The proposed words have been revealed as:

"A proposed law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

"Do you approve this proposed alteration?"

It is a slight change from the starting point question Mr Albanese posed in a landmark speech to the Garma Festival in Arnhem Land last July.

"Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?" the Prime Minister proposed in 2022.

Standing alongside members of the referendum working group and ministers, including the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Attorney-General, he has also revealed the proposed changes to the constitution and the detail of the nine design principles of the Voice.

The referendum is expected to be held between October and December.

Federal cabinet held a special snap meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the final "yes" or "no" question after the Prime Minister and ministers met the referendum working group on Wednesday night.

Mr Albanese said the question made it very clear that a Voice would provide advice to the executive government of the Commonwealth.

However, he left the door open for tweaking the question when the government introduces a constitutional alteration bill next week with the aim for it to pass through Parliament by the end of June.

"It won't take decision making power away from government or parliament. But it will help governments and Parliaments make better decisions. And achieve better outcomes," Mr Albanese said.

"And we urgently need better outcomes. Because it's not good enough where we're at in 2023.

"The question that Australians will be asked at this year's referendum is a very simple one. That's the question before the Australian people; nothing more, but nothing less."

The draft constitutional amendment could write a new chapter nine into the Constitution and contain the words:

"In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia, there shall be a body to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

"The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

"The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures."

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The proposed changes follow months of consultation with the referendum working group made up of Indigenous representatives and constitutional legal experts.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney described it as a "truly historic day" and a "big step forward on the long journey to constitutional recognition through Voice".

"And so today the starters gun has been fired. Let us get on with the campaign to deliver a yes vote in this constitution to be held later this year," Ms Burney said.

"When I was 10 years old, in 1967. So I spent the first 10 years of my life not being counted. Not being considered, as did many other people on the stage today.

"And we believe that we we have history on our side and we are absolutely committed to the referendum."

Working group member Megan Davis said a Voice would provide First Nations people the right to be consulted on laws and policies that would be made on their lives and communities.

"When we ran the dialogues all over Australia, our people spoke about not being listened to and not being heard. They spoke about powerlessness and voiceless," Professor Davis said.

"This Prime Minister, this government has listened respectfully, genuinely, authentically.

"And we said that a protected Voice and enshrined Voice to the Parliament is what we think is meaningful constitutional recognition."

But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on the Prime Minister to release the legal advice from the Solicitor-General received in relation to the constitutional amendments.

Mr Dutton said his party would look at the pros and cons before making a decision on whether it would support the Voice.

"I want to reiterate today that that process doesn't change with the announcement of the Prime Minister's words. We will meet as a Liberal party party room and we will form a decision in due course about whether we support the Voice or oppose it," he told reporters in Canberra.

"It is incumbent upon the Prime Minister to explain to the Australian public if you're proposing a very significant change to our founding document, how will it deliver practical outcomes for Indigenous Australians."

A separate referendum machinery provisions bill, which outlines the legal frameworks on how to hold the Voice, passed through the Senate late on Wednesday after Labor struck a deal with the Coalition.