Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I present the report of the committee on the implications of the New South Wales’ Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Automatic Enrolment) Act 2009 for the conduct of Commonwealth elections. I seek leave to move a motion in relation to the report.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

Declining electoral enrolment continues to present a significant challenge not only for Australia but also for many countries and jurisdictions. Existing paper based enrolment requirements under Commonwealth legislation are a deterrent to the current generation of Australians who are accustomed to conducting business with government agencies through electronic transactions. The introduction of flexible approaches which modernise electoral enrolment processes is a vital component for addressing the challenge of declining enrolment.

The New South Wales parliament has taken legislative action to address concerns of declining enrolment levels with the introduction of new electoral enrolment legislation, which received bipartisan support and was assented to on 14 December 2009. The legislation gives effect to a ‘smart’ electoral enrolment system concept that has been developed in the state to introduce a new automatic enrolment system for New South Wales elections. The ‘smart roll’ system operates around the notion that there are alternatives for electors to be enrolled and to notify a change in their enrolment details, particularly where such information has already been provided to government agencies. The New South Wales legislation also allows for enrolment for provisional voting on the day of polling, subject to adequate identification being produced.

In evidence to the committee, the New South Wales Electoral Commissioner, Mr Colin Barry, stated that there were four aims of the ‘smart roll’ process: one, to reduce the number of eligible New South Wales electors missing from the electoral roll; two, to improve the time in which electors’ address details are changed when they moved address; three, to improve the quality of the enrolment register in New South Wales; and, four, to provide electors and citizens with a simpler system to enrol and have their address updated. With the passage of this legislation, New South Wales will no longer rely on the Australian Electoral Commission to prepare and maintain rolls for New South Wales elections. The New South Wales Electoral Commissioner will assume responsibility for preparing and maintaining a roll for each New South Wales electoral district using enrolment data supplied by the Commonwealth and data held by various New South Wales government agencies.

The committee was asked to consider the implications of this legislation in the conduct of Commonwealth elections. The New South Wales legislation could have significant implications for the conduct of federal elections if Commonwealth legislation is not amended to allow for similar provisions. Having two different enrolment regimes operating at the Commonwealth and state levels creates the potential for elector confusion. Of particular concern is the scenario whereby voters in New South Wales are enrolled automatically for that state’s election and mistakenly believe that they have also been enrolled for the purpose of federal elections.

The committee has therefore determined that legislative change is required at the Commonwealth level to complement the new New South Wales legislation and to facilitate opportunities for the AEC to effectively address declining enrolment participation across Australia by allowing automatic enrolment of electors. If granted the power to implement similar automatic enrolment measures, the AEC has acknowledged that it would proceed with caution and conservatism, and would apply carefully designed business rules to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll is maintained. The committee supports Commonwealth legislation being amended to allow the AEC to automatically enrol electors on the basis of data provided by trusted agencies. To ensure that automatic enrolment does not inadvertently limit the ability for eligible electors to exercise the franchise, election day enrolment is proposed as a safety net to capture those electors who have not been picked up through automatic enrolment processes as well as those who have been removed from the electoral roll in error or enrolled at the wrong address.

While accuracy and entitlement are critical to the integrity of the electoral roll, it is important not to overlook that roll completeness is also a fundamental element of roll integrity. Implementation of the committee’s recommendations will reduce the potential for elector confusion, which would likely prevail were two different enrolment systems operating at the Commonwealth and state level. Moreover, the recommendations include the provision of further measures to progress reforms which will assist the AEC in its ongoing challenge to address the declining rate of electoral participation in Australia. I thank committee colleagues for their contribution to the report and those organisations and individuals who prepared submissions and appeared as witnesses before the committee. I commend the report to the Senate.