Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to subsection (2G), the Electoral Commissioner shall, as soon as possible after he or she has ascertained, in accordance with section 46, the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth and of the several States and Territories:
(a) determine, in accordance with subsection (2), the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the several States at a general election; and
(b) determine, in accordance with subsections (2A), (2B), (2C) and (2F), the number of members (if any) of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the several Territories at a general election.
(2) The number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the several States at a general election shall, subject to the Constitution, be determined by the Electoral Commissioner in the following manner:
(a) a quota shall be ascertained by dividing the number of people of the Commonwealth, as ascertained in accordance with section 46, by twice the number of the senators for the States;
(b) the number of members to be chosen in each State shall be determined by dividing the number of people of the State, as ascertained in accordance with section 46, by the quota and, if on such division there is a remainder greater than one-half of the quota, one more member shall be chosen in the State.
(2A) The Electoral Commissioner shall divide the number of people of each Territory, as ascertained in accordance with section 46, by the quota ascertained under paragraph (2)(a) and, subject to subsections (2B), (2C) and (2F), shall determine:
(a) if the result of the division is less than or equal to 0.5--that no member of the House of Representatives be chosen in the Territory at a general election;
(b) if the result of the division is greater than 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.5--that one member of the House of Representatives be chosen in the Territory at a general election; or
(c) in any other case--that the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Territory at a general election is the number ascertained by the division or, if there is a remainder greater than one-half of the quota, that number increased by one.
(2B) At least one member of the House of Representatives shall be chosen in the Australian Capital Territory and in the Northern Territory at a general election.
(2C) Subject to subsection (2F), if the Electoral Commissioner determines that, at a general election, no member of the House of Representatives is to be chosen in either or both of the following Territories:
(a) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands;
(b) the Territory of Christmas Island;
the following provisions shall have effect:
(c) the ascertainments under section 46, and the determinations under this section, in respect of that Territory or those Territories, as the case may be, and in respect of the Northern Territory shall be deemed never to have been made;
(d) that Territory, or those Territories, as the case may be, shall be taken to be part of the Northern Territory;
(e) subject to subsection (2G), the Electoral Commissioner shall, as soon as possible:
(i) ascertain, under section 46, the number of the people of the Northern Territory; and
(ii) determine, under this section, the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in the Northern Territory at a general election.
(2D) To avoid doubt, subsection 46(1A) does not apply to the ascertainment of the number of the people of the Northern Territory under subparagraph (2C)(e)(i) of this section.
Note: Subsection 46(1A) might otherwise require the fresh ascertainment of the number of the people of the Northern Territory under subparagraph (2C)(e)(i) of this section to be made immediately after the end of the 12 month period referred to in subsection 46(1).
(2E) This subsection applies if:
(a) apart from this subsection and subsection (2F), the result of dividing the number of the people of the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory, as ascertained in accordance with section 46, by the quota ascertained under paragraph (2)(a) is:
(i) a whole number (the relevant whole number ); and
(ii) a remainder that is less than or equal to one-half of that quota; and
(b) the difference between:
(i) the number obtained by multiplying that quota by the sum of the relevant whole number and one-half; and
(ii) the number of the people of the Territory, as ascertained in accordance with section 46;
is less than or equal to twice the standard error of the measure of the Australian Statistician's estimate of the net undercount for that Territory at the last Census.
(2F) If subsection (2E) applies to the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory:
(a) the determination made under subsection (1) in accordance with:
(i) subsection (2A); or
(ii) subparagraph (2C)(e)(ii);
in respect of that Territory is taken never to have been made; and
(b) the number of the people of that Territory, as ascertained in accordance with section 46, is taken to be increased by a number equal to twice the standard error referred to in paragraph (2E)(b); and
(c) subject to subsection (2G), the Electoral Commissioner must, as soon as possible, determine under this section the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in that Territory at a general election.
Note: In certain circumstances, the number of the people of the Northern Territory will have been re-ascertained in accordance with section 46 because of the operation of subsection (2C).
(2G) The determinations made under subsection (1), and paragraphs (2C)(e) and (2F)(c), must be made within 1 month after the end of the period of 12 months referred to in subsection 46(1).
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, but subject to the Constitution and to section 39B and Part VII of the Judiciary Act 1903 , a decision by the Electoral Commissioner made, or purporting to be made, under subsection (1):
(a) is final and conclusive;
(b) shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, set aside or called in question in any court or tribunal on any ground; and
(c) is not subject to mandamus, prohibition, certiorari or injunction, or the making of a declaratory or other order, in any court on any ground.
(4) A determination under subsection (1) shall be made by instrument in writing.
(5) In this section:
"standard error" of the measure of the Australian Statistician's estimate of the net undercount for a Territory in the last Census means the standard error estimate of the sampling error for that estimate of the net undercount that the Australian Statistician supplies to the Electoral Commissioner under paragraph 47(1)(b).