About ECSA

You will need to complete a registration of interest (ROI) in the ECSA employment portal. Alternatively, copy and paste the URL https://candidate.aurion.cloud/ecsa/production/ into the address bar of your web browser.

Your registration must be finalised before you can be considered for employment.

Note: after creating your ROI, the URL will change and the portal can only be accessed via https://erm.aurion.cloud/ecsa/production/personnel/login 

The employment portal can be accessed using a smartphone or tablet device running iOS or Android operating systems. 

Your username for the employment portal is the email address you used when you created your ROI. 

Resetting your password when completing your ROI.

Click the following link https://candidate.aurion.cloud/ecsa/production/signin or cut and past the URL into the address bar of your web browser. 

Click ‘forgot password?’ enter your username (case sensitive) and you will receive an email with a new verification code. 

Resetting your password once you are registered

Click the following link https://erm.aurion.cloud/ecsa/production/personnel/login or cut and past the URL into the address bar of your web browser.

Click ‘forgot password?’ enter your username (case sensitive) and you will receive an email with a new password. 

If you don’t receive an email within 60 minutes and you have checked your junk folder, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for assistance.

Log in to the ECSA employment portal using your username and password and, from the details screen, scroll down to the relevant field you need to update, enter the required information and save.

Some personal details like banking details can be updated in the portal, however, other information like work preferences cannot. In this instance, please email the details you need to be updated to the HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yes. Prior electoral experience is not necessary as training is provided.

The Electoral Commission of SA (ECSA) offers opportunities to work at local and state government elections with positions available throughout an election period, including in the weeks before and after key events including the scrutiny and count.

If you have not completed an ROI to work at the 2022 State Election or 2022 Bragg By-election, you will need to register your interest to work at future state or local government elections using the employment portal. There are a number of positions available throughout an election period including in the weeks before and after key events such as polling day or the scrutiny and count.

It will take about 40 minutes to complete the ROI and you will be asked about your previous employment experience, skill set, diversity status and preferences for election positions and locations.

Aurion is the software provider for the ECSA employment portal. These emails are legitimate. 

To work at the election, you need to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, a permanent resident of Australia or hold a current visa allowing you to work in Australia.

We value diversity and welcome applications from people living with a disability. When you complete the ROI, please advise ECSA if you need additional support or adjustments to perform the role.

ECSA is committed to maintaining public confidence in the integrity of the electoral system and the impartiality of its employees. Anyone who is a member of a political party, or who has engaged in any political activity during the past 3 years or intends to be politically active during their period of employment, cannot be considered for employment as a temporary election worker.

Persons engaged to work for ECSA are employed under the Electoral Act 1985 and are deemed public sector employees for the purposes of that Act. They are required to act in accordance with the Code of Ethics for the South Australian Public Sector and the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995.

Failure to comply with either could be an offence and constitutes grounds for termination of temporary employment. Please read the code of conduct for electoral officers (PDF, 323KB).

If you are fluent in a language other than English, please add that information in your registration of interest application. 

It is important we have employees who can communicate in other languages as there are many local communities where it is beneficial to have polling staff able to communicate with electors in their language.

There is a policy in place which precludes a family member from directly reporting to another family member. ECSA has determined the definition of ‘family member’ extends to:

• Grandparent
• Parent/stepparent
• Spouse/domestic partner
• Child (son/daughter)/ stepchild
• Sibling (brother/sister)/ stepsibling
• Grandchild
• Uncle/Aunt
• Nephew/Niece
• Cousin

You are able to work with family members as long as you don’t directly report to or supervise them.

When bulk recruitment is undertaken you may not receive a phone call or email prior to receiving the offer of employment from noreply@ aurion.cloud. The email will prompt you to log into the ECSA employment portal to review and accept (or decline) your offer.

Please refer to the employment portal user guide below for instructions on how to review and accept (or decline) your offer.

• Employment portal user guide (PDF, 973KB)

Completing an ROI does not guarantee you will be offered a position at an election as there are numerous factors ECSA considers when offering employment. This includes the number of positions available, previous experience or work performance, location of employment and residence, and workforce diversity.

You may be required to work during business hours, weekends, and after hours for extended periods; including travelling to remote locations, depending on the position. 

The duty statement for each position will provide an indication of the required hours of work.

If you find yourself unable to work for any reason, please contact your supervisor directly or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible.

ECSA does not have a specific dress code but it is requested you wear practical, appropriate clothing and present in a neat and well-groomed manner. 

