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Upcoming federal election fast facts

April 18, 2019

map of canberra — The 2019 federal election will see Canberran residents broadly divided into northern, central and southern electoral divisions, known as Fenner, Canberra and Bean respectively. Photo: AEC.

Australians are going back to the polls on 18 May.

This time around, things will be a little different in the ACT.

In 2018, a redistribution took place to enable an increase from two to three ACT federal electoral divisions. We have now been broadly divided into northern, central and southern electoral divisions, known as Fenner, Canberra, and Bean respectively.

Bean was named in recognition of prominent war historian Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean.

The new boundaries see:

The federal electoral division of Fenner cover the entirety of Gungahlin, Hall, most of Belconnen and Jervis Bay.
The federal electoral division of Canberra centred on Lake Burley Griffin, includes the city and other areas immediately adjacent to the lake. Canberra also includes inner Belconnen suburbs through to Giralang in the north and Hawker in the north-west.
The federal electoral division of Bean cover the southern part of Canberra including Tuggeranong, Molonglo Valley, Weston Creek and the majority of Woden Valley, as well as Norfolk Island.

This change means roughly half of Canberrans will find themselves in a different electorate to the 2016 election.

And curiously, all but voters in the seat of Fenner will face a ballot paper without an incumbent MP.

Following the resignation of Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann, Labor’s Dr Andrew Leigh in Fenner is the only sitting MP re-contesting his seat, albeit with new boundaries taking in only the city’s outer north and west.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) reported earlier this month that a record 96.5 per cent of eligible Australians are currently enrolled to vote.

At the same time, there are still people who remain unenrolled or whose information is out of date. They all need to take action fast before the deadline of 8pm tonight, Thursday 18 April.

Australians must update their address details on the electoral roll if they have moved or changed their name.

It’s also worth noting 17-year-old Australians turning 18 years of age on or before 18 May 2019 should also enrol and vote in the federal election.

Enrol or update your address or name details quickly online at aec.gov.au or by calling the AEC on 13 23 26.