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produced by project managed by printed by coordinated and edited by designed by web address of this report contact officer australian electoral commission shirley weber national capital printing 02 6280 7477 wordsworth writing 02 6232 7511 sprout design 02 6161 0226 www.aec.gov.au/what/publications director media section australian electoral commission west block offices queen victoria terrace parkes act 2600 po box 6172 kingston act 2604 telephone 02 6271 4411 fax 02 6271 4558 email info@aec.gov.au website www.aec.gov.au issn 0814-4508 © commonwealth of australia 2006 this work is copyright apart from any use as permitted under the copyright act 1968 no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the australian government available from the attorney-general s department requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the commonwealth copyright administration copyright law branch attorney-general s department national circuit barton act 2601 or posted at www.ag.gov.au/cca ii 200506 annual report[close]
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contents letter of transmittal about this report electoral commissioner s review electoral commissioner s review significant events aec overview overview of the aec partnerships report on performance outcome 1 outcome 1 an effective electoral roll output 1.1.1 electoral roll output 1.1.2 electoral roll updates output 1.1.3 roll products and services output 1.1.4 support services for electoral redistributions report on performance outcome 2 outcome 2 an impartial and independent electoral system output 2.1.1 federal elections by-elections and referendums output 2.1.2 party registrations output 2.1.3 funding and disclosure services output 2.1.4 public awareness campaigns and media releases output 2.1.5 information services output 2.1.6 industrial elections and ballots for organisations output 2.1.7 atsic elections output 2.1.8 state and local government elections output 2.1.9 advice and assistance in overseas elections report on performance outcome 3 outcome 3 an informed community output 3.1.1 electoral education centres output 3.1.2 school and community programs iii 1 4 6 10 19 24 29 34 39 41 44 48 52 54 56 60 62 65 66 70 78 82 89 200506 annual report[close]
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management and accountability corporate governance support services legal services external scrutiny management of human resources purchasing assets management consultants and competitive tendering and contracting providing access for people with disabilities financial performance and future operations analysis of financial performance developments that have affected or may affect operations financial statements appendices appendix a staffing overview appendix b occupational health and safety appendix c freedom of information appendix d advertising and market research appendix e provision of electoral roll information appendix f ecologically sustainable development appendix g consultancies appendix h industrial and fee-for-service elections statistics appendix i publications abbreviations list indexes compliance index general index 99 108 110 111 113 120 121 122 124 128 129 131 184 188 191 195 196 207 209 211 213 214 216 218 i 200506 annual report[close]
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about this report this annual report of the australian electoral commission aec documents the aec s performance for the financial year ending 30 june 2006 structure the annual report begins with an `overview section which includes · the electoral commissioner s review of performance in 200506 and the outlook for 200607 · an overview of the aec including explanations of its legislative basis and structure · summaries of the year s significant events and partnerships the next three sections detail the aec s performance including · performance in meeting the indicators and targets of the organisation s outcomes and outputs framework as set out in the 200506 portfolio budget statements · performance in relation to management and accountability responsibilities such as internal governance external scrutiny human resources management purchasing assets management providing access for people with disabilities and use of consultants and competitive tendering and contracting · financial performance including the audited financial statements for 200506 the main report is followed by · appendices that provide certain detailed information and statistics required to be reported by legislative and other reporting requirements · a list of the abbreviations used in the report a compliance index and a general index this report is presented for tabling in both houses of the parliament of the commonwealth of australia it is also designed to meet the information needs of the aec s stakeholders and customers including · eligible electors · political participants such as members of parliament political parties electoral candidates and interest groups · the media and commentators · state territory and international electoral authorities 200506 annual report readers[close]
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· other government agencies federal state territory and local · students teachers and researchers · aec staff the report is available free of charge in hard copy or via the aec website www.aec.gov.au contact officer for more information about the annual report contact the director media section at the address shown below general contact details for the aec are also shown in the overview section of this report web address of this report contact officer www.aec.gov.au/what/publications director media section australian electoral commission west block offices queen victoria terrace parkes act 2600 po box 6172 kingston act 2604 telephone 02 6271 4411 fax 02 6271 4558 email info@aec.gov.au website www.aec.gov.au 200506 annual report[close]
