The ''Constitution Alteration (Essential Services) Bill'' 1926, was an unsuccessful referendum held in 1926 that sought to alter the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

to give the Commonwealth legislative power to protect the public from any actual or probable interruption of essential services.

Question

''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Essential Services) 1926'?'' The proposal was to alter section 51 of the Constitution as follows: :Section fifty-one of the Constitution is altered by inserting after paragraph (v.) the following paragraph :— ::(v.) a. Protecting the interests of the public in case of actual or probable interruption of any essential service.

Results

The referendum was not approved by a majority of voters, and a majority of the voters was achieved in only two states, New South Wales and Queensland.Question: ''Do you approve of the proposed law for the alteration of the Constitution entitled 'Constitution Alteration (Essential Services) 1926'?''

References

Referendum (Essential Services) 1926 referendums 1926 (Essential Services) {{Australia-gov-stub