NSW to lose a federal seat, WA to gain one

The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that at the next federal election, NSW will lose a seat in the House of Representatives, and WA will gain one. Section 24 of the Constitution requires that “[t]he number of members chosen in the several States shall be in proportion to the respective numbers of their people”, with a minimum of five seats if the population is too low (such as in Tasmania). The AEC calculates the number of seats based on up-to-date statistics, and then holds public consultations on the fairest way to redraw the electoral boundaries.