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Australian Electoral Commission
South Australia is undergoing a redistribution because the number of members of the House of Representatives it is entitled to has decreased from 11 to 10 as a result of a determination made by the Electoral Commissioner on Thursday 31 August 2017.
Sub-section 59(2) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) specifies that a redistribution process should be undertaken when:
The redistribution formally commenced on Monday 4 September 2017.
South Australia is now entitled to ten federal electoral divisions, which is a decrease of one from the current 11 electoral divisions.
Individuals and organisations are able to propose which electoral division should be abolished at two stages of the redistribution process:
The Redistribution Committee will consider any ideas it receives in suggestions and comments on suggestions advocating for the abolition of a federal electoral division and in their proposed redistribution will indicate which federal electoral division has been abolished, together with reasons for the proposal.
Individuals and organisations can object to the Redistribution Committee's proposed abolition. Objections may agree or disagree with the Redistribution Committee’s proposal. Any ideas received in objections and comments on objections advocating for a particular federal electoral division to be abolished will be considered by the augmented Electoral Commission for South Australia, who is ultimately responsible for determining the federal electoral divisions in South Australia.
The name of an abolished electoral division may be re-used.
Electoral divisions are required to fall within two numerical ranges:
Abolishing an electoral division will, of necessity, result in significant elector movement away from the abolished electoral division and will also require consequential boundary changes and elector movements across the state to ensure that all electoral divisions remain within the two numerical ranges.
Creating an electoral division will, of necessity, require consequential boundary changes and elector movements across the state to ensure that all electoral divisions remain within the two numerical ranges.
No. On the boundaries in place on Monday 4 September 2017 nine of South Australia’s 11 federal electoral divisions do not meet this requirement.
| Electoral division | Enrolment as at Monday 4 September 2017 | Projected enrolment at Thursday 20 January 2022 | Is the requirement met? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 110,351 | 114,268 | No – Projected enrolment for the Division of Adelaide is more than 3.5 per cent under the projected enrolment quota |
| Barker | 106,009 | 108,383 | No
|
| Boothby | 107,939 | 109,835 | No – Projected enrolment for the Division of Boothby is more than 3.5 per cent under the projected enrolment quota |
| Grey | 102,264 | 102,612 | No
|
| Hindmarsh | 112,511 | 114,716 | No – Projected enrolment for the Division of Hindmarsh is more than 3.5 per cent under the projected enrolment quota |
| Kingston | 107,643 | 110,793 | No – Projected enrolment for the Division of Kingston is more than 3.5 per cent under the projected enrolment quota |
| Makin | 107,636 | 109,253 | No – Projected enrolment for the Division of Makin is more than 3.5 per cent under the projected enrolment quota |
| Mayo | 106,191 | 110,072 | No
|
| Port Adelaide | 115,227 | 119,176 | Yes |
| Sturt | 104,727 | 106,669 | No
|
| Wakefield | 114,533 | 121,533 | Yes |
Abolishing an electoral division in South Australia will require some consequential changes to other electoral division boundaries as reducing the number of electoral divisions is not simply a case of combining two electoral divisions into one as doing so will result in electoral divisions which do not meet the numerical requirements.
Because the requirement to be within the specified range for both enrolment as at Monday 4 September 2017 and projected enrolment as at Thursday 20 January 2022 is not met by all 11 of South Australia's federal electoral divisions, the boundaries of these electoral divisions will need to change.
Changes will be made to some or all of the boundaries of South Australia's federal electoral divisions. Changes may be made to those federal electoral divisions which meet the requirement as a consequence of making changes to the boundaries of those federal electoral divisions which do not meet the requirement. This is to ensure that all of South Australia's federal electoral divisions meet the requirement.
The names of the current electoral divisions may or may not change.
Individuals and organisations are able to propose alternative names for electoral divisions at two stages of the redistribution process:
The Redistribution Committee will consider any ideas it receives in suggestions and comments on suggestions advocating a change of name for a federal electoral division and in their proposed redistribution will indicate whether it has or has not proposed changing the name of a federal electoral division, together with reasons for the proposal.
