Today is the first official day in the Acting Electoral Commissioner role for Jeff Pope. This follows the end of an 11-year tenure for the previous Commissioner Tom Rogers who finished up on Friday. Jeff may be a new face to some externally but not for the AEC. He has been appointed Acting Commissioner after serving as the Deputy since 2016. Prior to that, he was the AEC’s Victorian State Manager through the delivery of the 2013 and 2016 federal elections. He’s been in an AEC leadership position while the agency has run four federal elections, 1 federal referendum, 18 by-elections (including the 2018 ‘super-Saturday’ by-elections), many special Senate counts, countless industrial elections and implemented several major pieces of legislative reform. Jeff also even has experience on the tongs, as seen here in Gapuwiyak in the Northern Territory during the 2022 federal election. This is of course an important qualification for the Australian Electoral Commissioner’s role!
Australian Electoral Commission
Government Administration
We run one of the nation's largest, most complex and scrutinised peacetime logistical events.
About us
The AEC has been around since 1984 and prior to that was known as the Australian Electoral Office. We run Australia’s federal elections, by-elections, referendums and some industrial and commercial events as well. People often ask what we do in between events and the answer is plenty! We maintain the electoral roll, redraw electoral boundaries and conduct industrial and commercial elections. The AEC also provides a range of ongoing electoral education and awareness programs from school age children visiting our electoral education centre to direct engagement with people living in remote areas of Australia. For the more politically savvy we also play a role in the disclosure of the financial dealings of political parties and others involved in the electoral process. The biggest thing that the AEC does in between events though is to plan for the next one - careful planning of what is the biggest peacetime logistical exercise conducted in Australia without a known date. Authorised by the Electoral Commissioner, Canberra.
- Website
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http://www.aec.gov.au
External link for Australian Electoral Commission
- Industry
- Government Administration
- Company size
- 501-1,000 employees
- Type
- Government Agency
- Founded
- 1984
- Specialties
- Electoral adminstration and Supply chain
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
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Get directions
10 Mort St
City, Australian Capital Territory 2601, AU
Employees at Australian Electoral Commission
Updates
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Did you know the AEC regularly participates in workshops and meetings with electoral management bodies across the Pacific? Last week AEC staff were in Port Vila, Vanuatu, to run an electoral administration BRIDGE workshop for Melanesian electoral commissions alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Over three days almost thirty election staff from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu discussed core elements of election delivery, as well as the unique challenges faced in the region; from remote geography to security and limited resourcing. The AEC is a proud founding partner of the BRIDGE program used to deliver these electoral workshops, and this year worked alongside UNDP to also run workshops in Micronesia and Polynesia. A big thanks in particular to the Vanuatu Electoral Office for hosting us while also delivering a snap election next month!
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Educating Australians about the electoral system is a big priority for the AEC. One way we’ve been doing that recently is the roll out of DemocraCity – a new 3D interactive game designed by the AEC to bring Australia’s democratic process to life for students! The game immerses students in real world scenarios where they role-play as voters, candidates, or electoral officials, learning about key democratic principles. This week we visited Blackfriars Priory School in South Australia - one of the first schools in the state to try it. Amit Kelkar, our Project Lead for 3D Electoral Education, was on-site to witness it. “We love seeing the engagement and we’re bringing DemocraCity to schools across the country,” https://lnkd.in/gVDPP_Fm
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What does the AEC do between federal elections? Well, one thing we do is run other elections! Right now, we’re running the 2024 Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) board elections. Across the 20 TSRA wards there are 19 being contested and 52 candidates, making it the most contested TSRA elections ever. Candidates: https://lnkd.in/gQcQf8zF Key dates: https://lnkd.in/gb-huDNV Polling begins in late November. Our officials will be running voting centres in central wards (including pre-poll) with mobile polling staff getting to outer islands via a range of transport. The high number of candidates and record number of contested wards announced follows engagement and education work our teams have been doing in the Torres Strait that focuses not just on the TRSA elections currently underway but in readiness for participation in the upcoming federal election as well.
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Tasmania’s federal redistribution has been deferred as the federal election is less than 12 months away. Following the deferral, the redistribution will start within 30 days of the 1st meeting of the House of Representatives after the federal election. Media release: https://lnkd.in/gi2Bi3Ma
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And the winner is…. BANANA! Thanks to all who stopped by our stall at the Government House Open Day. We had a great time, with a nail biting election where Banana was elected over Peach by just 2 votes! As well as the fruit election, there was also the opportunity to play our 3D game, DemocraCity! Thanks to everyone who stopped by.
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Rehearsals are an incredibly important part of delivering a huge logistical event with tight, immutable timeframes (and an unknown date for delivery). Recently, we were undertaking our standard pre-election rehearsals for ballot paper production. It is just one small, but vital, part of our preparation ahead of the federal election (due to be held sometime between now and the last possible date of 17 May 2025). This quick inside look shows the detail we go into to enable the whole operation to come together when we’re called upon.
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Pleased to announce the AEC 2023-24 Annual Report has been tabled in Parliament and is now available on our website. Our work over the past year has included delivering the first referendum in a quarter of a century, conducting three federal by-elections, and undertaking redistributions in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. We’ve also continued preparing for the next federal election, and progressed our ongoing transformation journey as we continue to modernise election delivery. Of course, none of this work would be possible without our dedicated workforce. Whether you’re permanent staff, or part of our 100,000 temporary election workforce, thanks for all your work ensuring our democratic processes are maintained. Read the full report here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gkBxteiv
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Ever wondered how electoral commissions are adapting to the digital age? Or how AI might play a role in democracy? Our Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, and the UK Electoral Commissioner, Vijay Rangarajan recently chatted with Rory Medcalf AM about the innovative tools and strategies being used to tackle misinformation. Listen to the podcast here 👇
🎙️NEW PODCAST🎙️ How do electoral commissions balance trust with the growing role of technology in electoral processes? Can AI be a democratic tool? Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers, The Electoral Commissioner of UK, Vijay Rangarajan join Rory Medcalf to discuss the tools & infrastructure needed to combat misinformation in its evolving forms. 🎧Listen now👇 https://lnkd.in/g9Xbvdef David Andrews Federal Election Commission Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission NSW Electoral Commission Electoral Commission of Queensland Electoral Commission of South Australia NT Electoral Commission Western Australian Electoral Commission
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The 2024 redistribution proposal for the Northern Territory has been released! Proposal: - The names of the divisions of Lingiari and Solomon to remain unchanged - The suburbs of the City of Palmerston to move fully into the division of Solomon - Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling Islands) to remain in the division of Lingiari Website ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gtev67ZK Media release ➡️