Reform of 2003

A major reform of the Parliament was made by the Labor government, led by Steve Bracks, by the Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Act 2003. Under the new system, members of the Legislative Council serve terms linked to elections for the Legislative Assembly, which are fixed four-year terms, unless dissolved sooner.

Each electoral region consists of 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly electoral districts with about 420,000 electors each. Each region elects five members to the Legislative Council by a single transferable vote. There are currently 40 members of the Legislative Council, four fewer than previously. The changes also introduced proportional representation, making it easier for minor parties to gain seats in the Legislative Council. With each region electing 5 members, the quota for a seat in each region, after distribution of preferences, is 16.7% (one-sixth). At the same time, the Council's ability to block supply was removed.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission drew the boundaries of the new regions in 2005. The new system came into effect for the 2006 Victorian election.

Current regions

Victoria is divided into eight electoral regions, 3 rural and 5 metropolitan:

• Eastern Victoria Region
• North-Eastern Metropolitan Region
• Northern Metropolitan Region
• Northern Victoria Region
• South-Eastern Metropolitan Region
• Southern Metropolitan Region
• Western Metropolitan Region
• Western Victoria Region

The boundaries of the electoral regions were last drawn in 2021 in unison with the redistricting of electorates. Prior to the 2022 state election, the Eastern Metropolitan Region was renamed the North-Eastern Metropolitan region.

Provinces 1856 to 2006

The Legislative Council was formerly elected from 22 single-member electorates called "provinces". The members of the council sat for two assembly terms so two members sat for each province. This is a list of the provinces as of 2005:

• Ballarat Province (1937)
• Central Highlands Province (1976)
• Chelsea Province (1976)
• Doutta Galla Province (1937)
• East Yarra Province (1904)
• Eumemmerring Province (1985)
• Geelong Province (1976)
• Gippsland Province (1882)
• Higinbotham Province (1937)
• Jika Jika Province (1985)
• Koonung Province (1992)
• Melbourne Province (1882)
• Melbourne North Province (1904)
• Melbourne West Province (1904)
• Monash Province (1937)
• North Eastern Province (1882)
• North Western Province# (1856)
• Silvan Province (1992)
• South Eastern Province (1882)
• Templestowe Province (1967)
• Waverley Province (1976)
• Western Province# (1856)
• Western Port Province (2002) The following provinces also existed but were abolished prior to 2002:
• Bendigo Province (1904–1985)
• Boronia Province (1967–1992)
• Central Province# (1856–1882)
• Eastern Province# (1856–1882)
• Melbourne East Province (1904–1937)
• Melbourne South Province (1904–1937)
• Nelson Province (1882–1937)
• North Central Province (1882–1904)
• North Yarra Province (1882–1904)
• Northern Province (1882–1976)
• Nunawading Province (1976–1992)
• Public and Railway Officers Province (1904–1907)
• South Western Province# (1856–1976)
• South Yarra Province (1882–1904)
• Southern Province# (1856–1967)
• Thomastown Province (1976–1985)
• Wellington Province (1882–1937)

= Original Province of inaugural (upper-house chamber) Legislative Council 1856{{cite book

|access-date=22 October 2012

The old system tended to favour the Liberal Party and the National Party (often in coalition) over the Labor Party and other parties . This caused many instances where a Labor-controlled Assembly faced an opposition-controlled Council — a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia.

Electoral districts 1851 to 1856

The Victorian Legislative Council was initially a single chamber (unicameral) when first created and consisted of members some of whom were nominated and some elected. The electoral districts were:{{cite web |access-date=21 May 2013 |access-date=21 May 2013

• Avoca
• Ballaarat
• Belfast and Warrnambool
• Castlemaine
• Geelong
• Gipps' Land
• Grant
• Kilmore, Kyneton and Seymour
• Loddon
• City of Melbourne
• Murray
• Normanby, Dundas and Follett
• North Bourke
• Ovens
• Portland
• Ripon, Hampden, Grenville and Polwarth
• Sandhurst
• South Bourke, Evelyn and Mornington
• Talbot, Dalhousie and Anglesey
• Villiers and Heytesbury
• Wimmera

References

References

1. "Electoral Boundaries Commission 2000–2001 Redivision Report".
2. "Electoral Boundaries Commission releases proposed State electoral boundaries - Electoral Boundaries Commission".