Inappropriate clothing includes singlets, thongs, or t-shirts with offensive messages or images.

As you could be working long hours, which is at times physically demanding, it is suggested you wear flat, practical, and supportive footwear and consider the weather conditions and venue when choosing your clothes.

You will have access to drinking water at your voting centre, but food and other drinks are not supplied. Also, be aware that you might not be based near a shop or café so make sure you bring enough food and drink to last your shift.

Log in to the ECSA employment portal using your username and password and, from the details screen, scroll down to the relevant field you need to update, enter the required information and save.

Some details like your bank, super and tax and residential address can be updated in the portal, however, other information like your date of birth or gender cannot. In this instance, please email the details you need to be updated to the HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you work in the weeks prior to or after key election events, you will be paid an hourly rate (including 25% casual loading) based on your role for the hours you worked and any compulsory training. 

On weekdays (that are not public holidays) overtime may be paid when you work more than 7.5 hours in one day or where you start before 7:30 am or finish after 9:00 pm. 

Overtime applies to the hours you work over the 7.5 hours, start before 7:30 am or finish after 9:00 pm only. It does not apply to your whole shift. 

Note: Casual loading is paid in lieu of paid leave and will not be paid on any hours where overtime is paid.

If you work on polling day, you will receive a remuneration package based on your role which will cover the hours you work, compulsory training and allowances (if any).

Remuneration packages and hourly rates are outlined in the ECSA Determination of Employment Terms and Conditions for Temporary Staff appointed under the Electoral Act 1985.

Casual election workers are paid on Fridays following the week they worked.

If you work in the weeks prior to or after key election events, you will need to record your hours either manually or electronically, as advised by your supervisor.

If completing your timesheet electronically, you need to enter your hours using the ECSA employment portal, validate the timesheet and submit it to your supervisor for approval. 

It is recommended you complete your timesheet at the end of every shift and submit it to your supervisor at the end of your last shift for the week. This will allow your supervisor to review and approve your timesheet before the Tuesday 3:30 pm payroll cut-off. 

If your timesheet is not approved by the payroll deadline, regardless of the reason, your timesheet will not be processed until the following payroll period.

Note: no changes, including validating or approving timesheets, can be made in the employment portal from 3:30 pm Tuesday through to 1:00 pm Thursday, due to payroll processing.

If you work at key events including polling day or during the scrutiny and count, you will sign a manual timesheet where you record your start and finish times and any breaks you take.

Yes. This is not a tax-free role and the exact amount of tax withheld will depend on your individual circumstances.

• To claim the general exemption (if you are eligible or wish to claim the tax-free threshold), click the radio button to turn the field green.
• For information on claiming the tax-free threshold, please refer to the TFN declaration form on the ATO website.
• To determine the amount of tax withheld by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), refer to the weekly tax table on the ATO website.
• If you are a senior Australian, you may be eligible for the seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO) which can reduce the amount of income tax you pay. Refer to the ATO seniors and pensioners tax offset for more information.
• To advise of a study and training support loan (STSL), click on the radio button to turn the field green.

There are 2 possible reasons for being taxed at a higher rate: 

• You did not tick the ‘claim general exemption’ box. If you are eligible to claim the tax-free threshold, log in to the ECSA employment portal, go to the ‘bank, tax and superannuation details’ section and click on the radio button, then click save.
  You may claim the tax-free threshold from only one employer unless your total income from all sources for the financial year will be less than the tax-free threshold. For information on claiming the tax-free threshold from ESCA, please refer to the ATO website
• You forgot to enter your tax file number (TFN). Log in to the ECSA employment portal, go to the ‘bank, tax and superannuation details’ section and enter your TFN in the required format, then click save.
  To determine the amount of tax withheld by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) refer to the weekly tax table on the ATO website. 

Note: ECSA is not able to make any tax adjustments once your pay is processed, including the amount of tax you paid. You will need to submit a tax return at the end of the financial year and the ATO will determine if you are entitled to a tax refund based on your individual circumstances.

If you don’t have a TFN, contact the ATO on 1800 467 033 to apply for one (this can take approximately 3-4 weeks) or to reactivate a TFN you have used previously.

If you do not provide a TFN, you will be taxed at the highest tax rate.

ECSA is legally required to pay super to anyone who earns $450.00 or more in a calendar month and it must be paid into a superannuation fund.

