Appointment of new Electoral Commissioner

On 20 February 2017, Mick Sherry was appointed the South Australian Electoral Commissioner. Upon appointment, a key priority for the remainder of 2016-17 was to ensure ECSA was structured and operating effectively to deliver future key priorities including the State Election and Local Government Elections in 2018.

New Strategic Plan for ECSA

After a significant planning process, a new four-year strategic plan was implemented. The Strategic Plan 2017-20 focuses on our purpose of providing high quality electoral services for South Australians and is built around the following four strategic priorities:

• Delivering high quality elections services
• Engaging the community and stakeholders to promote awareness, participation and compliance in electoral matters.
• Conduct research into a range of electoral matters
• Cultivate a high performing values-based organisation.

To help shape the culture of the organisation, the new Strategic Plan also included the following new organisational values:

Independent: acting with impartiality and transparency
Professional: demonstrating respect, integrity and accountability at all times
Innovative: an agile, creative, engaged and responsive organisation

An organisational realignment was implemented to ensure ECSA was positioned to deliver the four strategic priorities of the strategic plan.

Strategies to improve internal communication and a new governance framework including the introduction of an Organisational Health Committee to monitor ECSA’s corporate responsibilities were
implemented.

Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission

ECSA provided considerable support during 2016-17 to the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission (EDBC) with the development and support of a dedicated website to deliver all information relating to the deliberations of the EDBC. Additional administrative assistance assisted in the development of a separate records management system for the EDBC, relating to current and past EDBC records.

Voting data from the 2014 State Election was extracted and used to undertake a geographic analysis of boundary changes and political consequences. Budgeting and finance services were also provided along with procuring printing services for both the EDBC’s Draft and Final Reports.

Following the unsuccessful Full Court challenge against the Order of the EDBC, considerable effort was put into identifying and encoding the necessary boundary changes into the national Roll Management System (RMANS) to enable rolls to be prepared for the next election.

Working together with other electoral commissions

The Electoral Council of Australia and New Zealand (ECANZ) is the peak body comprising Electoral Commissioners from the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and each of the States and Territories. ECANZ has promoted the establishment of national working groups to focus on various operational and administrative areas of election administration.

Staff from the ECSA are currently serving as members on working groups including, Materials Management, Internet Voting and Indigenous Participation. An additional workshop was convened during the year to enable officers responsible for administration of Funding and Disclosure legislation to meet and share experiences in this new and complex area of electoral law.

Several ECANZ meetings were held during the year with the schedule programming a joint meeting and workshop hosted by ECSA in November 2016. Following the ECANZ meeting, a full day facilitated workshop was held on stakeholder management with Prof Dean Jaensch AO and the Hon John Hill MP, former Minister for Health and the ALP State Secretary participating in a round-table discussion on stakeholder expectations. The major session of the day, attended by Electoral Commissioners and senior elections administrators, provided a hypothetical crisis management situation with the group tasked with identifying processes, procedures and stakeholder management challenges where a polling official was the subject of a one-punch attack with the polling place becoming a crime scene. A report on the outcome of the workshop was prepared and presented to ECANZ at a later meeting.

Forward focus

Over the next 12 months, the focus of the organisation will be on preparing and delivering the State Election in March 2018. Significant changes will be involved for the next election including:

• a new voting method for the Legislative Council;
• additional voting options for sight impaired electors;
• a new funding and disclosure portal; and
• the introduction of an EasyVote Card App that will provide important information to electors.

 Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Executive Board elections

Elections for the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Executive Board are held every three years. The board has 14 members, with two members elected from each electorate. Each electorate will be represented by one female and one male board member.

Management of elections for the APY Executive Board present significant challenges due to the remoteness of each of the communities within the APY Lands, located some 1200–1400 kilometers from Adelaide, particularly with a seven-day nomination period.

As with past electoral practices, the services of interpreters were engaged by ECSA to translate important election information into Pitjantjatjara language in support of the supplementary elections.

School principals were appointed as electoral officials to oversee the election process including managing the receipt of nominations and providing voting services on polling day.

Several in-language election posters were printed and dispatched for display in prominent areas within the electorates such as the Community stores, Community Council offices and Health Clinics to advertise and inform voters of the upcoming elections.

Voting for the APY Executive Board election was conducted between 9:30am and 3:00pm on Wednesday 5 April 2017.

Supplementary elections for three female members of the APY Executive Board also occurred during 2016-17 for the electorates of Mimili (1 female vacancy), Pukatja, Yunyarinyi,Anilalya, Turkey Bore
(1 female vacancy) and Iwantja, Amuruna, Railway Bore, Witjintitja, Wallatinna (1 female vacancy).

