"Members of the public have until this Thursday 4 December to make suggestions for changes to the ACT Legislative Assembly’s electoral boundaries", the ACT Electoral Commissioner, Phillip Green, said today.

The ACT Legislative Assembly’s electoral boundaries are being redrawn in preparation for the 15 October 2016 election.

"For the first time, the ACT will be divided into 5 electorates each returning 5 Members to the Legislative Assembly. This follows legislation enacted by the Assembly in August 2014 to increase the size of the Assembly to 25 Members," Mr Green said

The ACT Legislative Assembly currently consists of 17 Members elected in 3 electorates, with 7 Members representing the electorate of Molonglo and 5 Members representing each of the electorates of Brindabella and Ginninderra.

Any interested persons or organisations can make suggestions in writing to the Redistribution Committee. Suggestions can be put forward until 4 December 2014.

The suggestions will be published on Friday 5 December 2014 on the Elections ACT website and available in hardcopy at the office of the Electoral Commissioner. Public comment is invited on these suggestions until 18 December 2014.

"Public consultation is an important part of the redistribution process as it provides the Redistribution Committee with a better understanding of the community’s points of view," Mr Green said.

After considering the public submissions, the Redistribution Committee will publish a proposed redistribution of the ACT into five electorates in early 2015. People will then have 28 days in which to object to the proposed boundaries.

The Redistribution Committee consists of the Electoral Commissioner, Phillip Green; the ACT Planning and Land Authority, Dorte Ekelund; the ACT Surveyor-General, Bill Hirst; and the ACT Regional Director, ACT Regional Office, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cassandra Gligora.

One key requirement for the redistribution will be ensuring that electoral enrolments in each electorate will be within +/- 5% of the quota at the time of the next election. The quota for each electorate is 1/5 of the ACT total enrolment.

When redrawing the electoral boundaries, the Redistribution Committee is also required to take account of the community of interests, including economic, social and regional interests; means of communication and travel; the physical features and area of each proposed electorate; the boundaries of existing electorates; and the boundaries of suburban divisions and sections.

The ACT Electoral Commission is making available a graphical boundary mapping tool to allow users to define and submit their electorate boundaries and name suggestions online.

Complete electoral enrolment statistics and further detailed information is available from this site and from the ACT Electoral Commission’s office at Ground floor, North Building, Civic Square, 180 London Circuit, Canberra City.