What Bendigo voters need to know before any future referendum: how Victoria's regional cities compare on direct democracy

Australia does not hold referendums often. Since Federation in 1901, the federal parliament has put 44 questions to a national vote, and only eight have passed. The most recent, the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum, saw Bendigo's electorate of Bendigo return a No vote in line with the national result, though the margin differed from major metropolitan electorates by several percentage points. For Bendigo residents, understanding how referendum and ballot measure rules work, and how this city sits within the broader Victorian and national framework, is increasingly relevant as policy debates around water allocation, regional health funding, and infrastructure investment sharpen.

Victoria does not have a citizen-initiated referendum mechanism at the state level. Residents in some other jurisdictions, including South Australia under its Local Government Act provisions and the Australian Capital Territory under its self-government arrangements, have access to petition-driven plebiscite processes that can compel a public vote on specific policy questions. Victorian local governments, including the City of Greater Bendigo, can conduct non-binding community surveys and consultations, but these carry no legislative weight. The state government retains sole discretion over whether any binding ballot question goes to Victorian electors. Policy analysts note this places Victoria among the more centralised states when it comes to direct democracy at both the local and state tier.

What this means for Greater Bendigo specifically

For residents of Greater Bendigo, the practical consequence is that major decisions affecting the region, including capital works at Bendigo Health, water entitlement allocations under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, and funding for the La Trobe University Bendigo campus, are determined through parliamentary and ministerial processes rather than direct community votes. The City of Greater Bendigo covers approximately 3,000 square kilometres and a population of around 120,000 people according to the 2021 census. That scale and geographic spread means policy outcomes in Bendigo can look quite different from those in Melbourne's inner suburbs, even when the same state or federal legislation applies.

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is one area where the comparison with other communities is concrete. Mildura, Shepparton, and Bendigo all sit within the broader northern Victoria water catchment system, but their exposure to water policy decisions varies. Bendigo's urban water supply is managed through Coliban Water, which draws from the Campaspe and Loddon systems. Any federal or state change to water buyback arrangements under the Basin Plan affects Coliban Water's long-term storage projections. The 2023 federal Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act expanded the Basin Plan's water recovery target by up to 450 gigalitres. Local water authorities have been briefed on the projected timeline, with full implementation expected by 2027. Residents in irrigation-dependent communities like Rochester, within the Greater Bendigo hinterland, face more direct exposure to those changes than residents in the urban core.

How the referendum process works if a vote is called

Federal referendums require a double majority to succeed: a national majority of all votes cast, plus a majority in at least four of the six states. Victoria is a large state and its result carries significant weight. At the 2023 referendum, the Australian Electoral Commission recorded a national No vote of approximately 60 percent. In the federal division of Bendigo, the No vote was above the national average, consistent with results across most regional Victorian electorates. Regional cities including Ballarat, Latrobe Valley, and Wodonga recorded similar patterns, suggesting a distinct gap between metropolitan and regional voting behaviour on constitutional questions.

The next scheduled federal election is due by May 2028 at the latest. No referendum question is currently before the federal parliament. At the state level, the Allan government's current legislative agenda does not include any provision for a statewide ballot measure. However, policy analysts note that debates around treaty obligations, local government reform, and water governance could each generate pressure for community consultation mechanisms in coming years. For Bendigo residents, the most immediate action point is enrolment. The Australian Electoral Commission reports that enrolment rates in the division of Bendigo sit at approximately 94 percent of eligible voters, slightly below the national average of 96 percent. Any future referendum result in this region will be shaped, in part, by who is on the roll.