The Division of Shortland covers parts of the southern Hunter region and the northern part of the Central Coast region.

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission.

[1] The division is named after Lt John Shortland, an early European explorer of the Hunter Region, and was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 federal election.

The division closely follows the west coast of the Tasman Sea, on average extending only 5 or 10 kilometres (3.1 or 6.2 mi) inland.

Shortland covers an area from Highfields, Cardiff and Boolaroo in the north to Budgewoi and San Remo in the south.