How many members are in the House of Representatives?

There are 151 members in the Australian House of Representatives. Each represents a single electoral division (also called an electorate) of roughly equal population, determined by the Australian Electoral Commission through periodic redistributions. The size of the House is set by sections 24 and 26 of the Australian Constitution, which tie the number of representatives to the population of each state.

Section 24 of the Constitution requires that the number of members of the House of Representatives be, 'as nearly as practicable, twice the number of the senators', a principle known as the nexus. This linkage means that changes to the size of the Senate (which has 76 senators since 1984) trigger corresponding adjustments to the House. The current size of 151 has been in place since the 2019 federal election.

Seats are distributed among the states according to population. New South Wales (47 seats), Victoria (39), Queensland (30), Western Australia (16), South Australia (10), and Tasmania (5) all return at least one member, with Tasmania guaranteed five seats by the Constitution regardless of population. The Australian Capital Territory has three seats and the Northern Territory has two seats under provisions for the territories.

Members of the House serve three-year terms, although the Prime Minister can advise the Governor-General to dissolve the House early and call an election. The House is the chamber from which the government must secure a majority to govern, with the party or coalition holding more than 75 seats (half of 151 rounded up) able to form a majority government. Minority governments operate with the support of independents or minor parties on confidence and supply. The Speaker, elected by the members at the start of each Parliament, presides over the House and applies the Standing Orders.