The Australian Election Company ( AEC ), also referred to as AustElect , is a private company which conducts Australian elections , including at the local government level.
31-624: The company has never conducted an election at a state or federal level, which are managed by state electoral commissions and the Australian Electoral Commission respectively. The company was founded ahead of the 2012 New South Wales local elections , and conducted the elections for multiple councils instead of the New South Wales Electoral Commission . Despite a staff recommendation, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council opted not to use
62-606: A Divisional Returning Officer responsible for administration of elections within the division. Each state also has an Australian Electoral Officer responsible for the administration of Senate elections. The AEC has a National Office in Canberra and an office in each state and territory: Adelaide , Brisbane , Darwin , Hobart , Melbourne , Perth , and Sydney . The AEC's main role is to conduct federal elections , by-elections and referendums , maintain up-to-date electoral rolls , and administer redistributions undertaken by
93-578: A fee for registration: $ 500 for the Commonwealth, Victoria and the Northern Territory ; and $ 2,000 for New South Wales. Since 1984, Australian political parties have been publicly funded by the AEC. The objective of public funding is to reduce the influence of private money upon elections, and consequently, the influence of private money upon the shaping of public policy. After each election,
124-693: A panel of five judges and sometimes by a single judge), the only avenue of appeal from which lies to the High Court of Australia . In the Australian court hierarchy , the Federal Court occupies a position equivalent to the supreme courts of each of the states and territories. In relation to the other courts in the federal stream, it is superior to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for all jurisdictions except family law . It
155-743: A retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia ), the Electoral Commissioner, and a non-judicial member (usually the Australian Statistician ). The Electoral Commissioner has the powers of a secretary of a department under the Public Service Act 1999 and Financial Management and Accountability Act 1998 . The chairperson and the third, non-judicial member both hold their offices on a part-time basis. Each House of Representatives electorate has
186-427: Is also responsible for registering political parties intending to field candidates at federal elections, monitoring the activities of those political parties, including receiving returns from parties of donations and expenditures, and the publication of the information. The AEC also plays an electoral education role, aiming to educate citizens about the electoral process by which representatives are elected, and by which
217-481: Is an offence to fail to vote without valid or sufficient reason, at any federal or state election, and may be punishable by a nominal monetary penalty. The amount varies between federal and state jurisdictions. Usually, people are issued with warnings when it is found they have not voted, and are given an opportunity to show cause. Acceptable reasons for not voting may include being illness, being overseas on election day, religious belief, being incarcerated, etc. "I forgot"
248-633: Is not considered acceptable. Section 245 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act provides that if an elector has been asked the reason for failing to vote and declares a religious belief, this statement shall be regarded as conclusive with no further action being taken. Traditionally, voters could not register after the Close of Roll for an election. In 2004, the Howard government passed legislation that prevented registration after 8 pm on
279-475: Is required before a party can field candidates , receive public funding , have party identification on ballot papers and use above-the-line voting in Senate elections. In all jurisdictions, conditions relating to a party name require party names to have a maximum of six words, not be obscene and not to resemble the name of another, unrelated party, be likely to cause confusion with another party nor contain
310-403: Is the maintenance of the electoral roll , which in some other countries are called electoral registers. In Australia the process of getting onto the electoral roll is called "enrolment". The AEC maintains Australia's federal electoral roll, which is used for federal elections, by-elections and referendums. Australia has maintained a permanent federal electoral roll since 1908 and, by amendment to
341-579: The Australian Constitution is changed ( referendums ). It also plays a role in industrial voting and protected action ballots (e.g., votes on industrial action ). The rules for federal elections are contained in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 , while the rules for referendums are contained in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 . The AEC is required to maintain a register of political parties . Such registration
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#1732786700314372-521: The Coalition total of $ 27.2 million, while the Labor Party received $ 20.8 million. Other significant recipients were Australian Greens with $ 5.5 million, Palmer United Party with $ 2.3 million, and Liberal Democratic Party with $ 1.0 million. In 2016, $ 62.7 million was distributed, with the funding rate being 262.784 cents per vote. One of the functions of the AEC
403-497: The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on all general federal law matters ( family law matters are appealed to Division 1 of that Court). The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island ; and exercises appellate jurisdiction in appeals from state supreme courts in some federal matters. Other federal courts and tribunals where
434-403: The AEC distributes a set amount of money to each political party, per vote received. A candidate or Senate group needs 4% of the primary vote to be eligible for public funding. After the 2013 election , political parties and candidates received $ 58.1 million in election funding, with the funding rate being 248.800 cents per vote. The Liberal Party received $ 23.9 million, as part of
465-651: The AEC’s running of the Commission's work, the highest trust rating of any government authority. The AEC is accountable to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Parliament of Australia , and must report on how elections were carried out and the success of elections in general. As specified under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 , the AEC consists of a chairperson (a judge or
496-572: The Commission’s counting process was “rigged”, on the basis that the AEC would count ticks as "yes" votes but would not count crosses as "no" votes. Dutton’s comments were criticised as undermining faith in Australia’s electoral system and of echoing Trumpian misinformation regarding election integrity. Later in 2023, the Commission topped an annual Commonwealth government trust survey, with 87 per cent of respondents indicating some level of trust in
