Essential information about the ACT federal redistribution

Why is the ACT undergoing a redistribution?

The ACT is undergoing a redistribution because the number of members of the House of Representatives it is entitled to has increased from two to three 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 number of members of the House of Representatives to which a state or territory is entitled has changed, or
• the number of electors in more than one-third of the electorates in a state (or one of the electoral divisions in the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory) deviates from the average divisional enrolment by over ten per cent for a period of more than two months, or
• a period of seven years has elapsed since the last redistribution process was determined.

The redistribution formally commenced on Monday 4 September 2017.

How many federal electorates will there after the redistribution?

The ACT is now entitled to three federal electorates, which is an increase of one from the current two electorates.

Where will the new electorate be?

Individuals and organisations are able to propose where the new electorate should be located at two stages of the redistribution process:

• the suggestions and comments on suggestions stage, and
• the objections and comments on objections stage.

The Redistribution Committee will consider any ideas it receives in suggestions and comments on suggestions advocating the location of a new federal electorate and in their proposed redistribution will indicate where the new electorate is to be located, together with reasons for the proposal.

Individuals and organisations can object to the Redistribution Committee's proposed new electoral division. Objections may agree or disagree with the Redistribution Committee’s proposal. Any ideas received in objections and comments on objections advocating for a particular location of the new federal electorate will be considered by the augmented Electoral Commission for the ACT, who is ultimately responsible for determining the federal electorates in the ACT.

Will the boundaries of the current electorates change?

electorates are required to fall within two numerical ranges:

• the number of electors enrolled in each federal electorate as at Monday 4 September 2017 must be between minus 10 per cent and plus 10 per cent of the current enrolment quota of 96,115
  • The number of electors enrolled in each federal electorate in the ACT must therefore be between 86,504 and 105,726.
  
  
• as far as practicable, the projected number of electors enrolled in each federal electorate in the ACT at the projection time of Thursday 13 January 2022 would be between minus 3.5 per cent and plus 3.5 per cent of the projected enrolment quota of 96,699.
  • As far as practicable, the number of electors projected to be enrolled in each federal electoral division in the ACT at the projection time of Thursday 13 January 2022 would be between 96,210 and 103,188.

Abolishing an electorate will, of necessity, result in significant elector movement away from the abolished electorate and will also require consequential boundary changes and elector movements across the state to ensure that all electorates remain within the two numerical ranges.

Creating an electorate will, of necessity, require consequential boundary changes and elector movements across the state to ensure that all electorates remain within the two numerical ranges.

Do all the ACT federal electorates meet the requirement?

No. On the boundaries in place on Monday 4 September 2017, the two ACT federal electorates do not meet this requirement.

What is the result of requirement not being met?

Inserting a new electorate into the ACT will require that the two electorates are divided into three. To do this, approximately one-third of the electors in each of the Divisions of Fenner and Canberra will be placed in the new electorate in order to ensure that the ACT will have three electorates which will meet the numerical requirements.

What will the name of the new electorate be?

Ideas as to what the new electorate should be called are sought.

Individuals and organisations are able to propose names for electorates at two stages of the redistribution process:

• the suggestions and comments on suggestions stage, and
• the objections and comments on objections stage.

The Redistribution Committee will consider any ideas it receives in suggestions and comments on suggestions advocating a new name for a federal electorate and in their proposed redistribution will indicate what their proposed name of the new electorate is, together with reasons for the proposal.

Individuals and organisations can object to the Redistribution Committee's proposed name of the new 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 the new federal electorate will be considered by the augmented Electoral Commission for the ACT, who is ultimately responsible for determining the names of the federal electorates in the ACT.

Will the names of the current electorates change?

The names of the current electorates may or may not change.

Individuals and organisations are able to propose alternative names for electorates at two stages of the redistribution process:

• the suggestions and comments on suggestions stage, and
• the objections and comments on objections stage.

The Redistribution Committee will consider any ideas it receives in suggestions and comments on suggestions advocating a change of name for a federal electorate and in their proposed redistribution will indicate whether it has or has not proposed changing the name of a federal electorate, 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 electorate will be considered by the augmented Electoral Commission for the ACT, who is ultimately responsible for determining the names of the federal electorates in the ACT.

Information about the names of current federal electorates in the ACT

How do current electorate names meet the guidelines for naming electorates?

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 the ACT or the augmented Electoral Commission for the ACT to assist with their decision making process.

The extent to which the names of the ACT's current federal electorates meet these guidelines is displayed below. 

When will the redistribution come into effect?

Changes to federal electorates 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 13 July 2018.

Electoral events will not be contested on these new federal electorates 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:

• How does a mini-redistribution work?
• How would a mini-redistribution work for Western Australia?