Following the close of nominations, candidate eligibility was checked, and it was determined that no voting was necessary to fill the supplementary elections.

APY Executive Board Election results 2017

Other election services

Additional election services provided by ECSA during the period have included:

Supplementary elections and casual vacancies

Supplementary Elections are held when it is necessary to fill a casual vacancy on a Council. The Electoral Commissioner assumes the role of Returning Officer for these elections.

Supplementary elections can be conducted either entirely by ECSA, or in partnership with the council.

During 2016-17, eleven supplementary elections were held, all of which were conducted entirely by ECSA.

Summary of Elections Conducted in 2016–17

Councils are required to conduct a representation review once during a period to determine if their community would benefit from an alteration to their current composition and structure. These reviews
are prescribed by the Minister for Local Government, but Council can also voluntarily undertake them at any time or as directed by the Electoral Commissioner.

The Electoral Commissioner is required to certify that the reviews have met the requirements for reviews set out in the Local Government Act 1999

During the reporting year nine local government representation reviews were submitted and certified.

During 2016-17, Adelaide Hills Council submitted a representation review, but failed to achieve certification. The Adelaide Hills Council have been asked to undertake corrective actions and re-submit their review.

The following ten councils submitted representation reviews prior to 30 June 2017 and are pending assessment:

A further 17 councils have commenced representation reviews with a final gazettal date of 12 December 2017.

Under section 85 of the Electoral Act 1985 an elector must not fail to vote without a valid and sufficient reason or fail to respond to the Notice provided by the Electoral Commissioner. This Apparent Failure
to Vote Notice is sent by the Electoral Commissioner, within 90 days after the close of the election, to electors who appear to have not voted at an election under the Electoral Act 1985.

If an electors does not respond to the apparent failure to vote notice or provides an invalid reason as to why they did not vote, they are issued with an expiation notice. This is followed up with an expiation
reminder notice with a late fee if it is still unpaid. All outstanding expiated offences are then sent to the Fines Enforcement and Recovery Unit (FERU) within the Attorney-General’s Department. FERU take
enforcement action and can restrict vehicle registration, suspend driver’s licenses and garnish money from bank accounts. There are currently 9,001 fines pertaining to the 2014 State Election and 449 fines
pertaining to the 2014 Fisher and 2015 Davenport by-elections currently outstanding.

The 2016–17 year also saw minimal failure to vote activity relating to previous state elections and by-elections. These numbers are not reported.

Online lodgement system

A large part of election planning has involved working with developers to develop an online lodgement system to help stakeholders with their lodgement obligations. ECSA aims to have an online lodgement system available by January 2018.

Disclosures

Half-yearly disclosures were lodged in July 2016 and January 2017 (relevant entity returns and donor returns). Stakeholders are becoming more familiar with the process as they complete each half-yearly lodgement cycle and there have been no issues with lodgements over the past year.

Special assistance funding

Valid special assistance funding claims were received from the eligible parties for both half yearly periods, resulting in just under $230,000 being paid out for these claims during the 2016–17 financial year.

Pre-poll voting facilities were provided for six Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) during the reporting year. A reciprocal arrangement between EMBs allows electors travelling outside their home State to cast their vote at a State or Territory electoral office whenever a by-election, referendum or general election is held in their absence.

The following table shows the election activity for 2016–17:

Interstate Elections 2016–17

WA secondments

ECSA has an arrangement with other Electoral Management Bodies where staff are seconded to other states’ major electoral events to gain valuable experience and provide specialist advice and support. Two ECSA staff were seconded to the Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) to work at the Western Australian State General Election held on 11 March 2017.

One staff member spent six weeks as a supervisor in the WAEC call centre where they gained valuable insight into how an election call centre is managed. This included the provision of staff, training methodologies, and observation of day-to-day duties, challenges and escalations. The handling of large call volumes and rostering of staff was also closely monitored.

The other staff member worked as a supervisor at the WAEC Declaration Vote Processing Centre. Both ECSA staff reported that their secondment experience was a valuable development opportunity and will, where appropriate, lead to the incorporation of several ideas and processes into ECSA business operations.

Under section 8(1)(c) of the Electoral Act 1985, ECSA is required to ensure that the public is adequately informed of their democratic rights and obligations. To meet these legislative requirements ECSA undertakes various community and stakeholder engagement activities including annual attendance at the Tauondi College Open Day, and its long-term commitment and sponsorship to Youth Parliament. Ongoing consultative stakeholder engagement allows ECSA to assess its current and future projects through community feedback and participation.

