Voter enrolment for the electorate for January 2025 is projected to be 114,676, which is within the numerical requirements of the Electoral Act.
Nicholls could gain up to 6529 electors from other electoral divisions or transfer up to 1667 electors to other electoral divisions and remain within the permissible range.
However, the Australian Electoral Commission Redistribution Committee formed the view that altering its boundaries with neighbouring electoral divisions would not assist in balancing the numbers or lead to improved communities of interest.
The newly named seat of Nicholls was only created in the previous redistribution.
Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell faces a shake-up of his seat which will shift it further west, taking Woodend and Romsey from the seat of Bendigo and transferring Bulla, Sunbury and Sunbury South to a new electorate named after former Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
McEwen loses some of its urban fringes to the proposed new Division of Hawke and retains its predominantly east-west orientation, making it a more regional seat.
McEwen used to include Seymour and was once the most marginal seat in Australia following the 2007 election when Liberal Fran Bailey defeated Mr Mitchell by just 31 votes. The election was decided after several court challenges.
Mr Mitchell eventually won the seat and has held it for Labor since 2010.
“It takes us outside the majority of the urban growth area of Melbourne which puts us more in the regional area than suburbia,” Mr Mitchell said.
Objections to the proposed new electorates and boundaries will be considered before a final determination by the AEC.
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