STATE ELECTORAL DIVISIONS (SED)
State Electoral Divisions (SED) 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 Lower Houses of Parliament, or the relevant equivalent. Boundaries are based upon the State Electoral Districts current on Census Night 9 August 2016. State Electoral Divisions may change as State or Territory authorities revise their boundaries. Where the Australian Electoral Commission revise their boundaries, the State Electoral Divisions 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 State or Territory Electoral Authorities.

METHODOLOGY
State Electoral Divisions developed by the ABS are an approximation of the official State Electoral Divisions using one or more Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1). Each SA1 has been allocated once to a State Electoral Division based on the largest population contribution. It should be noted that where a SA1 covers two or more State Electoral Division, the SA1 can only be allocated to one electorate.

For the 2016 ASGS, 448 State Electoral Divisions have been defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia, with the exception of the external territories of Jervis Bay, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which are allocated to "Unclassified (OT)". State Electoral Divisions do not cross State and Territory borders.

Unclassified, No Usual Address and Migratory-Offshore-Shipping are represented as non spatial objects in the digital boundaries.

STATE ELECTORAL DIVISION NAMES
State Electoral Division names are the same as those allocated by the Electoral Commission in each respective State or Territory.

STATE ELECTORAL DIVISION CODING STRUCTURE
State Electoral Divisions are allocated a four digit code within each State or Territory. This is prefixed by a single digit State or Territory code to enable unique identification of States or Territories across the country.

The codes used for the 2016 State Electoral Divisions may not match those used in 2011 as codes are assigned alphabetically within each State and Territory, and some State Electoral Division names have changed since 2011. Correspondences enabling translation of data from 2011 to 2016 to qualify these changes will be released with this volume.

Special purpose codes are included as balancing items. SA1s allocated to these codes are not part of any official State Electoral Division.

• SED code 9494 is reserved for those State or Territories where people are coded to the No Usual Address SA1s.
• SED code 9797 is reserved for those State or Territories that have Migratory, Off-Shore and Shipping SA1s.

Example:

State and Territory	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
5	9494	No usual address (WA)
5	9797	Migratory - Offshore - Shipping (WA)

It should be noted that States or Territories have different electoral arrangements. A summary of these differences and how they affect the State Electoral Division classification are provided below:

New South Wales (NSW)
New South Wales has two Houses of Parliament but only the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts are represented in the State Electoral Division classification since the Legislative Council (upper House) is a single constituency. State Electoral Divisions are sorted by Lower House district name and then allocated a State or Territory code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).

Example:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
New South Wales	1	10001	Albury
New South Wales	1	10002	Auburn

Victoria (Vic.)
In Victoria, the Legislative Council (Upper House) regions are obtained by amalgamating the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts. The State Electoral Division classification provides information on both of these houses. The code comprises a State or Territory 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:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
Victoria	2	20106	Albert Park (Southern Metropolitan)
Victoria	2	20207	Altona (Western Metropolitan)

Queensland (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. State Electoral Divisions are sorted by name then allocated a State or Territory code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).

Example:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
Queensland	3	30001	Albert
Queensland	3	30002	Algester

South Australia (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 State Electoral Division classification since the Legislative Council (Upper House) is a single constituency. State Electoral Divisions are sorted by Lower House name then allocated a State or Territory code (digit 1) and a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).

Example:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
South Australia	4	40001	Adelaide
South Australia	4	40002	Ashford

Western Australia (WA)
In Western Australia, Legislative Council (Upper House) regions are obtained by amalgamating the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) electoral districts. The State Electoral Division classification provides information on both of these houses. The five-digit code comprises a State or Territory 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:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
Western Australia	5	50106	Albany (South West)
Western Australia	5	50205	Alfred Cove (South Metropolitan)

Tasmania (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 State Electoral Division classification. The code comprises a State or Territory 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:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division 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)

Northern Territory (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 State Electoral Division classification. State Electoral Divisions are sorted by name, then allocated a State or Territory code (digit 1), then a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).

Example:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
Northern Territory	7	70001	Arafura
Northern Territory	7	70002	Araluen

Australian Capital Territory (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 State Electoral Division classification. State Electoral Divisions are sorted by name and then allocated State or Territory code (digit 1), then a code starting from 0001 (digits 2-5).

Example:

State and Territory Name	State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
Australian Capital Territory	8	80001	Brindabella
Australian Capital Territory	8	80002	Ginninderra

Other Territories (OT)
There are no State Electoral boundaries for Other Territories.

State and Territory Code	State Electoral Division Code	State Electoral Division Name
9	99191	Unclassified (OT)