colony. In the following year, 1856, one of the new parliament's first acts was to change the name of the colony from Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania. Houses of Parliament House of Assembly The Tasmanian House of Assembly is the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament. There are 25 members, with five members elected from each of the 5 divisions. The divisions are: Bass, Braddon, Denison, Franklin, and Lyons. The Tasmanian House of Assembly electoral divisions share the same names and boundaries as the Australian House of Representatives divisions for Tasmania. Members are elected using the Hare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation for a term of up to 4 years. Current distribution of seats The distribution of seats as a result of the 2021 state election is: Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Tasmanian Parliament. It has 15 members, each elected from a single-member electoral division. The boundaries of the divisions are reviewed by tribunal every 9 years. Elections are conducted annually on a 6-year periodic cycle; 3 divisions will be up for election in May one year, then 2 divisions in May the following year and so on. As such, each member will normally serve a term of 6 years. Current distribution of seats The current distribution of seats (updated post May 2021 elections) is: See also Parliaments of the Australian states and territories Official Openings by the Monarch in Australia Notes References External links Parliament of Tasmania Tasmania