It’s unclear exactly what form this recognition would take — which meant the news was met by commentators with a mix of interest and caution. But many advocates say it must include a “Voice to Parliament” outlined in the Uluru Statement — a body of Indigenous Australians that would be allowed input for the first time into policies and legislation affecting them.

“The voice is not a metaphor for voicelessness and powerlessness. It is a proposal for hardheaded structural reform,” wrote Megan Davis, a professor of law at The University of New South Wales who delivered the Uluru Statement in 2017. It would afford political empowerment and a seat at a table traditionally occupied by professional bureaucrats, she added.

It could also pave the way for other reforms mentioned in the Uluru Statement.

“The Voice is an instrument of Reconciliation, designed to pave a pathway towards truth-telling and agreement-making — to Treaty,” wrote Patrick Dodson, an Indigenous lawmaker, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

And changing the Constitution to include such a body for Indigenous Australians in Parliament would give it a level of protection and permanency that legislation, which can be repealed, would not, said Anne Twomey, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sydney.

Even if the government supports a referendum to amend the Constitution, such measures are notoriously difficult to pass: Only 8 out of 44 have been successful. But they are often “a powerful democratic voice of the Australian people to say what it is that they want, and what needs then to be respected by politicians,” Prof. Twomey said.