The hard realities of colonial politics, in conjunction with idealistic beliefs about the true nature of federalism, conspired to ensure that a federation of the Australian colonies would only occur on the basis of an intercolonial agreement negotiated by politicians and ratified by the voters of the constituent colonies. The two federal conventions held in 1891 and 1897–8 and a series of colonial referendums held between 1898 and 1900 were the primary decision-making mechanisms through which this was accomplished. A full account of the making of the Australian Constitution must necessarily grapple with the deliberations that occurred within the conventions and ratification debates of the 1890s. But before turning to the particularities of the debate, it is finally necessary to understand the procedures and processes that were adopted within the conventions in order to facilitate and shape that debate. It is therefore the objective of this chapter to explain the formative institutions through which the Australian Constitution was debated, drafted and ratified, before addressing in later chapters the precise terms of the debate and of the constitutional text that emerged from the entire formative process.