Naming guidelines

Guidelines for naming federal electorates.

Determining the names of federal electorates is part of the process of conducting a federal redistribution within a state or territory.

The criteria used by redistribution committees to propose the names of electorates, and used by augmented electoral commissions to determine the names of electorates, have previously been the subject of recommendations from the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. From these recommendations, a set of guidelines were developed as a point of reference only.

It should be noted that redistribution committees and augmented electoral commissions are in no way bound by the guidelines.


Usually, electorates should be named after deceased Australians who have rendered outstanding service to their country.

When new electorates are created the names of former Prime Ministers should be considered.

Every effort should be made to retain the names of original federation electorates.

Locality or place names should generally be avoided, but in certain areas the use of geographical features may be appropriate (e.g. Perth).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names should be used where appropriate and as far as possible. Existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander electorate names should be retained.

  • The names of Commonwealth electorates should not duplicate existing State Districts.
  • Names of electorates should not be changed or transferred to new areas without very strong reasons.
  • When two or more electorates are partially combined, as far as possible the name of the new electorate should be that of the old electorate which had the greatest number of electors within the new boundaries. However, where the socio-demographic nature of the electorate in question has changed significantly, this should override the numerical formula.

Updated: 16 September 2025