The South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission is an independent, non partisan commission responsible for the compulsory re-drawing of

South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts Since 1970, the South Australian House of Assembly — the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia — has consisted of 47 single-member electoral districts consisting of approximately the same number of enrolled voters. The district bou ...

after each

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts ...

election. The Commission was established in 1975 under an amendment to the

South Australian Constitution The principles of the current Constitution of South Australia, also known as the South Australian Constitution, which includes the rules and procedures for the government of the State of South Australia, are set out in the ''Constitution Act 1 ...

to carry out periodic redistributions of the electoral boundaries of the State’s

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

, the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

in the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat South Australian House of Assembly, House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat South Australian Legislati ...

. Originally, these redistributions were to take place after five or more years had elapsed between two general elections held on the same boundaries. After a change to 4 year terms occurred in 1985, this was seen as insufficient and in 1991, following a referendum, this was changed so that redistributions take place following each general election. When making a redistribution, the Commission is required to ensure that the number of electors in each electoral district does not vary from the electoral quota by more than a permissible tolerance of 10 per cent. The electoral quota is determined by dividing the total number of electors as at the relevant date by the number of electoral districts into which the State is divided. Since 1969 this number has been 47. The Commission must also have regard to matters which are outlined in section 83(2) of the Constitution Act 1934 (SA), being: * The desirability of making the electoral redistribution so as to reflect communities of interest of an economic, social, regional or other kind * The population of each proposed electoral district * The topography of areas within which new electoral boundaries will be drawn * The feasibility of communication between electors affected by the redistribution and their parliamentary representative in the House of Assembly * The nature of substantial demographic changes that the EDBC considers likely to take place in proposed electoral districts between the conclusion of its present proceedings and the next State election * Any other matter the EDBC thinks relevant. Following a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, between 1991 and 2016 the Boundaries Commission was also required to have ensured, as far as practicable, that the redistribution was fair to prospective candidates and groups of candidates, so that if candidates of a particular group attracted more than 50 per cent of the popular vote, including preferences, they would be elected in sufficient numbers to enable a government to be formed. This “fairness” criterion was unique to South Australia and was repealed by the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

government of

Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian former politician who was the 45th premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the South Australian House of Assembly, House of ...

in 2017.

Membership

The Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission consists of 3 members: A chairperson who is the most senior puisne Judge of the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

appointed by the Chief Justice, the Electoral Commissioner of the

Electoral Commission of South Australia The Electoral Commission SA is an independent office which forms part of the Government of South Australia, and which conducts parliamentary state elections every four years. History In 1907 the then State Electoral Department was establish ...

and the

Surveyor General of South Australia The Surveyor General of South Australia (also stylised Surveyor-General) is a position originally created for the Surveyor General for the colony of South Australia. The post is held by an official responsible for government surveying Sur ...

.Constitution Act 1934 (SA), section 78

References

External links

South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission - Official Website
{{Authority control Electoral commissions in Australia Elections in South Australia Boundary commissions Government agencies of South Australia