Individuals and organisations can object to the Redistribution Committee's proposed names of federal electoral divisions. Objections may agree or disagree with the Redistribution Committee’s proposal. Any ideas received in objections and comments on objections advocating a change of name for a federal electoral division will be considered by the augmented Electoral Commission for South Australia, who is ultimately responsible for determining the names of the federal electoral divisions in South Australia.
The Guidelines for naming federal electoral divisions were developed by the AEC from recommendations made by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in 1995 in its Report on the Effectiveness and Appropriateness of the Redistribution Provisions of Parts III and IV of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. These guidelines are non-binding but may be referred to by the Redistribution Committee for South Australia or the augmented Electoral Commission for South Australia to assist with their decision making process.
The extent to which the names of South Australia's current federal electoral divisions meet these guidelines is displayed below.
| Electoral division | Is the electoral division named for a prominent person? | Is the electoral division named for an Australian Prime Minister? | Is the electoral division name that of an original Federation electoral division?*See discussion below | Is the electoral division named for a geographical feature? | Is the electoral division named for an aboriginal person or word? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Barker | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Boothby | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Grey | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Hindmarsh | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Kingston | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Makin | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Mayo | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Port Adelaide | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Sturt | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Wakefield | Yes | No | No | No | No |
'Federation electoral divisions' have been interpreted in two ways.
One interpretation is that Federation electoral divisions are those which were in place for the first federal election held in 1901. However, for the first federal election in 1901, South Australia was not divided into electoral divisions. At the 1901 elections, South Australia voted as one electoral division and members of the House of Representatives were elected for South Australia. On this interpretation, 'South Australia' would be the Federation electoral division.
South Australia was divided into seven electoral divisions prior to the second federal election in 1903, including the Divisions of Adelaide, Barker, Boothby, Grey, Hindmarsh and Wakefield. The second interpretation is that because these electoral divisions were defined and named before the second federal election, they are original federation electoral divisions in South Australia and it would be against the spirit of the guidelines to change these names without very strong reasons.
The Division of Adelaide is named for the city of Adelaide which in turn was named after Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
The Division of Barker is named for Captain Collet Barker 1784–1831, an explorer in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
Biographical information about Captain Collet Barker from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Boothby is named for William Boothby 1829–1903, the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
Biographical information about William Boothby from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Grey is named for Sir George Grey 1812–98, Governor of South Australia from 1841–45.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
Biographical information about Sir George Grey from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Hindmarsh is named for Sir John Hindmarsh 1786–1860, first Governor of South Australia.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
Biographical information about Sir John Hindmarsh from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Kingston is named for Charles Kingston 1850–1908, Premier of South Australia 1893–99.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 11 May 1949 and was first represented in 1949.
Biographical information about Charles Kingston from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Makin is named for Norman Makin 1889–1982, Member of the House of Representatives 1919–46, 1954–63 and Speaker of the House 1929–31.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 3 September 1984 and was first represented in 1984
Biographical information about Norman Makin from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Mayo is named for Helen Mayo 1878–1967, co-founder of the Mothers' and Babies' Health Association in 1927 and first woman elected to a University Council of Australia in 1914.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 3 September 1984 and was first represented in 1984.
Biographical information about Helen Mayo from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Port Adelaide is named for the locality which was discovered by Collet Barker in 1831.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 11 May 1949 and was first represented in 1949.
The Division of Sturt is named for Captain Charles Sturt 1795–1869, explorer.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 11 May 1949 and was first represented in 1949.
Biographical information about Captain Charles Sturt from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Division of Wakefield is named for Edward Gibbon Wakefield 1796–1862, whose theories of colonisation had a great impact on the formation of settlements in Western Australia and South Australia.
The first electoral division of this name was created on 2 October 1903 and was first represented in 1903.
Biographical information about Edward Wakefield from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Changes to federal electoral divisions as a result of this redistribution will apply from the day on which a notice of determination is published in the Commonwealth Notices Government Gazette. This notice will be published on 20 July 2018.
Electoral events will not be contested on these new federal electoral divisions until a writ is issued for a general election following the expiry or dissolution of the House of Representatives.
Should a writ for a general election be issued before the notice of determination is published, a mini-redistribution will be conducted. For further information, see:
The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.