House of Representatives Committees

Contents

Chair's foreword
Membership of the Committee
Terms of reference
List of abbreviations
List of recommendations

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Adequacy of divisional office employment structure
Chapter 3 Divisional offices with shared premises
Chapter 4 The future of the National Tally Room
Appendix A – Submissions to the inquiry
Appendix B – List of exhibits
Appendix C – List of hearings and witnesses

 

Chair's foreword

Effective electoral administration is a vital component of a healthy democracy. With a federal election approaching, it has been a timely exercise for the committee to review certain aspects of the administration of the Australian Electoral Commission.

The terms of reference required the committee to direct much of its focus on the staffing arrangements across the AEC’s divisional office network. Currently, there are 150 AEC divisional offices in 135 locations across Australia.

The committee received evidence which raised a number of concerns regarding workforce issues in some AEC divisional offices. These concerns related to employment structure, staffing levels, career opportunities for staff, retention issues and the effectiveness of co-located divisional offices.
Specific concerns came from the co-located divisional office in Chatswood, which services four electoral divisions in NSW. The Committee conducted a site visit of the Chatswood office as part of its inquiry, and appreciated the opportunity to speak directly with AEC employees about some of the issues identified in submissions.

Without an extensive body of evidence to draw on, however, it is difficult for the committee to determine whether the concerns raised during the inquiry are symptomatic of widespread issues within the AEC. While the committee is not in a position to draw comprehensive conclusions, it considers the concerns which were raised to be significant enough to warrant further investigation. Therefore the committee has recommended that the Auditor-General examine the issue of workforce planning in the AEC in further detail.

The committee was also asked to consider whether the National Tally Room should be maintained beyond the next federal election. The committee supports the continuation of the tally room and is of the view that the abolition of the tally room would have a negative impact on the perception of the transparency of elections. Furthermore, the committee notes the value and logic of having a central tally room in the nation’s capital which extends beyond any dollar or logistical considerations.

On behalf of the committee I would like to thank all those who participated in the inquiry.

Sophie Mirabella MP
Chair

Membership of the Committee

Chair

Mrs Sophie Mirabella MP

 

Deputy Chair

Senator Glenn Sterle  

Members

Mr Steven Ciobo MP

Senator Judith Adams

 

Mr Michael Danby MP

Senator Kim Carr

 

Mr John Forrest MP

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells

 

Mr Alan Griffin MP

Senator Andrew Murray

Committee Secretariat

Secretary

Mr Stephen Boyd

Inquiry Secretary

Mr Justin Baker

Research Officer Ms Judith Ireland
Administrative Officers Ms Frances Wilson
  Ms Natasha Petrovic

Terms of Reference



List of abbreviations

AEC

Australian Electoral Commission

AEO

Australian Electoral Officer

CPSU

Community and Public Sector Union (PSU Group)

CRU

Continuous Roll Update

DOFA

Department of Finance and Administration

DRO

Divisional Returning Officer

ELMS

Election Management System

FTE

full-time equivalent

JSCEM

Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

NTR

National Tally Room

VTR

Virtual Tally Room

List of recommendations

2 Adequacy of divisional office employment structure

Recommendation 1 (para 2.52)

The committee recommends that the Auditor‑General conduct an audit of workforce planning in the Australian Electoral Commission, with a view to determining whether the Commission’s workforce planning strategy is supporting effective practices in human resource management for divisional office staff and achieving efficient and effective outcomes.

3 Divisional offices with shared premises

Recommendation 2 (para 3.80)

The committee recommends that, as part of the audit on workforce planning in the Australian Electoral Commission proposed in Recommendation 1, the Auditor-General also examine the efficiency and effectiveness of working arrangements in co‑located divisional offices.

Recommendation 3 (para 3.81)

The committee recommends that the Australian Electoral Commission includes an evaluation of the performance of all co-located divisional offices in the upcoming federal election in its submission to the JSCEM inquiry into the conduct of the 2007 federal election.

4 The future of the National Tally Room

Recommendation 4 (para 4.67)

The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensures that the National Tally Room is retained for future federal elections.

Print Preliminary Pages (PDF 210 KB) < - Report Home  : Chapter 1 - >

 

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