Australia announces referendum vote on Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Australia will hold a historic Indigenous rights referendum on October 14, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said, setting up a defining moment in the nation's relationship with its Aboriginal minority.

"On that day, every Australian will have a once-in-a-generation chance to bring our country together, and you change it for the better," Albanese said on Wednesday as he locked in the date for the binding vote.

"I ask all Australians to vote yes."

The referendum would enshrine in the constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a collection of advocates aimed at giving the nation's most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.

Australia has not held a referendum since 1999, and a referendum has not passed since 1977.

No referendum has ever passed without bipartisan support, and the major parties remain divided over the Voice.