The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. They are also commonly known as electorates or seats. The British term "constituencies" is rarely used.
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Divisions are apportioned among the states and territories of Australia in accordance with section 24 of the Australian Constitution and the Electoral Act[1] Generally, apportionment among the states and territories is based on population, with the following provisos:
Within each state and territory, boundaries must be redrawn in a process known as redistribution at least once every 7 years, or when the state's entitlement to the number of MPs change. Boundaries are drawn by Redistribution Committee, and apportionment within a state is on the basis of the number of enrolled voters rather than total residents.
Within a state or territory, the number of enrolled voters in each Division can not vary by more than 10% from the average across the state, nor can the number of voters vary by more than 3.5% from the average projected enrolment three-and-a-half years into the future.
The Divisions of the House of Representatives are unusual in that many of them are not named after geographical features or numbered, as is the case in most other legislatures around the world. Most Divisions are named in honour of prominent historical people, such as former politicians (often Prime Ministers), explorers, artists and engineers.
In some cases where a Division is named after a geographical locality, the connection to that locality is sometimes tenuous. For instance, the Division of Werriwa, created in 1901, was named after the Aboriginal word for Lake George in the Canberra region. However, Werriwa has not contained Lake George for many decades, and has steadily moved some 200km north to the south-western suburbs of Sydney over the past century.
The redistribution, creation and abolition of Divisions is the responsibility of the Australian Electoral Commission. Some of the criteria the AEC use when naming new Divisions are listed below:[2]
The maps below show the Division boundaries as they existed at the Australian federal election, 2010.
There are 48 Divisions:
There are 37 Divisions:
There are 30 Divisions:
There are 15 Divisions:
There are 11 Divisions:
There are 5 Divisions:
Australian Capital Territory
There are 2 Divisions:
Northern Territory
There are 2 Divisions:
These Australian electoral divisions no longer exist.
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