In addition, ECSA has embraced the state government’s Digital by Default Declaration in using digital technologies to provide online, mobile-ready, easy to use and accessible services. The website is ECSA’s primary communication tool for the delivery of information on all aspects of electoral matters.

Community engagement

Youth Parliament

ECSA continued to work with the YMCA through sponsorship and support for Youth Parliament. We take pride in continuing to promote the value of democracy to the youth of South Australia

APY Lands

The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2016 resulted in significant legislative amendments being introduced for the conduct of elections for the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Executive Board. The legislative changes support gender balance representation on the APY Board with each electorate requiring a male and a female representative to be elected. Eligibility to stand for election to the Executive Board and to vote in the elections require enrolment on the State electoral roll. Further eligibility requirements for prospective candidates now require the introduction of criminal history checks as a test of suitability to serve on the Executive Board.

The APY elections saw the introduction of electronic voting through ‘touch-screen’ computer technology with electors being able to select the male and female candidate of their choice by touching their photo on a large format screen. The new system was well received and provided the opportunity to introduce voting across each of the seven electorates within the APY Lands, as required under the amended legislation. The electronic voting system also provided the ability for electoral officers to visit hospitals in Adelaide and Alice Springs to enable Anangu located outside the APY Lands to participate in their Executive Board elections. Information briefings were delivered to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, officers of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation and through the Paper Tracker radio program. The briefings provided updates on the changes in the electorates; male and female positions; eligibility for candidacy and voting; and the electronic voting system.

• The federal election visitor program provided valuable understanding of the changes to the Senate voting system which have flowed through to the Legislative Council election.
• The launch of the ‘Democracy Machine’ and opening ceremony at the Migration Museum.
• Attendance at the National Annual Disability Access Committee meeting in Canberra provided valuable opportunities to engage with stakeholders and to gain further insight into expectations.

Community engagement events

• Tauondi College Open Day – 27/10/16
• NAIDOC Family Fun Day – 11/7/16
• 2016 Youth Parliament

Consultative stakeholder engagement meetings

• Aboriginal and Indigenous people
• Blind and vision impaired
• Multicultural stakeholders
• Youth sector

Going forward, ECSA is looking at redesigning the agency’s website and engaging with the community through an active social media strategy.

ECSA is committed to the South Australian Government’s Work Health and Safety strategies and initiatives and aims to fulfil all legislated obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 and associated regulations.

Wellness and engagement

ECSA values its employees and is committed to providing a safe and supportive workplace with systems of work that ensure that all staff are safe from injury and risks to their health while they are at work.

WHS-related information is regularly disseminated to all staff, via discussions, meeting minutes and direct emails. Additionally, ECSA provides work place safety reference materials and health and safety initiatives that are accessible to staff at all times, including:

• SafeWork SA ‘stretching your productivity’ desk card
• Ergonomic Mesh Chair adjustment instructions
• Emergency Procedures
• Annual influenza vaccination program
• Employee Assistance Program
• WHS & IM policy fact sheets
• SafeWork SA publications.

Risk Management

ECSA understands the importance of risk management as a planning tool and is committed to ensuring that agency management systems integrate safety and wellbeing planning into all operations.

A small number of facilities-related issues were raised by ECSA staff during the 2016-17 year. These were addressed immediately where possible or referred to building management for action. ECSA’s Leadership Group and WHS Committee review incidents and follow up on outcomes in keeping with the commitment to continuous improvement. Staff are kept informed of actions being undertaken.

Work Health and Safety Workshops and Training

In 2016-17 the following WHS aligned activities were undertaken:

• CPR Training with St John
• EAP introduction session & promotion of services
• Training on Duress alarm and fire alarm procedures.

WHS Risks

ECSA conducts regular WHS audits and inspections of the facilities and staff are encouraged to be proactive about reporting risks in the workplace. ECSA is committed to ensuring that any identified issues are investigated and dealt with promptly.

Section A: Reporting required under the Public Sector Act 2009, the Public Sector Regulations 2010 and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987

Agency purpose or role

To provide services which enable the fair and independent election of government and governing bodies and which help and encourage the community to participate with confidence and trust in the democratic processes of representation.

Objectives

The Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) conducts fair and independent state, local government and nominated agency government elections and utilises its skill base to support non-government electoral activities and offer electoral advice across all community sectors.

A range of electoral services and products are provided, covering the parliamentary and non-parliamentary sectors, including:

• conduct of elections for representatives to sit in the state parliament, local
• government authorities and other organisations (attendance or postal voting)
• monitoring and reporting disclosures of donations and campaign expenditure for registered political parties, candidates, agents and third parties
• administering the public funding for election campaigns for registered political parties and candidates
• reimbursements of administrative expenditure incurred by registered political parties
• electoral education and information provision for the South Australian community
• research and evaluation of electoral matters
• electoral roll products and maps
• support for parliamentary electoral district boundary and council boundary representation reviews.