527-714: The Commonwealth Electoral Act, enrolment has been compulsory for federal elections since 1924. Though each state and territory also has its own electoral commission or office, voters need to register only with the AEC, which shares the registration details with the relevant state electoral bodies. The federal roll also forms the basis of state (except in Victoria and Western Australia, which maintain their own roll) and local electoral rolls. AEC registration covers federal, state and local election voter enrolment. In Australia and in each state or territory, it
558-824: The Court exercises appellate jurisdiction include the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission . The Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court and Northern Territory Supreme Court over civil matters arising under those Territories' laws. It also has the power to interpret the Constitution . The jurisdiction of
589-470: The Federal Court of Australia includes the jurisdiction previously exercised by three former federal courts, the Federal Court of Bankruptcy , Commonwealth Industrial Court and Industrial Relations Court of Australia . The Federal Court of Bankruptcy had jurisdiction in bankruptcy matters and was created in 1930. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia on its establishment in 1977. The Commonwealth Industrial Court
620-542: The company's services. This article about an Australian corporation or company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Australian Electoral Commission#See also The Australian Electoral Commission ( AEC ) is the independent statutory authority and agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management of federal Australian elections , by-elections and referendums. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902 set up
651-585: The company, partly because it had not conducted any elections in New South Wales before. The first election for Norfolk Island Regional Council in 2016 was conducted by the company, as was the election for the City of Maitland the following year . The cancelled 2020 Norfolk Island local election was also scheduled to be held by the company. At the 2021 New South Wales local elections , both Fairfield City Council and Penrith City Council used
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#1732786700314682-547: The creation of the AEC in 1984, the senior electoral officer was designed the Chief Electoral Officer of the Commonwealth. Electoral commissions of each state and self-governing territory: AEC NSWEC VEC ECQ WAEC ECSA TEC ACTEC NTEC Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with
713-510: The day the writs were issued. This can be up to 10 days after the election has been announced. The legislation was considered controversial by some Australians, who contended it disenfranchised first-time voters, or those who forgot to update their enrolment. The law was repealed prior to the 2010 federal election , when advocacy group GetUp! obtained a High Court ruling the changes unconstitutional. 16 and 17 year olds can provisionally enrol and able to vote when they turn 18. Prior to
744-501: The exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (more serious) criminal matters . Cases are heard at first instance mostly by single judges. In cases of importance, a full court comprising three judges can be convened upon determination by the Chief Justice. The Court also has appellate jurisdiction, which is mostly exercised by a Full Court comprising three judges (although sometimes by
775-711: The framework for the Commonwealth electoral system, which was administered until 1916 as a branch of the Department of Home Affairs , by the Department of Home and Territories until 1928, back to Department of Home Affairs to 1932, and then Department of the Interior until 1972. The Australian Electoral Office was created in 1973 by the Australian Electoral Office Act 1973 . In 1984 the Australian Electoral Office
806-591: The separate Redistribution Committee (the Australian Electoral Commission is not directly involved in electoral boundary changes). Under a joint roll arrangement with the states and territories, the AEC maintains enrolment for the whole of Australia, for rolls used in state and local government elections, other than Western Australia, The AEC publishes detailed federal election results and investigates electors who appear to fail to vote, or may have voted multiple times in an election. The AEC
837-722: The word "independent" or "independent party". All Australian jurisdictions also have a minimum membership requirement, which differs widely, especially when compared with the total number of people enrolled in the jurisdiction. These range from 100 in the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania , 200 in South Australia , 500 in Victoria and Western Australia , 1,500 for the Commonwealth and 750 in New South Wales . Four jurisdictions require
868-621: Was established in 1956 as a result of the Boilermaker's case , where the High Court held that a Chapter III Court could not exercise a non-judicial power, the arbitral function, because of the constitutional separation of powers in Australia . The judicial functions were given to the newly created Commonwealth Industrial Court and the arbitral functions were given to Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission . The court
899-570: Was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act. The Chief Justice of the Federal Court is Debra Mortimer . The Federal Court has no constitutional jurisdiction- its jurisdiction is provided by statute. The Court's original jurisdiction include matters arising from Commonwealth legislation such as, for example, matters relating to taxation, trade practices, native title, intellectual property, industrial relations, corporations, immigration and bankruptcy. The Federal Court of Australia also has appellate jurisdiction from Division 2 of
930-488: Was reformed through amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and is currently known as the Australian Electoral Commission. After the loss of 1,400 ballots during the recount for the 2013 Western Australia Senate election and the subsequent 2014 special election , the AEC came under significant scrutiny, leading to the resignation of Commissioner Ed Killesteyn. During the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum , Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claimed that
961-781: Was renamed the Australian Industrial Court in 1973. In 1977 the jurisdiction of the Australian Industrial Court was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia. In 1993 the industrial relations jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia was transferred to the Industrial Relations Court of Australia , and transferred back to the Federal Court of Australia in 1996. The last judge of the Industrial Relations Court, Anthony North , retired in September 2018. The court