Procedures for processing itinerant or no-fixed-address enrolments
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
I would like to request copies of any documented procedures for enrolling electors with no fixed address, including procedures for notifying state electoral bodies of such enrolment.
Additionally I would like to request copies of any procedures for polling-place staff in processing itinerant electors on polling day, especially as it relates to voting out-of-state.
Yours faithfully,
Cail Young
Thank you for contacting us.
This is an automatic response from the Australian Electoral Commission to confirm we have received your email.
For more information on enrolling to vote, federal elections or the AEC, visit www.aec.gov.au.
Please do not respond to this email.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Cail Young
Right to Know Organisation
I refer to your emails dated 15 November 2016 2:27 PM, 15 November 2016
2:20 PM and 15 November 2016 1:00 PM in which you request (‘your FOI
Request] to the Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) under the
[1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents relating to
procedures for enrolment of itinerant elector and your enrolment details.
I have taken your request to be for:
1. copies of any documented procedures for enrolling electors with no
fixed address, including procedures for notifying state electoral bodies
of such enrolment;
2. copies of any procedures for polling-place staff in processing
itinerant electors on polling day, especially as it relates to voting
out-of-state;
3. documents (forms, emails, or otherwise) relating to the processing
of [your] enrolment update from December 2015, including specifically
copies of any documents produced in the processing of the enrolment
change, for example notifications sent to the Victorian Electoral
commission.
We received your request on 15 November 2016 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 16 December 2016. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or
for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge. Given that part of your request is for your personal information,
no processing charge will apply to that part of your request.
I again attach the Request for Confirmation of Enrolment form provided in
Ms Bongi’s email to you dated 15 November 2016 2:17 PM which I ask you to
sign and return to me. I will accept a scanned version sent by email. I
ask for this so that I can verify that you are indeed the relevant
elector. If I do not receive the duly signed form by 23 November 2016 or I
am unable to verify that you are the relevant elector, then I will process
your FOI Request on the basis that the exception in section 47A of the FOI
Act does not apply to the request for the elector’s details. I will
explain this in any decision I make on that basis.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on the AEC’s disclosure log [2]at
http://www.aec.gov.au/information-access..., subject to certain
exceptions. (For example, personal information will not be published where
this would be unreasonable.). You may wish to consider whether forwarding
electronic versions of your enrolment details to your email address is
appropriate given the privacy considerations. I invite you to give an
alternative address for sending that part of the information that you
request.
We will contact you using the email address that you provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If
you have any questions, please contact me at:
email: [3][email address]
fax: 02 6293 7657
post: Locked bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
telephone: 02 6271 4528
Regards
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal and Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4528 | F: (02) 6293 7657
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[4]Australian Electoral Commission logo [5]Australian Electoral
Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
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Dear Owen Jones,
Thank you for your reply.
I did not ask for my personal documents in this particular request. Item 3 should be removed from this request and treated as a seperate request, and further communication should be sent to the personal email address I used for that.
Yours sincerely,
Cail Young
Sensitive:Legal
Dear Mr Young
Thank you for your email of 16 November 2016 10:27 AM about your FOI
Request.
In light of your clarification, I now understand that your FOI Request
seeks:
1. copies of any documented procedures for enrolling electors
with no fixed address, including procedures for notifying state electoral
bodies of such enrolment;
2. copies of any procedures for polling-place staff in
processing itinerant electors on polling day, especially as it relates to
voting out-of-state;
I will process your FOI Request accordingly.
Regards
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal and Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4528 | F: (02) 6293 7657
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]Australian Electoral Commission logo [2]Australian Electoral
Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
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UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Cail Young
I refer to your email dated 16 November 2016, to the Australian Electoral
Commission (‘AEC’) in which you request (your ‘FOI Request’) access under
the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the ‘FOI Act’) to documented
procedures for enrolling itinerant electors.
I enclose nine relevant documents and a scanned letter dated 15 December
2016, from Owen Jones, Senior Lawyer, AEC, notifying you of his decision
on your FOI Request.
Regards
Antonia Exposito | Administrative Assistant
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4405 | F: (02) 6293 7657
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Young, I apologise, the decision letter scanned single sided. Here
it is again in its entirety.
