What is a redistribution?

The Northern Territory (NT) is divided into 25 electoral divisions with each division having one member of the NT’s Legislative Assembly to represent the people residing in them.

The boundaries of each division are reviewed every 4 years in the 18 month period prior to the general election for the Legislative Assembly, to see if any changes are required to ensure that the number of electors in each division is as near to equal as practicable. This review process, which includes several stages of public consultation, is called a redistribution, as certain areas of the NT and the electors who reside there, may be distributed from one division to another in order to balance the numbers. Any changes made as a result of a redistribution come into effect at the next general election.

The Redistribution Committee

The redistribution process is managed by the Redistribution Committee (the committee) which consists of the following members:

• Auditor-General
• Electoral Commissioner
• Surveyor-General
• an appointed member – who must be a person who has served as, or is qualified for appointment as, a Supreme Court Judge or Local Court Judge, is not a member of a political party and does not have a recent political affiliation.

The appointed member is the Chairperson of the Redistribution Committee.