The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is made up of 25 single-member electoral divisions.
The Electoral Act 2004 dictates the characteristics of each of these electorates, and requires, among other things, that each electorate has a similar number of eligible voters and that the physical area of an electorate should be kept as small as is practicable. Mandatory redistributions take place in the middle of each term in order to respond to changing demographics. The boundaries of each division attempts to match a quota of the average divisional enrolment as closely as possible. Redistributions are organised by the independent Northern Territory Electoral Commission.
As of 14 June 2019, the quota of electors was 5,555.[1] At the general election in August 2020, the quota was 5,649. Northern Territory divisions are the smallest such electorates in Australia, due to the Territory's small population.
With so few constituents, an MLA can easily get to know all of the enrolled voters in his or her electorate. This is the case even in rural and remote electorates; MLAs frequently devote significant resources to constituent services.[2]