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Notification of Determination Section 49 Certificate – Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

Notification of Determination Section 49 Certificate – Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

Administered by Department of Finance

Legislation au C2014G01876 In force Gazette

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To the Special Minister of State

Notification of Determination

Section 49 Certificate – Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

I, Tom Rogers, Acting Electoral Commissioner, hereby certify that:

Pursuant to section 46 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act)[1], I have this day ascertained the number of the people of the Commonwealth, States and Territories, and those numbers are as follows:


The Commonwealth[2]	22,793,303

The States
New South Wales	7,500,617
Victoria	5,821,269
Queensland	4,708,510
Western Australia	2,565,588
South Australia	1,682,635
Tasmania	514,684

The Territories [3]
Australian Capital Territory[4] [5]	386,092
Northern Territory5	243,689
The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands	572
The Territory of Christmas Island	2,217
Australian Antarctic Territory	102
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands	0
Coral Sea Islands Territory	4
Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands	0

Pursuant to section 48 of the Electoral Act, I have this day determined the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the States and Territories at a general election to be as follows:

State/Territory	Number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the State or Territory

The States
New South Wales	47
Victoria	37
Queensland	30
Western Australia	16
South Australia	11
Tasmania[6]	5

The Territories
Australian Capital Territory	2
Northern Territory	2
Australian Antarctic Territory	0
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands	0
Coral Sea Islands Territory	0
Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands	0

As required by section 49 of the Electoral Act, the following tables provide details of the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician, the adjustments made to the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician, calculations involved in arriving at those adjusted numbers, and the calculations involved in the making of the determination of the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the States and Territories at a general election.

Table 1: Population statistics supplied by the Australian Statistician in accordance with section 47 of the Electoral Act:


The States		Population

New South Wales		7,500,617
Victoria		5,821,269
Queensland		4,708,510
Western Australia		2,565,588
South Australia		1,682,635
Tasmania		514,684

The Territories		Population

Australian Capital Territory (excluding Jervis Bay)		385,573
Northern Territory		243,668
Jervis Bay Territory		408
The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands		572
The Territory of Christmas Island		2,217
Australian Antarctic Territory		102
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands		0
Coral Sea Islands Territory		4
Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands		0

Table 1A: Other statistics relating to the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory supplied by the Australian Statistician in accordance with section 47 of the Electoral Act:

Australian Statistician’s estimate of the net undercount

2011 Census

Standard Error
of the estimate of net undercount 2011 Census

Two Standard Errors of the net undercount 2011 Census

Upper limit of the 95% confidence interval of the estimate of net undercount

Lower limit of the 95% confidence interval of the estimate of net undercount

Australian Capital Territory

2,595

3,055

6,110

8,705

-3,515

Northern Territory

15,716

3,074

6,148

21,864

9,568

Table 2: Details of adjustments made to the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician in arriving at the number of the people of the States in accordance with section 46 of the Electoral Act:

State	Population statistics supplied by Australian Statistician	Adjustments	Population as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner
New South Wales	7,500,617	0	7,500,617
Victoria	5,821,269	0	5,821,269
Queensland	4,708,510	0	4,708,510
Western Australia	2,565,588	0	2,565,588
South Australia	1,682,635	0	1,682,635
Tasmania	514,684	0	514,684

Table 3: Details of the adjustments made to the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician in arriving at the number of the people of the Australian Capital Territory in accordance with section 46 of the Electoral Act:

	Population statistics supplied by Australian Statistician	Jervis Bay population statistics supplied by Australian Statistician	Norfolk Island residents enrolled in the ACT[7] s46(2)	Population as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner
Australian Capital Territory	385,573	408	111	386,092

Table 4: Details of the adjustments made to the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician in arriving at the number of the people of the Northern Territory in accordance with section 46 of the Electoral Act:

	Population statistics supplied by Australian Statistician		Norfolk Island residents enrolled in the Northern Territory7 s46(2)	Population as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner
Northern Territory	243,668		21	243,689

Table 5: Details of the adjustments made to the statistical information supplied by the Australian Statistician in arriving at the number of the people of the other Territories in accordance with section 46 of the Electoral Act:

Territory	Population statistics supplied by Australian Statistician	Adjustment	Number of the people as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner
Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands	572	0	572
Territory of Christmas Island	2,217	0	2,217
Australian Antarctic Territory	102	0	102
Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands	0	0	0
Coral Sea Islands Territory	4	0	4
Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands	0	0	0

Table 6: Details of the calculations performed in determining the quota in accordance with paragraph 48(2)(a) of the Electoral Act:

Number of the people of the Commonwealth as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Divided by twice the number of Senators for the States (72 x 2)	Quota
22,793,303	144	158,286.8264

Table 7: Details of the calculations performed in determining the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in each State in accordance with paragraph 48(1)(a) of the Electoral Act:

State	Number of the people of the State as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Divided by the Quota	Result of the division	Number of Members to be chosen
New South Wales	7,500,617	158,286.8264	47.3862	47
Victoria	5,821,269	158,286.8264	36.7767	37
Queensland	4,708,510	158,286.8264	29.7467	30
Western Australia	2,565,588	158,286.8264	16.2085	16
South Australia	1,682,635	158,286.8264	10.6303	11
Tasmania	514,684	158,286.8264	3.2516	5

Table 8: Details of the calculations performed in determining whether subsection 48(2E) applies to the Australian Capital Territory:

Number of the people of the ACT as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Number of people required to achieve 2.5 quotas	Difference	Twice the Standard Error of the estimated net undercount for the ACT (2 x 3,055)	Is the difference less than twice the Standard Error?	Does section 48(2E) apply to the ACT?
386,092	395,717	9,625	6,110	No	No

