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Abbreviations and acronyms

Term	Description
AAS	Australian Accounting Standards
ABS	Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACT	Australian Capital Territory
AEC	Australian Electoral Commission
AEO	Australian Electoral Officer
AMLPS	Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
ANAO	Australian National Audit Office
APS	Australian Public Service
APSC	Australian Public Service Commission
ARIR	Annual Roll Integrity Report
BAC	Business Assurance Committee
BRIDGE	Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections
DFAT	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
DLER	Directed Level of Election Readiness
EA	Enterprise Agreement
ECANZ	Electoral Council of Australia and New Zealand
EL	Executive level
ELT	Executive Leadership Team
ERP	Election Readiness Program
ERRM	Election Ready Road Map
FCC	Fraud Control Committee
FDEU	Federal Direct Enrolment and Update
FOI	Freedom of Information
FRR	Financial Reporting Rule
ICARE	APS values—impartial, committed to service, accountable, respectful, ethical
ICT	Information and communications technology
IPS	Information Publication Scheme
JSCEM	Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
NEDC	National Election Delivery Committee
NEM	National Election Manager
NRS	National Relay Service
NTEU	National Training and Education Unit
OHC	Organisational Health Committee
PBS	Portfolio Budget Statement
PGPA Act	Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
PIANZEA	Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand Electoral Administrators
SES	Senior executive service
SMS	Short message service
VITS	Victorian Interpreting and Translating Service
WHS	Work health and safety

