Reader guides

Abbreviations and acronyms

Term	Description
AAS	Australian Accounting Standards
AAT	Administrative Appeals Tribunal
ABS	Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACSC	Australian Cyber Security Centre
ACT	Australian Capital Territory
AEC	Australian Electoral Commission
AEO	Australian Electoral Officer
ANAO	Australian National Audit Office
APS	Australian Public Service
APSC	Australian Public Service Commission
ARIR	Annual Roll Integrity Report
ASL	Average Staffing Level
BAC	Business Assurance Committee
BRIDGE	Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections
CALD	culturally and linguistically diverse
CSOC	Cyber Security Operations centre
DAC	Disability Advisory Committee
DFAT	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
DLER	Directed Level of Election Readiness
DoF	Department of Finance
EA	Enterprise Agreement
ECANZ	Electoral Council of Australia and New Zealand
ECL	Electronic Certified List
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
ICE	Industrial and Commercial Elections
ICT	Information and Communications Technology
IEPP	Indigenous Electoral Participation Program
IEPWG	Indigenous Electoral Participation Working Group
IFES	International Foundation for Electoral Systems
International IDEA	International Institute for democracy and Electoral Assistance
IPS	Information Publication Scheme
JSCEM	Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
NEEC	National Electoral Education Centre
NEDC	National Election Delivery Committee
NEM	National Election Manager
NRS	National Relay Service
NTEU	National Training and Education Unit
OTM	Other Trust Monies accounts
OHC	Organisational Health Committee
PBS	Portfolio Budget Statements
PGPA Act	Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
PIANZEA	Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand Electoral Administrators
PMP	Privacy Management Plan
PSPF	Protective Security Policy Framework
SES	Senior Executive Service
SMS	Short message service
SOETM	Other Entities and Trust Moneys Special accounts
SOG	Services for other Government
TEW	temporary election workforce
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNEAD	United Nations Electoral Assistance Division
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 a 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
Electronic Certified List	An electronic list of eligible electors which is accessed through an electronic device to allow polling officials to efficiently search the list of eligible electors and record that an elector has been handed a ballot paper
Employee	Member of staff that is ongoing, non-ongoing, intermittent or irregular
Enrolment form	See ‘claims for enrolment’ above
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
Out-posted 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
Letter of transmittal
Letter of transmittal signed and dated by accountable authority	Mandatory
Aids to access
Table of contents	Mandatory
Alphabetical index	Mandatory
Glossary of abbreviations and acronyms	Mandatory
List of requirements	Mandatory
Contact officer	Mandatory
Website address	Mandatory
Electronic address of report	Mandatory
Review by accountable authority
A review by the accountable authority of the entity	Mandatory
Overview of the entity
A description of the role and functions	Mandatory
A description of the organisational structure	Mandatory
A description of the outcomes and programmes administered	Mandatory
A description of the purposes of the entity in the corporate plan	Mandatory
Name of accountable authority	Mandatory
Position title of accountable authority	Mandatory
Period as the accountable authority or member of the accountable authority within the reporting period	Mandatory
An outline of the structure of the portfolio of the entity	Portfolio departments mandatory
Where the outcomes and programs administered by the entity differ from any Portfolio Budget Statement, Portfolio Additional Estimates Statement or Portfolio Estimates Statement	If applicable, mandatory
Report on the performance of the entity
Annual performance statements
Annual performance statement in accordance with paragraph 39(1)(b) of the Act and section 16F of the Rule	Mandatory
Report on financial performance
A discussion and analysis of financial performance.	Mandatory
A table summarising the total resources and total payments	Mandatory
Any significant changes in the financial results during or after the previous or current reporting period, information on those changes, including: the cause of any operating loss of the entity; how the entity has responded to the loss and the actions that have been taken in relation to the loss; and any matter or circumstances that it can reasonably be anticipated will have a significant impact on the entity’s future operation or financial results	If applicable, mandatory
Management and accountability
Corporate governance
Information on compliance with section 10 (fraud systems)	Mandatory
A certification by accountable authority that fraud risk assessments and fraud control plans have been prepared	Mandatory
