Although several states had race-based voting restrictions during the 20th century (particularly applying to Indigenous Australians), the number of voters disenfranchised was too small to affect population counts for the purposes of apportionment under section 24 of the constitution.
Despite section 25's purported intention to deter future disenfranchisement on the basis of race, inline with the purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, in practice it has been of little effect to date.
[7] Likewise, it had little effect on exclusion of other races, such as Queensland's exclusion of indigenous populations of other nations, as they were either insignificant in number in relation to the broader population or could be excluded by other means, such as on the basis of nationality under the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and similar barriers, such as language testing,[8] which would not trigger section 25.
It has however been referred to in numerous cases, in relation to matters such as universal franchise, voting equality, and the definition of people of the Commonwealth.
High Court Justice Kirby referred to it in passing as support for the proposition that racial qualifications have been eliminated from voting.
[10] In a roundtable discussion on reforming the Constitution by the House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in 2008 - Chapter 5.9 of the submission stated that: Section 25 no longer has any significant legal effect, as the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) would prevent the States from discriminating against people on grounds of race.
[20] The Expert Panel on Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution, in a report released in January 2012, among other things, recommended that section 25 be removed.
[23] There have been arguments that the application of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 now means that a state could not prevent people of a race from being able to vote, and that due to this section 25 is spent.
[25] The Hindmarsh Island bridge case highlighted the fact that the effectiveness of the Racial Discrimination Act could easily be defeated by new legislation and the 'race power'.