Glossary

Term	Description
Amortisation	Reductions in the value of assets to reflect their reduced worth over time.
Ballot	A secret vote, normally written.
Ballot box	The sealed container into which voter places a completed ballot paper.
Ballot paper	A paper that shows the questions to be put or the names of the candidates who are standing for election and on which voters mark their vote.
By-election	An election held to fill a single vacancy in the House of Representatives.
Candidate	A person standing for election to the House of Representatives or Senate.
Certified list	The official electoral roll used to mark off voters at an election.
Claims for enrolment	Application form to enrol to vote or update enrolment.
Close of rolls	The date the electoral roll closes for the federal election, which is 8pm local Australian time on the seventh calendar day after the writs are issued.
Compulsory voting	The requirement for Australian citizens aged 18 years and over to enrol to vote and to vote at each election.
Constitution (Australian)	The document that sets out the structure under which the Australian Government operates. It can only be amended through a referendum.
Court of Disputed Returns	A court (in Australia, the High Court) that determines disputes about elections.
Declaration vote	Any vote where, instead of the voter being marked off the certified list, the vote is sealed in an envelope and signed by the voter and admitted to the count only after further checks are completed.
Declaration of nominations	Formal announcement of registered candidates, whose names will appear on a ballot paper in an election.
Depreciation	A method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life.
Elector	A person whose name appears on an electoral roll.
Electoral cycle	The period from one federal election to the next, usually three years.
Electoral division	The voting area, containing approximately equal numbers of voters, for which one member is elected to the House of Representatives. Australia is divided into 150 electoral divisions.
Electoral roll	The list of people entitled to vote in an election or referendum.
Electorate	See ‘electoral division’ above.
Employee	Member of staff that is ongoing, non-ongoing, intermittent or irregular.
Enrolment form	Application form to enrol to vote or update enrolment.
Federal election	A general election for the House of Representatives and Senate.
Fee-for-service election	An election or ballot conducted on a full cost recovery basis.
Financial disclosure return	A document detailing information on the receipts and expenditure of participants in the political process.
Formality or formal vote	A vote in an election or referendum where the ballot paper has been marked correctly and is counted towards the result. A ballot paper incorrectly marked is called informal.
Franchise	The right to vote.
Funding and disclosure	Public funding of election campaigns and disclosure of certain financial details by candidates, political parties and others.
General postal voter	A voter who is registered to have postal ballot papers sent automatically.
House of Representatives	The house of Parliament in which the government is formed. Under a preferential voting system, each electoral division elects one member of the House of Representatives.
Inventory balance	The worth of held goods and materials.
Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters	The parliamentary committee that reports on, and refers inquiries into, matters relating to electoral laws, practices and administration.
Member	Any person elected to Parliament, but commonly used for the House of Representatives.
Mobile polling team	Polling officials who bring polling to hospitals, nursing homes and remote locations.
Nomination	Submission for candidacy for election to the Senate or House of Representatives.
Operating deficit	Financial status in which expenditure exceeds revenue.
Ordinary vote	A vote cast on or before election day within the electoral division in which the voter is enrolled.
Outposted centre	Premises established to house key election activities such as scrutinies and despatch and return of materials to and from polling places.
Poll	An election – a count of votes or opinions.
Polling day	The day fixed for the election.
Polling place	A location for people to vote.
Postal vote	Ballot papers sent to a voter and posted back.
Preferential voting	A system of voting where a voter shows an order of preference for candidates by numbering their choices.
Pre-poll vote	A vote cast before election day.
Protected action ballot	A workplace voting system whereby employees participate in a fair and secret ballot to determine whether industrial action should proceed in their workplace.
Provisional vote	Vote cast at a polling place where the elector’s name cannot be found on the roll, the name has been marked off, or the voter has a silent enrolment.
Redistribution	A redrawing of electoral boundaries to ensure (as closely as possible) the same number of voters in each electoral division.
Referendum	A vote to change the Constitution.
Returned candidate	Candidate who is officially declared elected by a returning officer.
Returning officer	The person responsible for conducting an election in a particular area. A divisional returning officer is responsible for conducting the House of Representatives election in their electoral division. An Australian electoral officer is the returning officer for the Senate election in their state or territory.
Registered political party	A party registered with the AEC under Part XI of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
Revenue appropriations	Federal funds set aside each year for specific government programs.
Roll	The list of people entitled to vote in an election or referendum.
Scrutineer	Someone nominated by a candidate to watch the counting or scrutiny of votes.
Scrutiny	The counting of votes is also known as the scrutiny.
Secret ballot	A vote made in secret.
Senate	The house of Parliament representing the states. A total of 76 senators are elected – 12 from each state and two from each territory – under a proportional representation system.
Silent elector	A voter whose address does not appear on the electoral roll for reasons of personal safety.
Turnout	The percentage of people who voted in the election (formal and informal votes as a percentage of eligible enrolled electors).
Vote	To choose a representative, or indicate a preference, in an election.
Writ	A document commanding an electoral officer to hold an election, containing dates for the close of rolls, the close of nominations, the election day and the return of the writ.