A certification by accountable authority that appropriate mechanisms for preventing, detecting incidents of, investigating or otherwise dealing with, and recording or reporting fraud are in place	Mandatory
A certification by accountable authority that all reasonable measures have been taken to deal appropriately with fraud	Mandatory
An outline of structures and processes in place to implement principles and objectives of corporate governance	Mandatory
A statement of significant issues reported to Minister under paragraph 19(1)(e) of the Act that relates to non compliance with Finance law and action taken to remedy non compliance	If applicable, mandatory
External scrutiny
Information on the most significant developments in external scrutiny and the entity’s response to the scrutiny	Mandatory
Information on judicial decisions and decisions of administrative tribunals and by the Australian Information Commissioner that may have a significant effect on the operations of the entity	If applicable, mandatory
Information on any reports on operations of the entity by the Auditor General (other than report under section 43 of the Act), a Parliamentary Committee, or the Commonwealth Ombudsman	If applicable, mandatory
Information on any capability reviews released during the period	If applicable, mandatory
Management of human resources
An assessment of the entity’s effectiveness in managing and developing employees to achieve entity objectives	Mandatory
Statistics on the AEC’s employees on an ongoing and non ongoing basis	Mandatory
Statistics on the AEC’s APS employees on an ongoing and non ongoing basis	Mandatory
Information on any enterprise agreements, individual flexibility arrangements, Australian workplace agreements, common law contracts and determinations under subsection 24(1) of the Public Service Act 1999	Mandatory
The number of SES and non SES employees covered by agreements etc. identified in paragraph 17AG(4)(c).	Mandatory
The salary ranges available for APS employees by classification level	Mandatory
A description of non salary benefits provided to employees	Mandatory
Information on the number of employees at each classification level who received performance pay	If applicable, mandatory
Information on aggregate amounts of performance pay at each classification level	If applicable, mandatory
Information on the average amount of performance payment, and range of such payments, at each classification level	If applicable, mandatory
Information on aggregate amount of performance payments	If applicable, mandatory
Assets management
An assessment of effectiveness of assets management where asset management is a significant part of the entity’s activities	If applicable, mandatory
Performance
An assessment of entity performance against the Commonwealth Procurement Rules	Mandatory
Consultants
A summary statement detailing the number of new contracts engaging consultants and the expenditure	Mandatory
New consultancy contracts—statement	Mandatory
A summary of the policies and procedures for selecting and engaging consultants and the main categories of purposes for which consultants were selected and engaged	Mandatory
Actual expenditure on contracts for consultancies and reference to the AusTender website—statement	Mandatory
Australian National Audit Office access clauses
If an entity entered into a contract with a value of more than $100 000 (inclusive of GST) and the contract did not provide the Auditor General with access to the contractor’s premises, the report must include the name of the contractor, purpose and value of the contract, and the reason why a clause allowing access was not included in the contract	If applicable, mandatory
Exempt contracts
Exempted contracts or standing offer—statement	If applicable, mandatory
Small business
Supporting small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market and reference to the Department of Finance website—statement	Mandatory
An outline of the ways in which the procurement practices of the entity support small and medium enterprises	Mandatory
If the entity is considered by the Department administered by the Finance Minister as material in nature, a statement of recognition of the importance of ensuring that small businesses are paid on time, and reference to the Treasury website	If applicable, mandatory
Financial statements
Inclusion of the annual financial statements in accordance with subsection 43(4) of the Act	Mandatory
Executive remuneration
Information about executive remuneration	Mandatory
Other Mandatory Information
Advertising campaigns conducted—statement and reference to the Department of Finance website	If applicable, mandatory
If the entity did not conduct advertising campaigns, a statement to that effect	If applicable, mandatory
A statement on grants awarded by the AEC	If applicable, mandatory
Outline of mechanisms of disability reporting, including reference to website for further information	Mandatory
Website reference to where the entity’s Information Publication Scheme statement can be found	Mandatory
Correction of material errors in previous annual report	If applicable, mandatory
Information required by other legislation	Mandatory