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electoral commissioner s reiew ian campbell the aec s operations in the 200506 financial year were shaped by the significant changes that occurred within both the australian electoral system and the organisation itself these changes created both challenges and opportunities for the work of the aec throughout the year the aec s focus in responding to these changes was to ensure that their implementation would contribute to our commitment of continually improving the delivery of electoral services to the australian community among the most noteworthy changes were those that came into effect with the electoral and referendum amendment electoral integrity and other measures act 2006 which received royal assent on 22 june 2006 although these changes became law only at the very end of the financial year the aec invested a considerable amount of time and resources throughout the year to ensure the organisation was in a position to administer the changes following the passage of legislation the changes made by the act will affect a wide variety of electoral administration processes that aec staff will undertake prior to the next federal election the aec recognises the need to implement a substantial external communications program well in advance of the next federal election in particular to publicise new enrolment procedures including close of roll arrangements for when the election is called as part of this process independent market research was commissioned in may 2006 to help shape a communications strategy including methods to target younger eligible electors this was also an important year in our ongoing preparations for the next federal election directed by the aec s purpose to continually improve the electoral services we provide to the australian community while we continued to review and implement the lessons learnt from the 2004 election we were also mindful that preparations need to have regard to the changing electoral environment during the year the aec expanded its involvement in the area of industrial elections due to amendments to the workplace relations act 1996 these amendments introduced a requirement with effect from 27 march 2006 for protected action ballots to be held before protected industrial action can be taken under this legislation the aec conducts protected action ballots when appointed by the australian industrial relations commission this year we conducted eight such ballots the aec s experience professionalism and decentralised structure made us ideal to meet the specific requirements of these ballots a major commitment of the aec is to continue to strengthen our relationships including open dialogue with our many stakeholders including australian electors the australian parliament and state territory and international colleagues 200506 annual report[close]
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a key measure of the aec s relationship with parliamentary stakeholders during this period was our involvement in the joint standing committee on electoral matters inquiry into the 2004 election during the year the aec provided submissions and technical advice to enlighten public discussion about the administration of current or proposed electoral legislation the elections held in tasmania and south australia in march provided yet another opportunity for aec staff to work in collaboration with our state electoral colleagues the involvement of our staff was integral to the operation of these elections and benefits also flowed back to the aec as our staff were given further opportunities to maintain and develop their skills and experience international recognition of the aec s skills and experience also continued in this period with strong overseas demand and praise for our electoral assistance products and expertise we can all take pride in the professionalism and resourcefulness of the many aec staff who were on duty in electoral events particularly in the asia-pacific region looking inwards another major change this year was the review and subsequent reorganisation of the aec itself the objective of this review was to position the aec with the structure and skilled workforce that would most effectively provide the high-quality electoral service that our stakeholders require and expect i was most impressed with the input of aec staff into this review and indeed with the positive attitude and ability displayed while we undertook the challenge of change continuous roll update cru has been the primary methodology for maintaining electoral rolls since 1999 and as such is an important component in achieving our strategic outcome of `an effective electoral roll however since its introduction cru has not been subjected to a specific review to determine whether it is undertaken in the most efficient and effective manner or whether it is meeting the objectives and expectations of the aec and joint roll partners external stakeholders have a particular interest in the quality of the electoral rolls and have expressed some concerns over their quality in the past as a result a review will be undertaken in the first half of 200607 with an expectation that the results will provide both an objective assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the program and direction for the future development and evolution of the roll review function one of the largest long-term projects that the aec has embarked on is the general enrolment elections support and information system genesis project during this year important developmental work was undertaken on this project which will see the existing ageing roll management and election management systems replaced this financial year also marked my first year serving as electoral commissioner i wish to acknowledge the hard work that all staff of the aec have been putting into our changing environment and thank them for their commitment and dedication we look forward to working towards making the next election a smooth and successful event ian campbell electoral commissioner 200506 annual report electoral commissioner s reiew[close]