If you do not provide fund details or if you do not have an existing superannuation fund, your contribution will be sent to the default fund, Super SA.

If you wish to nominate your ATO registered self-managed super fund (SMSF) you will need to email the details of the fund, including the fund ABN, fund BSB and account number and ESA (electronic service address) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

After you have been paid, log in to the employment portal and your pay advice(s) will be listed under ‘Pay Advices’ on the ‘my details’ page in the portal. 

Click on the pay advice line you wish to open and it will download as a PDF to your device.

Polling booth managers (PBMs) are our most senior polling day position. They are responsible for managing all aspects of a polling booth on polling day. Depending on the size of the polling booth, they may have to supervise between 3 and 14 staff.

Key duties include:

• setting up the polling booth the night before
• briefing staff before voting opens at 8:00 am, and then monitoring staff throughout the day to ensure they are following procedures, rotating through positions and taking breaks as required
• managing the securing of voting material throughout the day and evening
• liaising with voters and party workers and resolving or escalating issues as required
• overseeing the counting of ballot papers after voting closes at 6:00 pm, completing important paperwork and phoning results through to the returning officer.

Salary and duty statement

$1,032.12 – $1,219.82 fixed fee remuneration depending on the size of the polling booth.
Polling booth manager - duty statement (93 KB)

Deputy polling booth managers are trained to undertake the same duties as a polling booth manager (PBM), and may be required to step into the role of PBM.

Salary and duty statement

$880.46 fixed fee remuneration
Deputy polling booth manager - duty statement (90 KB)

In some instances, a voter will need to complete a declaration vote. A common example is when a voter is enrolled in a different South Australian district. This means the voter must complete a form (on the declaration vote envelope) along with their ballot papers.

Declaration vote issuing officers sit at a table to the side of the polling booth and assist people with completing their declaration vote. This is a slightly longer process than ordinary voting as some voters may need additional support to complete their declaration vote.

The duties of a declaration vote issuing officer are more technical and specialised than a regular polling official, and include:

• providing one-on-one support to voters with the process of completing a declaration vote, and making sure everything has been filled in correctly so that their vote can be admitted
• using secure devices to look up voters’ enrolment information, and if necessary, assisting them to update their enrolment
• sorting and tallying declaration vote envelopes and completing reconciliations
• assisting with other tasks such as sorting and counting ordinary votes, packaging and packing down the polling booth.

Salary and duty statement

$724.53 fixed fee remuneration
Declaration vote issuing officer - duty statement (111 KB)

Polling officials are our most common position and are the election workers that most people interact with when they vote.

A polling official will rotate through a range of tasks during polling day, including:

Salary and duty statement

$598.45 fixed fee remuneration
Polling official - duty statement (116 KB)

Polling assistants provide general support across the polling booth and may be asked to help with any task except for those that involve handling ballot papers.

Polling assistants are limited to four-hour shifts and are often (but not always) younger people having their first experience of election work. Some polling assistants work two four-hour shifts on polling day.

Example of duties include:

Salary and duty statement

$156.12 fixed fee remuneration per four-hour shift
Polling assistant - duty statement (102 KB)

Hygiene officers are accountable to the polling booth manager (PBM). They play an important role in helping to protect the health and safety of electors and ECSA staff in polling booths.

Key duties include:

• assisting the PBM set up COVID-SAfe voting spaces including materials and signage
• managing and distributing PPE and set-up of waste disposal, if necessary
• observing queue numbers and advising the queue controller when to slow entry of electors, adhering to density limits
• encouraging electors to use the QR code or advising electors to use the manual sign-in form
• disinfecting shared and common surfaces regularly and hand sanitiser management
• removing and disposing of pencils and how-to-vote election material from voting screens.

Salary and duty statement

$591.53 fixed fee remuneration
Hygiene officer - duty statement (142 KB)

Early voting centre managers are responsible for managing all aspects of an early voting centre and may supervise 10 or more staff.

Early voting centre managers must be available to work from 4 March 2022 to 18 March 2022, and this may include working nights and weekends.

Note: Early voting centres will be open from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm.

Example of duties include:

Duty statement

Early voting centre manager - duty statement (79 KB)

Deputy early voting centre managers are trained to undertake the same duties as early voting centre managers and may be required to step into the role of early voting centre manager.

Note: Early voting centres will be open from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm.

Duty statement

Deputy early voting centre manager - duty statement (77 KB)

Early voting officers are our most common early voting position. To work as an early voting officer, you must be available to work from 4 March 2022 to 18 March 2022, and this may include working nights and weekends.