Table 9: Details of the calculations performed in determining the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Australian Capital Territory in accordance with paragraph 48(2A)(c):

	Number of the people of the ACT as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Divided by the Quota	Result of the division	Number of Members to be chosen
Australian Capital Territory	386,092	158,286.8264	2.4392	2

Table 10: Details of the calculations to determine the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Territory of Christmas Island:

Territory

Number of the people as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner

Divided by the Quota

Result of the division

Number of Members to be chosen

Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

572

158,286.8264

0.0036

Territory of

Christmas Island

2,217

158,286.8264

0.0140

Table 11: Details of the calculations performed in ascertaining the number of people of the Northern Territory in accordance with subparagraph 48(2C)(e)(i):

	Number of the people of the Northern Territory as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Number of the people of the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Number of the people of the Territory of Christmas Island as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	New ascertainment of the number of the people of the Northern Territory in accordance with subparagraph 48 (2C)(e)(i)
Northern Territory	243,689	572	2,217	246,478

Table 12: Details of the calculations performed in determining the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Northern Territory in accordance with subsection 48(2C):

	Number of the people of the Northern Territory as ascertained by the Electoral Commissioner	Divided by the Quota	Result of the division	Number of members to be chosen
Northern Territory	246,478	158,286.8264	1.5572	2

Signed

Tom Rogers

Acting Electoral Commissioner

13 November 2014

[1] This ascertainment has been made using statistics supplied to the Electoral Commissioner by the Australian Statistician on 22 October 2014 in accordance with section 47 of the Electoral Act and published in the Australian Demographic Statistics, March 2014 Quarter (ABS Cat. no. 3101.0) – Table 8 on 25 September 2014.

[2] Pursuant to section 45 of the Electoral Act, the number of the people of the Commonwealth does not include the people of the Territories.

[3] Pursuant to section 38A of the Electoral Act, the Territory of Norfolk Island is not taken to be a Territory for the purposes of this ascertainment.

[4] Pursuant to section 4(1) of the Electoral Act, the Jervis Bay Territory is taken to be part of the Australian Capital Territory for the purposes of this ascertainment.

[5] Pursuant to section 46(2) of the Electoral Act, a Norfolk Island resident who is enrolled in a Territory under section 95AA(3) of the Electoral Act is included in the count of the population of that Territory for the purposes of this ascertainment.

[6] Tasmania is guaranteed a minimum of five members under section 24 of the Constitution.

[7] Source: Australian Electoral Commission enrolment data.

Overview

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act) was enacted to establish the framework for conducting elections in Australia, ensuring the democratic process is carried out fairly and effectively. The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament and serves to define the rights and responsibilities of voters, candidates, and electoral officials, as well as to set out the procedures for conducting elections for members of the Parliament. The problem this legislation addresses is the need for a comprehensive and legally binding structure to govern the electoral process, ensuring it is transparent, equitable, and reflective of the will of the people. The policy objective of the Electoral Act, as reflected in its provisions, is to facilitate the orderly and democratic selection of representatives through free and fair elections, thereby upholding the principles of representative democracy enshrined in the Australian Constitution. The Electoral Commissioner, acting under the authority granted by the Act, certifies the population figures and determines the number of members of the House of Representatives for each state and territory based on these figures, ensuring that representation in Parliament is proportionate to population.

Scope and Application

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, as evidenced by the Notification of Determination Section 49 Certificate, applies to the ascertainment of the population numbers of the Commonwealth, its states, and territories, and the determination of the number of members of the House of Representatives to be elected in each state and territory at a general election. This Act applies to all persons residing within the Commonwealth, including those in states and territories, as well as to the conduct and transactions related to electoral representation. Geographically, the Act encompasses the entire Commonwealth of Australia, including its states and territories, such as the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, as well as other territories like the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The Act does not include the Territory of Norfolk Island in the population count for the purposes of this determination. The Act mandates that the Electoral Commissioner ascertains the population numbers based on statistical information provided by the Australian Statistician and makes necessary adjustments. The application of the Act can be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments, though no such instruments are mentioned in this context.

Key Provisions

Section 46 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 mandates that the Acting Electoral Commissioner ascertain the number of people residing in the Commonwealth, States, and Territories, based on statistics provided by the Australian Statistician. The Acting Electoral Commissioner then adjusts these figures to arrive at an accurate population count, as evidenced in the tables provided. Section 48 of the Electoral Act requires the Acting Electoral Commissioner to determine the number of members of the House of Representatives to be elected in each State and Territory at a general election, again using the adjusted population figures and mathematical calculations detailed in the tables. The obligations imposed by the Electoral Act include the Acting Electoral Commissioner's duty to accurately ascertain the population figures, make necessary adjustments, and perform the requisite calculations to determine the number of House of Representatives members for each State and Territory. This includes ensuring that Norfolk Island residents enrolled in a Territory are counted in the relevant Territory's population, as per section 46(2) of the Act. Furthermore, the Acting Electoral Commissioner must ensure that the Australian Capital Territory includes the Jervis Bay Territory, as per section 4(1) of the Act. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act can result in legal consequences. While the specific offences and penalties are not detailed in the Certificate, breaches of electoral laws generally can result in fines or imprisonment. For instance, under section 13aa of the Electoral Act, any person who makes a false statement in an enrolment application can be fined up to $3,000 or imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both. Similarly, section 203 of the Act provides for penalties for offences related to the conduct of elections, which can include fines of up to $10,500 or imprisonment for up to three years, or both. These penalties underscore the importance of accurate population ascertainment and adherence to the Act's provisions.

Area of Law: Electoral Law
Instrument: Gazette Notice
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Reporting & Disclosure Obligations; Commencement Provisions; Regulatory Standards; Enforcement Powers

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.

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