Essential information about the Northern Territory federal redistribution

Why is the Northern Territory undergoing a redistribution?

The Northern Territory is undergoing a redistribution because more than seven years have elapsed since the last redistribution was determined.

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 Thursday 22 February 2024

How many federal electorates will there be after the redistribution?

The Northern Territory remains entitled to two electorates.

Will the boundaries of the electorates change?

electorates are required to fall within two numerical ranges:

• the number of electors enrolled in each federal electorate as at Thursday 22 February 2024 must be between minus 10 per cent and plus 10 per cent of the redistribution quota
• as far as practicable, the projected number of electors enrolled in each federal electorate in the Northern Territory at the projection time would be between minus 3.5 per cent and plus 3.5 per cent of the projected enrolment quota.

Do all Northern Territory federal electorates meet the requirement?

No. On the boundaries in place on Thursday 22 February 2024:

• neither of the Northern Territory’s 2 federal electorates meet this requirement.

What is the result of requirement not being met?

Because the requirement to be within the specified range for both enrolment as at Thursday 22 February 2024 and projected enrolment as at Monday 4 September 2028 is not met by both of the Northern Territory's federal electoral divisions, the boundaries of these electorates will need to change.

Changes will be made to the boundaries of the Northern Territory's federal electorates. Changes may be made to those federal electorates which meet the requirement as a consequence of making changes to the boundaries of those federal electorates which do not meet the requirement. This is to ensure that both of the Northern Territory's federal electorates meet the requirement.

Will the names of the electorates change?

The names of the 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 Northern Territory, who is ultimately responsible for determining the names of the federal electorates in the Northern Territory.

Information about the names of current federal electorates in the Northern Territory

How do current electorate names meet the guidelines for naming electoral divisions?

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

The extent to which the names of the Northern Territory’s current federal electorates meet these guidelines is displayed below. The electorates are sortable by clicking on the header row.

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 4 March 2025.

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.