Key strategies and their relationship to SA Government objectives

Agency programs and initiatives and their effectiveness and efficiency

Program: Parliamentary Electoral Services

Ensures the delivery of parliamentary electoral services for the South Australian community.

Indicators of performance/effectiveness/efficiency

Comments

Enabled eligible South Australians to be enrolled on the electoral roll and to understand their democratic rights and obligations.

Program: Non-Parliamentary Electoral Services

The delivery of non-parliamentary electoral services for South Australian organisations and the community at large.

Indicators of performance/effectiveness/efficiency

Comments

Provided election and information services to the community at the local level.

Legislation administered by the agency

The Electoral Commissioner is responsible for the administration of the Electoral Act and, as at 30 June 2017, was the mandated electoral authority for the following: 

 
Other administered items the Commissioner is responsible for include:

• serving as a member of the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission that convenes following each State election to review House of Assembly electoral district boundaries
• ensuring that boundary changes are effected onto the roll management database
• certifying local government elector representation reviews under the Local Government Act

Organisation of the agency

The  Electoral Commission SA is composed of five branches that provide professional and impartial electoral services for South Australians.

Other agencies related to this agency (within the Minister’s area/s of responsibility)

Nil to report

Employment opportunity programs

The Commission did not have any employment opportunity programs in 2016-17.

Agency performance management and development systems

Occupational health, safety and rehabilitation programs of the agency and their effectiveness

Fraud detected in the agency

There were no instances of fraud detected by the Commission during 2016-17.

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

The following strategies are employed to prevent and control fraud:

• The Commission has adopted the all-purpose policy with respect to the prevention, detection and control of fraud, corruption and other criminal conduct, maladministration and misconduct in connection with the activities of the agency issued by the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment during the year.
  
  
• All employees are required in the course of the performance of their duties to take action to prevent, detect and report suspected fraud or corruption by an employee, contractor or third party in accordance with the Commission’s Fraud and Corruption Control Policy.
  
  
• The Auditor-General’s department reviews financial and internal control procedures to reduce the risk of fraud.

Data for the past five years is available from previous Annual Reports.

Whistle-blowers’ disclosure

There have been no occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Whistle-blowers’ Protection Act 1993.

Data for the past five years is available from previous Annual Reports.

Executive employment in the agency

Data for the past five years is available at previous Annual Reports.

For further information, the Office for the Public Sector has a data dashboard for further
information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.

Consultants

No external consultants were engaged by the Commission in 2016-17.

Data for the past five years is available from previous Annual Reports.
See also Tenders SA for a list of all external consultancies, including nature of work and value. See also the Consolidated Financial
Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance for total value of consultancy contracts across the SA Public Sector.

Financial performance of the agency

The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the agency compared with the previous financial year. The information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2016-17 are attached to this report. A comparison of the results with the State Budget is contained in the financial statements.

Overview – Controlled activities

The Commission’s net cost of providing services was $4.309 million in 2016-17 compared with $3.975 million in 2015-16, an increase of $334,000, mainly due to the derecognition of capitalised costs amounting to $467,000 in relation to internally developed computer software. Allowing for this expense, the net cost of providing services was slightly less than the previous year.

Summary income statement

Expenses by category 2016-17

Income from operating activities was $725,000 in 2016-17, compared with $823,000 in 2015-16, a decrease of $98,000, mainly due to the conduct of the Super SA board election in 2015-16.

Summary statement of financial position

 
Overview – Administered activities

The net result of activities administered by the Electoral Commission SA in 2016-17 was a surplus of $21,000, compared with a surplus of $80,000 in 2015-16.

Summary income statement

Expenses in 2016-17 were $512,000, compared with $720,000 in 2015-16, a decrease of $208,000 mainly due to lower salary costs following the retirement of the previous Electoral Commissioner in March 2016 and the appointment of the current Electoral Commissioner in February 2017.

Revenues in 2016-17 were commensurately lower, combined with lower appropriation required in relation to the conclusion of the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission activities in the current year.

Other financial information

Nil to report

Other information requested by the Minister(s) or other significant issues affecting the agency or reporting pertaining to independent functions

Nil to report

Section B: Reporting required under any other act or regulation

Summary of complaints by subject

At the time of reporting, ECSA is in the process of drafting a Feedback and Complaints Policy and associated procedures. It is anticipated that this will be issued in the next reporting period.

Appendix: Audited financial statements 2016-17