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significant eents inquiry into the 00 federal election in december 2004 the joint standing committee on electoral matters commenced an inquiry into all aspects of the 2004 federal election the aec made eight submissions to the inquiry appeared before the committee at public hearings in new south wales queensland western australia and the australian capital territory and provided the secretariat with a technical adviser to assist in drafting the report the committee s report tabled on 10 october 2005 contained 56 recommendations covering enrolment voting registration of political parties and electoral terms electoral and referendum amendment electoral integrity and other measures act 2006 the electoral and referendum amendment electoral integrity and other measures act 2006 the integrity act received royal assent on 22 june 2006 for more information refer to the explanation of the integrity act on page 7 ballots for protected industrial action under the workplace relations act 1996 the aec can be appointed as the ballot agent to conduct secret ballots of employees to determine whether they support a proposal to take industrial action against their employer since the introduction of this legislation in march 2006 the aec has conducted eight protected action ballots pursuant to orders made by the australian industrial relations commission 200506 annual report solomon islands elections aec staff played a crucial role in ensuring the effective conduct of the parliamentary elections held in solomon islands in april 2006 by providing extensive technical assistance to the solomon islands electoral commission this assistance was complemented by a nationwide civic education program at the village level.[close]
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fiji elections aec officers provided critical support for the may 2006 national elections in fiji in a range of important areas including voter registration election planning and logistics development of training materials and conduct of training of polling and counting officials the work was fully funded by ausaid redistributions the australian capital territory redistribution was finalised during 200506 and the final report was tabled in the house of representatives on 23 may 2006 new information systems the aec s new financial management information system great plains was introduced in july 2005 a new human resources management information system payglobal was introduced in september 2005 the system is tailored to meet the specific needs of the aec and supports essential functions such as salary payment leave processing and the human resources selfservice program integrity act on 22 june 2006 the electoral and referendum amendment electoral integrity and other measures act 2006 the integrity act received royal assent changes made by the integrity act will affect a variety of electoral administrative processes that the aec will undertake prior to the next election the integrity act contains reform measures arising from recommendations of the joint standing committee on electoral matters report of the inquiry into the conduct of the 2004 federal election and matters related thereto which was tabled in the parliament on 10 october 2005 and additional reform measures considered a priority by the australian government the integrity act amends the commonwealth electoral act 1918 the referendum machinery provisions act 1984 the income tax assessment act 1997 and the income tax assessment act 1936 · closing the rolls at 8:00 pm on the third day after the issue of the writ for people changing or updating their enrolment 200506 annual report changes made by the integrity act include who are 17 years old at the time of the issue of writ but will turn 18 on or before polling day or who expect to become australian citizens that is to attend their scheduled citizenship ceremony between the issue of the writ and polling day significant eents[close]
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· closing the rolls at 8:00 pm on the day of the issue of the writ for applicants not currently on the roll that is applicants who have never been enrolled and applicants who were once enrolled but are not currently enrolled · introducing a proof of identity requirement for people enrolling re-enrolling or updating their enrolment · requiring that a person who casts a provisional vote must provide documentary proof of identity in order for their vote to be counted · increasing all disclosure thresholds in the electoral act 1918 for donations and receipts to above $10,000 this threshold will be indexed yearly by the consumer price index · requiring third parties to complete annual disclosure returns · extending the definition of `associated entity to include entities with financial membership of a registered political party and entities on whose behalf a person exercises voting rights in a registered political party · removing prisoner voting entitlement provisions so that all prisoners serving a sentence of full-time detention will not be entitled to vote but may remain on the roll or if not enrolled apply for enrolment · removing the power for a divisional returning officer to alter the roll on a written request from an elector changes to the electoral roll can now only be made by the elector completing a new enrolment application form · providing access to the roll by persons and organisations that verify or contribute to the verification of the identity of persons for the purposes of the financial transaction reports act 1988 where such use is not subject to the commercial use prohibition · expanding the aec s demand power to enable access to information held by state and territory government agencies for the purpose of preparing maintaining and revising the rolls 200506 annual report[close]
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