in 2019. It was put back on the list in July 2019.

The Senate voted against the main idea of the bill on 29 July 2019. The Senate is the second house of Parliament, which checks bills.

It was brought back again in August 2022. It was voted down again on 21 March 2024. It was brought back a third time on 24 November 2025. Debate began again on 26 November 2025.

It is a bill from a single senator, which means the government did not bring it in. It is still listed before the Senate. It would need to pass the Senate and then the House of Representatives.

The bill was written for the next election after 2018. That election and two more have already been held.

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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