05 – 2004–05 Annual Report Australian Electoral Commission 2004 A U S T R A L I A N E L E C TO R A L C O M M I S S I O N 2 0 0 4 – 0 5 ANNUAL REPORT for only uu aa Archived.. vv oo gg .. historical cc ee aa .. 05 ww ww ww – research 2004 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page i Australian Electoral Commission 2004–05 Annual Report for 2004–05 only Archived historical research 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page ii Australian Electoral Commission Annual Report 2004–05 Produced by: Australian Electoral Commission Project managed by: Shirley Weber and Jodi Gatfield Printed by: Pirion (02) 6280 5410 Coordinated and edited by: WordsWorth Writing (02) 6232 7511 Designed by: Mirrabooka Marketing & Design (02) 6286 1242 Web address of this report: www.aec.gov.au/what/publicationsfor Contact officer: Director Media and Communication Australian Electoral Commission West Block Offices Queen Victoria Terrace Parkes ACT 2600 PO Box 6172 Kingston ACT 2604 only Telephone: (02) 6271 4411 Fax: (02) 6271 4558 Email: [email protected] ArchivedWebsite: www.aec.gov.au historical ISSN 0814-4508 © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 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 Commonwealth, available from the Attorney-General’s Department. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be directed to Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney- General’s Department, Robertresearch Garran Offices, National Circuit, Canberra ACT 2600 or posted at www.ag.gov.au/cca. ii AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 Letter of transmittal for only Archived 2 September 2005historical research AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 iii for 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page iv only Archived historical research 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page v Contents About this Report 1 Electoral Commissioner’s Report 3 Overview by Andy Becker who retired as Commissioner on 1 July 2005 4 Foreword by Ian Campbell who assumed the role of Electoral Commissioner on 2 July 2005 5 Significant Events in 2004–05 6 AEC Overview 9 Report on Performance: Outcome 1—An Effective Electoral Roll Report on performance: Outcome 1 for 22 Output 1.1.1—Electoral roll 28 Output 1.1.2—Electoral roll updates 31 Output 1.1.3—Roll products and services 35 Output 1.1.4—Support services for electoral redistributions 37 Report on Performance: Outcome 2—An Impartial and Independent Electoral System Report on performance: Outcome 2 40 Output 2.1.1—Federal elections, by-elections and referendums 46 Output 2.1.2—Party registrations 51 Output 2.1.3—Funding and disclosure services 53 Output 2.1.4—Public awareness campaigns, media releases 55 Output 2.1.5—Information services only57 Output 2.1.6—Industrial elections and ballots for organisations 63 Output 2.1.7—ATSIC elections 65 Output 2.1.8—State and local government elections 66 Output 2.1.9—Advice and assistance in overseas elections 68 Report on Performance: Outcome 3—An Informed Community ArchivedReport on performance: Outcome 3 74 Output 3.1.1—Electoral education centres 77 Output 3.1.2—School andhistorical community programs 83 Financial Performance and Future Operations Analysis of the AEC’s financial performance 90 Developments that have affected AEC operations, or may affect them in future 91 Management and Accountability Corporate governance 97 External scrutiny 103 Management of human resources 104 Purchasing research 110 Discretionary grants 110 Assets management 111 Consultants and competitive tendering and contracting 111 Providing access for people with disabilities 112 Financial Statements 115 AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 v 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page vi Appendices Appendix A—Staffing overview 172 Appendix B—Occupational health and safety 175 Appendix C—Freedom of information 177 Appendix D—Advertising and market research 179 Appendix E—Provision of electoral roll information 180 Appendix F—Ecologically sustainable development 191 Appendix G—Consultancies 192 Appendix H—Industrial and commercial elections statistics 194 Appendix I—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission election statistics 195 Appendix J—Feedback 196 Appendix K—Publications and products 200 Abbreviations Listfor 202 Indexes Compliance index 204 General index 206 only Archived historical research vi AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page 1 About this report Purpose for This annual report of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) documents the AEC’s performance for the financial year ending 30 June 2005. Structure The report is presented in seven main parts: • a review of the year’s activities by the Electoral Commissioner, including summaries of significant developments and the AEC’s overall performance in 2004–05, and of the outlook for 2005–06. A forward by Mr Ian Campbell, who commenced as Electoral Commissioner on 2 July 2005, is also included • an overview of the AEC, including explanations of its legislative basis and structure • a report on the AEC’s performance, structured around the organisation’s outcomes and outputsonly framework as identified in its 2004–05 Portfolio Budget Statements • a report on the AEC’s management and accountability, covering internal governance, external scrutiny, human resources management, purchasing, assets management, providing access for people with disabilities, and consultants and competitive tendering and contracting • the AEC’s audited financial statements for 2004–05 Archived• other information—this part comprises ten appendices that provide certain detailed information and statistics required to be reported by legislation and other reporting requirements • a reference section, comprisinghistorical a list of abbreviations used in the report, a compliance index and a general index. Readers 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, responsible minister, members of parliament, political parties, electoral candidates and interest groups • the media and commentatorsresearch • State, Territory and international electoral authorities • 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. AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 1 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page 2 Contact officer For more information about the annual report, contact the Director Media and Communication at the address shown below. General contact details for the AEC are also shown in the AEC Overview section of this report. Web address of this report: www.aec.gov.au/what/publications Contact officer: Director Media and Communication Australian Electoral Commission West Block Offices Queen Victoria Terrace Parkes ACT 2600 PO Box 6172 for Kingston ACT 2604 Telephone: (02) 6271 4411 Fax: (02) 6271 4558 Email: [email protected] Website: www.aec.gov.au only Archived historical research 2 AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page 3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Number the boxes from 1 to 4 infor the order of your choice Electoral Commissioner’s Overview Electoral Commissioner’s Foreword Significantonly Events Archived historical research Remember . number every box to make your vote count. AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION Annual Report 2004–05 21117_ppi-114 05-10-05 11:44 am Page 4 Overview by Andy Becker who retired as Commissioner on 1 July 2005 It is with pride that I provide my final report to the Parliament on the Australian Electoral Commission. Understandably, the key feature of the past year has been the conduct of the 2004 general election and this is a major focus of this annual report. A national election is a complex logistical undertaking which will always present challenges—and sometimes problems—to electoral officials. While the 2004 election was conducted successfully in for most parts of Australia, I acknowledge that postal voting was a major issue for some electors. However, I was proud of the performance of AEC staff who went to considerable Andy Becker lengths to assist voters who had not received their ballot Electoral Commissioner papers. Looking ahead, the inquiry conducted by Minter Ellison into the handling of this matter made a number of recommendations that should, when implemented, minimise the likelihood of a recurrence. While the conduct of last year’s election was a major focus, it is also important to acknowledge a range of other achievements in the AEC. Maintaining the electoral roll places strong demands on the resources of the AEC at any time and involves not only divisional personnel but also significant assistance from Central and State Head Offices. In particular,only the Roll Integrity Unit, established to meet the concerns of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, provided much needed support and demonstrated the reliability of the enrolment data. It is appropriate at this point to congratulate the former Australian Electoral Officer for the Northern Territory, Bill Shepheard, on his appointment to the office of Electoral Commissioner for the Northern Territory and to thank him Archivedfor his contribution to the AEC over many years in a number of capacities. Behind the scenes, the Information Technology and Corporate Services areas performed admirably, keeping alive systems, a number of which have been in need of replacement. However, it is pleasing that long overdue enhancements are wellhistorical under way to ensure the pay, personnel and roll management systems, in particular, are capable of delivering top quality products. Finally, very many thanks to all members of the Commission for their loyalty, support and dedication throughout my five years as CEO.