Redistributions begin in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT

The Australian Electoral Commission has today begun the process of redistributing electorate boundaries in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

All three redistributions are due as it has been seven years since their last redistributions. All three locations will retain their current number of electorates.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said he aims to make the redistributions more accessible for a wider range of Australians.

“If you’re a person who has not been involved in a redistribution before, then you’re exactly who we want to hear from,” Mr Pope said.

“Every Australian has a right to have their say and contributing to the decisions about the names and boundaries of the electorates they live in, and we want to make that as simple as possible.”

The first step for all three redistributions will be for Australians to submit their ideas about the name and boundaries of any electorate within South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. These do not need to be formal documents – the AEC has a guide on making suggestions available on our website.

Ideas can be submitted for all three redistributions from Wednesday 8 October.

Number of electorates for the next federal election

The Electoral Commissioner is required to make a decision on the number of electorates each state and territory is entitled to one year and one day after the first sitting of Parliament following a federal election.

The Electoral Commissioner’s decision is based on population growth data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Commissioner’s previous decision, in 2023, reduced the House of Representatives from 151 to 150 seats.

As the 48th Parliament first sat on 22 July 2025, the next determination decision is due shortly after 23 July 2026.

More information about electorate entitlements is available on the AEC’s website.

Queensland redistribution deferred

A redistribution is also due in Queensland, however, this redistribution has been deferred by the Electoral Commission until the second half of 2026.

This deferral is based on projected population figures provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which show that Queensland’s number of electorates may change when the Electoral Commissioner is required to make a determination about the number of electorates the state is entitled to for the next election.

Queensland is currently entitled to 30 House of Representatives electorates.

Regardless of whether this entitlement changes, a federal redistribution for Queensland must happen in the second half of 2026, as it has been more than seven years since the state’s previous federal redistribution.

Note: A redistribution of Queensland’s state electorates is currently being conducted by the Queensland Redistribution Commission. More information about this process is available on its website.