Regards
Antonia Exposito | Administrative Assistant
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4405 | F: (02) 6293 7657
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[1]Australian Electoral Commission logo [2]Australian Electoral Commission
UNCLASSIFIED
From: Antonia Exposito
Sent: Thursday, 15 December 2016 10:25 AM
To: '[FOI #2712 email]'
<[FOI #2712 email]>
Cc: Legal Services - NO <[email address]>
Subject: FOI Request LS5827 - AEC Decision - Cail Young [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Cail Young
I refer to your email dated 16 November 2016, to the Australian Electoral
Commission (‘AEC’) in which you request (your ‘FOI Request’) access under
the [3]Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the ‘FOI Act’) to documented
procedures for enrolling itinerant electors.
I enclose nine relevant documents and a scanned letter dated 15 December
2016, from Owen Jones, Senior Lawyer, AEC, notifying you of his decision
on your FOI Request.
Regards
Antonia Exposito | Administrative Assistant
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4405 | F: (02) 6293 7657
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Australian Electoral Commission's handling of my FOI request 'Procedures for processing itinerant or no-fixed-address enrolments'.
In the decision letter, Mr Jones indicated that he 'did not identify any documents that fell within the scope of the second limb of [my] FOI request'. For reference, this was:
• copies of any procedures for polling-place staff in processing
itinerant electors on polling day, especially as it relates to voting
out-of-state
He then states that he (only?) directed enquiries to the Roll Management Branch.
I would like to request that a thorough search of the training materials that exist for polling-place staff be undertaken if it has not already, as there is surely some document that records what the procedures are for staff at polling places!
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/p...
Yours faithfully,
Cail Young
Thank you for contacting us.
This is an automatic response from the Australian Electoral Commission to confirm we have received your email.
For more information on enrolling to vote, federal elections or the AEC, visit www.aec.gov.au.
Please do not respond to this email.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Cail Young
I refer to your request for internal review of the decision made in
respect of your FOI Request LS5827, for access to documented procedures
for enrolling itinerant electors.
The Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) received your request for
internal review on 16 December 2016. The internal review will be
considered by a decision maker other than Owen Jones, Senior Lawyer of the
AEC. You may expect a decision to be made about the internal review on or
before 16 January 2017. Please use the new reference number (LS5879) that
applies to your request for internal review in any correspondence about
this matter.
In the original decision made by Owen Jones on 15 December 2016, Mr Jones
found, as outlined, at paragraph 5 of the letter, that he did not identify
any documents that fell within the scope of the second limb of your FOI
request. As such, you requested in your internal review ‘a thorough search
of training materials that exist for polling place staff’, specifically in
relation to what was the second limb of your original FOI request which
was for:
· copies of any procedures for polling place staff in processing
itinerant electors on polling day, especially as it relates to voting out
of state.
We will contact you using the email address that you provided.
Please advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of
contact. If you have any questions, please contact:
email: [1][email address]
fax: 02 6293 7657
post: Locked bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
telephone: 02 6271 4474
Regards
Antonia Exposito | Administrative Assistant
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4405
UNCLASSIFIED
DISCLAIMER:
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Young,
I refer to your email dated 16 December 2016 8:29AM, to the Australian
Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) in which you request (your ‘Internal Review
Request’) under the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the ‘FOI Act’)
into the decision on your FOI Request LS5827 made by Mr Owen Jones, Senior
Lawyer of the AEC dated 15 December 2016.
I enclose a scanned letter dated 12 January 2017 from Paul Pirani, Chief
Legal Officer of the AEC, notifying you of his decision on your FOI
Internal Review Request.
Regards
Antonia Exposito | Administrative Assistant
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4405
UNCLASSIFIED
DISCLAIMER:
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2...
Andrew Donnellan left an annotation ()
I have served as a polling official with the AEC on a couple of occasions, and as far as I'm aware, there is no specific training on dealing with itinerant electors - I don't have my training books with me, but I don't recall there being any special procedures for itinerant electors whatsoever. As far as your frontline polling official is concerned, they're exactly the same as any other elector, perhaps with the exception of needing to clarify when we ask "where do you live" that what is actually meant is the elector's address on the electoral roll.
For interstate voting, again, same as any other elector - they need to complete a declaration vote, and they need to know their address on the electoral roll.