Note: Early voting centres open from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm.

Early voting officers rotate through a range of tasks during polling day, including:

Duty statement

Early voting officer - duty statement (96 KB)

Hygiene officers are accountable to the early voting centre manager. They play an important role in helping to protect the health and safety of electors and ECSA staff in polling booths.

Key duties include:

• assisting the early voting centre manager set up COVID-SAfe voting spaces including materials and signage
• managing and distributing PPE and set-up of waste disposal, if necessary
• observing queue numbers and advising the queue controller when to slow entry of electors, adhering to density limits
• encouraging electors to use the QR code or advising electors to use the manual sign-in form
• disinfecting shared and common surfaces regularly and hand sanitiser management
• removing and disposing of pencils and how-to-vote election material from voting screens.

Duty statement

EVC hygiene officer - duty statement (PDF, 145KB)

Clerical assistant 2 (district office) is responsible for acting as the count table supervisor on the Sunday after polling day.

Duty statement

Clerical assistant 2 (district office) - duty statement (78 KB)

The position is responsible for providing varied clerical support to the returning officer.

Duty statement

Clerical assistant 1 (district office) - duty statement (74 KB)

Clerical assistant 2 (Legislative Council) is responsible for acting as the count table supervisor for ballot paper rechecks conducted after polling day.

Duty statement

Clerical assistant 2 (Legislative Council) - duty statement (70 KB)

Clerical assistant 1 (Legislative Council) is responsible for providing varied clerical support during ballot paper rechecks conducted after polling day.

Duty statement

Clerical assistant 1 (Legislative Council) - duty statement (74 KB)

Summary of council elections

Other statutory elections

The elections for the South Eastern Water Conservation and Drainage Board are held every four years. In total, three elections are managed for the following electoral zones; Central Electoral Zone, Northern Electoral Zone and Southern Electoral Zone. Two nominations were received for the Southern Electoral Zone. Ballot packs were sent out to those eligible electors with the election being finalised in July 20.

 Community and commercial elections

South Australia enrolment rate at 30 June 2021

 Electors enrolled by age group at 30 June 2021

Enrolment transactions 2017 to 2021

* Includes persons who have provisionally enrolled that have turned 18 and new enrolments by 18 year olds (10,232 in 2020-21).

** These ‘movements within state’ figures are not included in the table totals below.

*** Net adjustments and data corrections.

Registered declaration voters by criteria at 30 June 2021

ECSA maintains a register of voters who are permanently prevented from attending a polling booth and meet certain criteria. These voters are called registered declaration voters for state elections and general postal voters for federal elections. Once registered, a voter will always receive a postal vote for every election and does not need to re-apply for future elections.

Eight political parties were registered for state elections in South Australia.

Registered political parties at 30 June 2021

Returns

Political Party Returns, Associated Entity Returns and Donor Returns are lodged on a half-yearly basis and must be lodged within 30 days of the end of the half-yearly period.

In July 2020, ECSA received returns for the period 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020. The table below summarises the return lodgements for the period.

Returns for period 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020.

^* Danig Party of Australia (SA Division) and Liberal Democratic party lodged a return, however were deregistered on 28 November 2019.

In January 2021, ECSA received returns for the period 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020. The table below summarises the return lodgements for the period.

Returns for period 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020.

Annual Political Expenditure Returns lodged for the 2019-20 financial year

All returns lodged are available on ECSA’s Funding and Disclosure Portal.

Public funding

No general election or by-election was held in the 2020-21 financial year and ECSA was not called upon to pay election funding to reimburse political expenditure incurred by eligible participants in relation to an election.

Non-voter activity

Section 85 of the Electoral Act 1985 sets out the procedures to be implemented by the Electoral Commissioner relating to electors who appear to have not voted at an election. The non-voter process commences three months after election day and continues until each expiation has been resolved.

The table below outlines the non-voter activity, starting with Notice 1 which gives the elector the opportunity to provide a valid reason for their apparent failure to vote, through to referral of the expiation to the Fines Enforcement and Recovery Unit (FERU).

Once an expiation has been referred to FERU an elector can make an application for a review. If the review is granted the expiation is referred back to ECSA and the expiation is reissued (Notice 2). There is no maximum numbers of review that can be granted.  This cycle can occur multiple times if the matter is left unresolved.  

* 2018 State Election
# 2019 Cheltenham and Enfield by-elections