Electoral Representation Reviews
Electoral structures and boundaries for councils need to be regularly reviewed to ensure that representation continues to be democratic and appropriate. This is particularly important in rapidly developing regions.
What are Electoral Representation Reviews?
Electoral Representation Reviews are regular reviews of a municipality’s electoral structure to provide fair and equitable representation for voters.
While such reviews in the past were conducted by the elected councils themselves, they are now conducted independently by an electoral commission under contract to the council.
The electoral commission conducts the review and submits a final report to the Minister for Local Government that recommends:
- The number of councillors to be elected
- The appropriate electoral structure (eg: single member wards, multi-member wards or unsubdivided)
- The location of ward boundaries, if wards are recommended
Electoral representation reviews aim to provide fair and equitable representation for voters. Considerations generally include the following types of matters:
- the "one vote, one value" principle
- communities of interest
- demographics
- geography
- growth potential
When is a review conducted?
Reviews are required to be conducted before every third general election for a council. This means that, as a general rule, each municipality will have an Electoral Representation Review every 12 years.
Of the total 79 Victorian councils, 39 had reviews conducted prior to the 2004 or 2005 elections. A further 38 councils held reviews prior to the November 2008 council elections.
There are 28 Councils scheduled to have reviews conducted prior to the 2012 general elections. This includes the City of Melbourne, which is having its first review since its current electoral structure was set in 2001.
A review may not commence more than two years before an election and must be completed at least six months before the election day.
The Victorian Electoral Commission website contains further detail about all reviews conducted and currently scheduled.
What is the review process?
The process of conducting an electoral representation review involves two stages of public consultation.
In the first stage, preliminary written submissions are invited from the public and from the council. After considering these submissions, the reviewer appointed by the electoral commission prepares a preliminary report that includes a preferred option as to the number of councillors, the electoral structure and any required ward boundaries. The preliminary report may also include alternative options.
The second stage involves public consultation on the preliminary report and the preparation of a final report. Written public submissions are again invited, however in this stage submitters may also speak to their submissions.
The final report, when completed, is submitted to the Minister and a copy is provided to the council to be available for public inspection. The Minister has accepted the recommendations of the independent reviewer for all reviews conducted since 2004.
Subdivision Reviews
If population growth in a municipality is particularly high between scheduled electoral representation reviews and the balance of representation from ward to ward varies by more than a 10% margin, a subdivision review may be conducted to ensure the number of voters per councillor does not vary by more than 10% between wards.
A subdivision review only considers the location of ward boundaries. It does not consider the number of councillors or the council’s overall electoral structure.