The Business Council is committed to the empowerment of Indigenous Australians and the creation of opportunities for full participation in the Australian economy and accordingly supports meaningful constitutional recognition of an Indigenous Voice to the Parliament. 

This is the Business Council's submission to the Indigenous Voice proposals outlined in the interim report of the Senior Advisory Group.  

Key points

• The Business Council strongly supports the intent of the Indigenous Voice and the proposals for a National Voice and Local and Regional Voices as outlined in the interim report.
• The Business Council supports constitutional recognition of the Indigenous Voice.
• The Business Council notes the Terms of Reference of the Sen tor Advisory Group of the co-design process and acknowledges that constitutional recognition is out of scope for the co-design process. However, we believe limiting the scope presents a significant challenge to enshrining an Indigenous Voice through constitutional recognition, particularly when it is so fundamental to true progress and the enduring vehicle to offer an historic unifying moment.
• The Business Council believes legislation should be drafted to set out how the Voice would operate based on the outcomes of the co-design process.
• The Business Council believes it would be preferable and an important step if constitutional recognition could occur prior to legislating the Voice to drive legitimacy and durability.
• The Business Council also believes that much work could be done to establish the Voice at a national, local and regional level while a referendum takes place so there is no delay in its operability.

Read the full submission here