STATE ELECTORAL DIVISIONS
State Electoral Divisions (SEDs) are an ABS approximation of state electoral districts. A state electoral district is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one or more members to the State or Territory (S/T) Lower Houses of Parliament. Boundaries are based upon the state electoral districts current on Census Night 9 August 2011. SEDs may change as S/T revise their boundaries. Where the AEC revise their boundaries, the SEDs will be updated on an annual basis in July in conjunction with updates of other Non-ABS Structures.
The Australian Electoral Commission website http://www.aec.gov.au provides links to all S/T Electoral Authorities via their 'Elections' tab.
METHODOLOGY
The boundaries and census statistics produced for SEDs are constructed from Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) based on the method described in Chapter 1.
SEDs are based on the publicly available versions of SEDs. 446 SEDs are defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia (excluding external territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands). SEDs do not cross State/Territory borders.
Unclassified, No Usual Address and Migratory-Offshore-Shipping are represented as non spatial objects in the digital boundaries.
SED NAMES
SED names are the same as those allocated by the Electoral Commission in each S/T.
SED CODING STRUCTURE
SEDs are allocated a four digit code within each S/T. This is prefixed by a single digit S/T code to enable unique identification of SEDs across the country. S/T have different electoral arrangements. A summary of these differences and how they affect the SED classification is provided below:
NSW
New South Wales has two Houses of Parliament but only the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts are represented in the SED classification since the Legislative Council (upper House) is a single constituency. SEDs are sorted by Lower House district name and then allocated a S/T code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
New South Wales | 1 | 10001 | Albury |
New South Wales | 1 | 10002 | Auburn |
|
VIC
In Victoria, the Legislative Council (Upper House) regions are obtained by amalgamating the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts. The SED classification provides information on both of these houses. The code comprises a S/T code (digit 1), a Lower House code (digits 2-3) and an Upper House code (digits 4-5). Upper House region names are recorded in brackets after the Lower House district names.
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Victoria | 2 | 20106 | Albert Park (Southern Metropolitan) |
Victoria | 2 | 20207 | Altona (Western Metropolitan) |
|
QLD
Queensland has only one House of Parliament (the Legislative Assembly) with each member representing an electoral district. These districts are equivalent to divisions in this classification. SEDs are sorted by name then allocated a S/T code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Queensland | 3 | 30001 | Albert |
Queensland | 3 | 30002 | Algester |
|
SA
Like New South Wales, in South Australia, there are two Houses of Parliament but only the House of Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts are represented in the SED classification since the Legislative Council (Upper House) is a single constituency. SEDs are sorted by Lower House name then allocated a S/T code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
South Australia | 4 | 40001 | Adelaide |
South Australia | 4 | 40002 | Ashford |
|
WA
In Western Australia, Legislative Council (Upper House) regions are obtained by amalgamating the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts. The SED classification provides information on both of these houses. The five-digit code comprises a S/T code (digit 1), a Lower House code (digits 2-3) and an Upper House code (digits 4-5). Upper House region names are recorded in brackets after the Lower House district names.
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Western Australia | 5 | 50106 | Albany (South West Region) |
Western Australia | 5 | 50205 | Alfred Cove (South Metropolitan Region) |
|
TAS
In Tasmania there are two Houses of Parliament, the House of Assembly (Lower House) and the Legislative Council (Upper House). The Upper House divisions do not aggregate to or from the Lower House divisions. Information on both Houses is provided by the SED classification. The code comprises a S/T code (digit 1) and a Lower House code (digits 2-3) and an Upper House code (digits 4-5). Tasmanian Upper House names are recorded in brackets after Lower House names. Because Upper House divisions do not aggregate from the Lower House divisions there is more than one code covering a Lower House division, for example, one for each overlapping House division.
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Tasmania | 6 | 60302 | Denison (Derwent) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60303 | Denison (Elwick) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60304 | Denison (Hobart) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60305 | Denison (Huon) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60310 | Denison (Nelson) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60402 | Franklin (Derwent) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60405 | Franklin (Huon) |
Tasmania | 6 | 60410 | Franklin (Nelson) |
|
NT
In the Northern Territory there is only one House of Parliament, the Legislative Assembly, the electorates for which are equivalent to the divisions in the SED classification. SEDs are sorted by name, then allocated a S/T code (digit 1), then a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Northern Territory | 7 | 70001 | Arafura |
Northern Territory | 7 | 70002 | Araluen |
|
ACT
The Australian Capital Territory has only one House of Parliament, the Legislative Assembly, the electorates for which are equivalent to the divisions in the SED classification. SEDs are sorted by name and then allocated S/T code (digit 1), then a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).
Example:
S/T Name | S/T Code | SED Code | SED Name |
|
Australian Capital Territory | 8 | 80001 | Brindabella |
Australian Capital Territory | 8 | 80002 | Ginninderra |
|
OT
There are no State Electoral boundaries for Other Territories.
S/T | SED Code | SED Name |
|
9 | 99191 | Unclassified (OT) |
|
Special Purpose Codes
Special purpose codes are included as balancing items. SA1s allocated to these codes are not part of any official SED.
- SED code 9494 is reserved for those S/T where people are coded to the No Usual Address SA1s.
- SED code 9797 is reserved for those S/T that have Migratory, Off-Shore and Shipping SA1s.
Example:
S/T | SED Code | SED Name |
|
5 | 9494 | No usual address (WA) |
5 | 9797 | Migratory - Offshore - Shipping (WA) |
|
SEDs are renumbered after each census therefore the codes used for the 2011 Census may not match those used for the 2006 Census.