Index to list of annual report requirements

Section and description	Requirement
Opening pages
Letter of transmittal	Mandatory
Table of contents	Mandatory
Internet home page address and internet address for report	Mandatory
Contact officer(s)	Mandatory
Reader guides
Index	Mandatory
Glossary (including abbreviations and acronyms)	Mandatory
List of requirements	Mandatory
Review by accountable authority
Review by Commissioner	Mandatory
Summary of significant issues and developments	Suggested
Overview of agency performance and financial results	Suggested
Outlook for following year	Suggested
Significant issues and developments – portfolio	Suggested for portfolio departments (N/A)
AEC overview
Role and functions (including agency purpose)	Mandatory
Organisational structure	Mandatory
Outcome and program structure	Mandatory
Where outcome and program structures differ from Portfolio Budget Statements/Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements or other portfolio statements accompanying any other additional appropriation bills (other portfolio statements), details of variation and reasons for change	Mandatory if applicable (N/A)
Portfolio structure	Mandatory for portfolio departments (N/A)
Report on performance
Annual performance statement	Mandatory
Performance report in relation to deliverables and key performance indicators set out in Portfolio Budget Statements/Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements or other portfolio statements	Mandatory
Where performance targets differ from the Portfolio Budget Statements/Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements, details of both former and new targets, and reasons for the change	Mandatory
Narrative discussion and analysis of performance	Mandatory
Significant changes in nature of principal functions/services	Suggested if applicable (N/A)
Performance of purchaser/provider arrangements (performance statement and managing supply chain)	Suggested
Factors, events or trends influencing agency performance	Suggested
Discussion and analysis of the agency’s financial performance	Mandatory
Discussion of any significant changes in financial results from the prior year, from budget or anticipated to have a significant impact on future operations	Mandatory
Agency resource statement summarising the total resources and total payments of the entity	Mandatory
Management and accountability
Corporate governance
Agency heads are required to certify their agency’s actions in dealing with fraud (also see letter of transmittal)	Mandatory
Information on preventing, detecting and dealing with fraud	Mandatory
Outline of structures and processes in place for implementing principles and objectives of corporate governance	Mandatory
Statement of any significant issue reported to the responsible minister that relates to non-compliance with finance law	Mandatory if applicable (N/A)
Names of the senior executive and their responsibilities	Suggested
Senior management committees and their roles	Suggested
Internal audit arrangements including approach adopted to identifying areas of significant financial or operational risk and arrangements to manage those risks	Suggested
Policy and practices on the establishment and maintenance of appropriate ethical standards	Suggested
How nature and amount of remuneration for Senior Executive Service officers is determined	Mandatory
External scrutiny
Significant developments in external scrutiny	Mandatory
Judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals and by the Australian Information Commissioner	Mandatory
Reports by the Auditor-General, a Parliamentary Committee, the Commonwealth Ombudsman	Mandatory
Capability reviews released during period	Mandatory if applicable (N/A)
Management of human resources
Assessment of effectiveness in managing and developing human resources to achieve agency objectives	Mandatory
Workforce planning, employee retention and turnover	Suggested
Enterprise or collective agreements, individual flexibility agreements, determinations, common law contracts and Australian Workplace Agreements	Mandatory
Non-salary beneftis; salary ranges	Mandatory for APS staff
Training and development undertaken and its impact	Suggested
Work health and safety performance	Suggested
Statistics on APS employees (ongoing and non-ongoing)	Mandatory
Number of SES and non SES employees covered by Agreements	Mandatory
Performance pay	Mandatory
Assets management
Assessment of effectiveness of assets management	Mandatory if applicable
Purchasing
Assessment of performance against Commonwealth Procurement Rules	Mandatory
Consultants
Summary statements detailing the number of new consultancy services contracts let during the year; the total actual expenditure on all such contracts (GST incl.); the number of ongoing consultancy contracts entered into in a previous year; and the total actual expenditure in the reporting year on the ongoing consultancy contracts (GST incl.)	Mandatory
Summary of policies for selecting and engaging consultants; procedures for selecting consultants; and main categories of purposes for which consultants were engaged	Mandatory
Statement noting that information on contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website	Mandatory
Australian National Audit Office access clauses
Absence of provisions in contracts allowing access by the Auditor-General	Mandatory
Exempt contracts
Contracts exempted from publication in AusTender	Mandatory
Small business
Procurement practices to support small business	Mandatory
Financial statements
Financial statements	Mandatory
Other mandatory information
Work health and safety (Schedule 2, Part 4 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011)	Mandatory
Advertising campaigns (section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918) statement	Mandatory
Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance (section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999)	Mandatory
Compliance with the agency’s obligations under the Carer Recognition Act 2010	Mandatory if applicable
Grants awarded	Mandatory
Disability reporting – mechanisms of disability reporting, including reference to website for further information	Mandatory
Information Publication Scheme statement	Mandatory
Correction of material errors in previous annual report	Mandatory if applicable (N/A)
Agency resource statements and resources for outcomes	Mandatory

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Reader guides

Reader guides

Abbreviations and acronyms

Glossary

Index to list of annual report requirements