How decisions are made

The Electoral Districts Redistribution Panel must base its decisions primarily on achieving an equal number of electors across all districts. Wherever possible the Redistribution Panel needs to take into account:

• economic, social and regional communities of interest

• means of communication and travel

• physical features and area of the electoral district

• natural boundaries (such as mountains or rivers)

• the boundaries of existing electoral districts.

A whole-of-State process

While the needs of individual districts and the communities within them are considered and wherever possible taken into account, the Redistribution Panel must have a whole-of-state perspective so that the electorates fit together and have approximately the same number of voters.

At the time of the redistribution, the number of enrolled voters in each district may vary by up to 10 per cent (up or down) from the ‘quota’ or average number. At a specified projection time, that is 17 April 2023, the enrolment figures should not, as far as practicable vary from the average projected quota by more or less than 10 per cent.

Acceptable variation 

Voters move and new people enrol every day. Natural boundaries and communities of interest must be taken into account. The NSW Parliament has decided that a variation of plus or minus 10 per cent is an acceptable figure to work with, and allows some flexibility to the Redistribution Panel when making decisions about boundaries.