Legal provisions for direct democracy at the regional level

Example of State Constitution requiring mandatoryreferendums: Constitution Act 1902 (New South Wales) sections 7A-7B.

Example of Territory requirement for referendums: Australian Capital Territory Self-Government Act 1988 (Commonwealth of Australia) sections 25-26.

Only law providing for Optional Referendum, and for Initiative: Referendum Act 1964 (Norfolk Island). 

Each of the six States of Australia have Constitutions which seek to entrench some provisions by requiring amendment of those provisions to be accompanied by a binding referendum.  There is some dispute as to whether all these provisions are so entrenched (given State Constitutions are otherwise subject to parliamentary amendment):  however the common provisions relating to composition of the State parliament or basic voting systems are, in orthodox legal opinion, understood as mandatory. The Australian Capital Territory does not have an autochthonous Constitution, but a ‘self-government act’ of the national Parliament which requires a referendum if a law is to be entrenched. The Northern Territory, the other mainland Territory, does not however have any provision for mandatory referendums.

The tiny offshore Territory of Norfolk Island is the only jurisdiction in Australia with any standing provision for ‘ad hoc’ or ‘Optional Referendums’ (eg the national Minister for Territories cancall one) or for ‘Initiatives’. Norfolk Island has barely 2000 citizens and unique status, it may be misleading (though technically correct) to say ‘Some regions/states/provinces’ have ‘Initiatives’ or ‘Optional Referendums’.

As explained in G.01 in relation to the national level, the State Parliaments also, in theory, can hold a non-binding, optional referendum whenever they like, but there is no standing provision for this (it is just a matter of political will leading to an ad hoc act of parliament to hold such a consultative plebiscite.  For occasional examples see in the 1990s and 2000s in Queensland over daylight saving, and recently in Western Australia over shop trading hours).