Australian Electoral Commission ANNUAL REPORT 2010 –2011 Australian Electoral Commission ANNUAL REPORT 2010 –2011 ii AEC ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11 Produced by: Australian Electoral Commission Project managed by: Gemma Dickie Printed by: CanPrint Communications Pty Limited Coordinated and edited by: WordsWorth Writing Pty Ltd Designed by: Zoo Advertising Web address of this report: www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Publications/Annual_Reports/index.htm Contact officer: Director, Remuneration, Systems and Agency Governance 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 4458 Email: [email protected] Website: www.aec.gov.au ISSN: 0814-4508 © Commonwealth of Australia 2011 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au The Australian Electoral Commission asserts the right to be recognised as author of the original material in the following manner: or © Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Electoral Commission) 2011. Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of this document are welcome at: Assistant Commissioner, Education and Communications Australian Electoral Commission PO Box 6172 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Email: [email protected] iii 3 iv AEC ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11 v Contents About this report vi Communication strategies and services 88 Year in review 1 Community strategies 95 Electoral Commissioner’s review 2 Management and accountability 101 Summary of achievements 6 Corporate governance 103 AEC overview 11 Support services 110 Purpose and values 12 External scrutiny 115 Legislative framework 15 Human resources 121 Organisational structure 16 Assets management 132 Office network 18 Purchasing 133 Analysis of financial performance 21 Grant programs 134 Developments since the end of the financial year that affect the AEC’s operations 22 Purchaser–provider arrangements 134 Partnerships 23 Consultants and contracts 134 Program 1.1: Electoral roll management 27 Financial statements 137 Program 1.1 overview 28 Appendices 187 Electoral roll management 30 Appendix A – Resources 188 Support services for electoral redistributions Appendix B – Staffing 192 45 Appendix C – Occupational Program 1.2: Election management and health and safety 197 support services 49 Appendix D – Freedom of information 202 Program 1.2 overview 50 Appendix E – Advertising and Federal elections, by-elections market research 206 and referendums 53 Appendix F – Provision of electoral Party registrations 60 roll information 207 Funding and disclosure services 63 Appendix G – Ecologically sustainable development 220 Fee-for-service 67 Appendix H – Consultancies 222 Industrial elections, Protected Action Ballots and Torres Strait Regional Appendix I – Industrial and Authority elections 70 fee-for-service elections statistics 224 Advice and assistance in overseas elections Appendix J – Publications 226 73 Appendix K – Fraud control certification 231 Program 1.3: Education and communication 79 References 233 List of abbreviations 234 Program 1.3 overview 80 List of requirements 236 Electoral education 82 Index 239 vi AEC ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11 About this report This annual report documents the performance of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for the financial year ending 30 June 2011. Structure Readers The annual report begins with: The annual report is designed to meet the ½½ the Electoral Commissioner’s review of the information needs of the AEC’s stakeholders AEC’s performance in 2010–11 and outlook and customers, including: for 2011–12, ½½ Australians who are eligible to enrol and vote ½½ a summary of the AEC’s significant ½½ members of parliament and candidates achievements, ½½ students, teachers and researchers ½½ an overview of the AEC, including its financial ½½ political parties and interest groups performance, and ½½ state, territory and international ½½ a summary of the partnerships with other electoral authorities organisations that helped the AEC to deliver ½½ federal, state, territory and local its outcome. government agencies The following five sections provide details of ½½ the media the AEC’s: ½½ AEC staff. ½½ performance in meeting the objectives and targets set out for its three programs in the The annual report is presented for tabling Portfolio Budget Statements, in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Copies are available free of charge, ½½ performance in relation to corporate in hard copy or in electronic format, through the responsibilities, and AEC website. ½½ audited financial statements for 2010–11. The main report is followed by: ½½ appendices that provide detailed information and statistics required by legislation and other reporting requirements, ½½ a list of abbreviations used in the report, ½½ a list of annual reporting requirements, indicating where they are addressed in the document, and ½½ an alphabetical index. vii Contact officer For more information about the annual report, contact the Director, Remuneration, Systems and Agency Governance Section, at the address shown below. General contact details for the AEC are also shown in the ‘Overview’ section of the report. Web address of this report: www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/ Publications/Annual_Reports/index.htm Contact officer: Director Remuneration, Systems and Agency Governance 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: [email protected] Website: www.aec.gov.au YEAR IN REVIEW 2 AEC ANNUAL REPORT 2010–11 Electoral Commissioner’s review The work of the Australian Electoral Commission in 2010–11 was shaped primarily by the federal election of August 2010. At the same time, we continued to focus throughout the year on our key strategic themes of modernisation, collaboration and investing in our people, and to introduce initiatives or improve existing practices in line with those themes. 2010 federal election Every federal poll places heavy demands on the AEC, but the operating environment of the 2010 election was particularly challenging. The 2010 federal election was distinguished by several unusual factors: ½½ a 35-day period from the announcement of the election until polling day – the second Ed Killesteyn shortest such period in the history of the AEC, Electoral Commissioner ½½ the largest ever volume of public enquiries, enrolments, postal vote applications and early votes, ½½ new legislation, which became effective on the day the writs were issued for the election, that allowed voters to update their enrolment details online, ½½ a High Court ruling made after the writs were issued, rolls had closed and voter lists had been printed and distributed, that retrospectively changed the dates for the close of rolls, and ½½ the introduction of new computer systems within the AEC. Any one of these factors would have tested the abilities of the AEC; taken together, they presented us with something approaching a ‘perfect storm’. YEAR IN REVIEW 3 Between the announcement of the election and by postal vote was 16 per cent higher than polling day, the AEC processed more than in the 2007 election. This constituted a clear 560 000 enrolment transactions. This large change in elector behaviour, with implications number of transactions and tight timeframes for future polls. created an unprecedented enrolment workload for us. Telephone and email enquiries to the The election was made more difficult than it AEC were also well above levels experienced should have been by problems with some of around the 2007 election. To alleviate pressure our new IT systems, such as the new online on our divisional offices, we established a facilities for the recruitment and training of temporary processing cell in the National temporary polling staff. Immediately after the Office and processing cells in most of our state election, working parties were established offices, which worked almost around the clock, to gather and analyse feedback from the and transferred applications between states divisional, state and national office staff that to deal with the uneven geographic spread used the systems. Work is well underway of enrolment applications. We completed the to address staff concerns and improve enrolment work in good time and with the usual the systems. high level of integrity. I thank staff for their AEC staff, including around 67 000 temporary energy and enthusiasm, right across the AEC. employees, worked at over 7 500 polling places The High Court decision, made on 6 August, around Australia on election day. Polling was overturned the legislative provisions for the also conducted in 103 overseas posts and five close of rolls for new electors and electors overseas Australian Defence Force locations. seeking to update their enrolment details. When On election night, AEC staff counted around the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 was 11 million votes, approximately 600 000 more amended in 2006, new voters were given one than on election night in 2007. working day – in this case, to 8 pm on Monday The highly professional delivery of the 2010 19 July – to lodge their enrolment applications. election, with all its unforeseen events, was By finding that amendment unconstitutional, possible only through the dedication of AEC thereby reverting to the previous electoral staff. Right around the country, our people timeline, the High Court decision extended