Go to top of page

Australian Electoral Commission Annual Report 2020-21

Appendix B: Governance

Accountable authority

Table 12: Details of accountable authority during current report period (2020-21)

Name

Position title/position held

Date of commencement

Date of cessation

Mr Tom Rogers

Electoral Commissioner

Australian Electoral Commission

15/12/2014

N/A

Audit committee details

Table 13: Audit committee

Member Name	Qualifications, knowledge, skills or experience (include formal and informal as relevant)	Number of meetings attended / total number of meetings	Total annual remuneration (GST inc.)	Additional Information
Jenny Morison	Jennifer Morison FCA, BEc (Sydney University) has 39 years of broad professional experience across commerce and government. She was a national board member of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand for four years, chief financial officer of a public company, and held senior positions in major international accounting firms. She founded Morison Consulting in 1996, specialising in government financial reforms, governance and consulting. She was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2000 for services to women and accounting. Mrs Morison has been an independent member and chair of Commonwealth audit and risk committees, and financial statement sub-committees for large and small government entities for the past 18 years.	5/5	$30,800	Independent member and Chair
Jeff Pope	Jeff Pope is the Deputy Electoral Commissioner at the Australian Electoral Commission, a position he has held since December 2016. He has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has also completed a residential executive management course at Insead International Business School in Singapore. Mr Pope was previously an Assistant Commissioner with Victoria Police, where he was a member of a range of senior executive governance committees and project boards. He was awarded an Australian Police Medal in 2013 for his contribution to law enforcement for 23 years.	5/5	$0*	Deputy Chair
Mark Ridley	Mark Ridley is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (FCA) and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has bachelor’s degrees in commerce and accounting. He has served as an independent member and chair of audit and risk committees for several large and medium-sized Commonwealth agencies since 2011, and helps entities oversee ICT projects. Mr Ridley was formerly a senior partner of PwC Australia and has held leadership roles in risk advisory, internal audit and ICT project assurance. This includes for large companies in manufacturing and financial services, as well as state and federal governments.	5/5	$19,800	Independent member
Donna Moody	Donna Moody Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) is a recently retired senior Commonwealth public servant and was a CPA for more than 25 years. She has a background in finance, governance and change management. Ms Moody was Chief Financial Officer of the Australian Taxation Office and held program and grant management positions in the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Health. She was also the Chief Information Officer of DSS. She has been involved in, or responsible for, major organisational changes.	4/5	$19,800	Independent member. Joined the committee in September 2020

*Not applicable as not separately remunerated as an audit committee member

Business planning documents

Table 14: Business planning documents

Document	Purpose	Reviewed
AEC Corporate Plan 2021-22	The AEC’s central planning document. Sets the strategic direction for the next four years through the agency’s key activities. Includes analysis of our operating context (addressing environment, capabilities, risk oversight and management and cooperation) and planned performance of the agency.	Annually
Assurance Plan	Outlines assurance framework and the operational application in the AEC context	Annually
Business Continuity Plans	Improves resilience to enable continuation of identified time critical business processes during and following a significant disruption to business operations	Annually and as required
Business Planning and Performance Reporting Framework	Supports staff to deliver outcomes in the AEC corporate plan, manage resources and finances and supports requirements of the PGPA Act.	Annually
Business Plans (branch/state and territory)	Aligns branch and state and territory activities with business planning and reporting.	Annually
Disability Inclusion Strategy	Identifies relevant target outcomes from the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020	Annually
Election Readiness Framework	Sets out and monitors the program of activity required to maintain election readiness	Every election cycle
Fraud Control Plan	Prevents, detects and responds to fraud in accordance with Commonwealth law, fraud control policies and memorandums of understanding	Every two years (or if significant organisational change occurs)
Information Technology Strategic Plan 2018–2022	Sets the AEC’s desired information technology vision to 2022 and is supported by the IT Architecture Plan	Every four years
Internal Audit Plan	Sets the internal audit program for the financial year	Annually
Property Plan	Direction on long-term management of leased property	Annually
Reconciliation Action Plan	Sets activities to recognise and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in internal and external arrangements and activities	Annually
Security Plan	Strategies to protect staff, visitors, information, equipment and premises against harm, loss, interference and compromise	Twice a year
Workforce Plans (division, branch/state and territory)	Details the continuous process of identifying and mitigating potential workforce risks and planning future workforce strategies	Twice a year

AEC management committees

Table 15: AEC management committees

Committee	Function	Members*	Meeting frequency
Executive Leadership Team	Senior management team helping to deliver strategic leadership and operational management	EC DEC FAC Enabling and Regulation FAC Service Delivery/National Election Manager FAC Organisational Transformation	Weekly
Organisational Health, Performance and Risk Committee	Monitors performance, risk management, compliance and controls. Provides advice and recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team	DEC FAC Enabling and Regulation FAC Service Delivery FAC Organisational Transformation AC People and Property AC Disclosure, Assurance and Engagement AC Digital Technology and Communication CFO Director, Governance and Performance Advisory section as an advisor	Bimonthly
Investment, Change and People Strategy Committee	To drive and govern the agency’s performance against the Corporate Plan 2020–21 key activity four, ‘Maintain a capable and agile organisation and continue to professionalise our workforce’.	FAC Organisational Transformation AC Enterprise Strategy and Modernisation AC Modernisation Delivery and Assurance AC Design and Improvement AC Digital Technology and Communications CFO State Manager, South Australia Chief Financial Officer Director, National Training and Education Unit Observer Director, Operations Queensland Director, Enabling and Support Adviser Chief People Officer	Every four weeks
Audit Committee	Provides independent advice to the Electoral Commissioner on the appropriateness of the AEC’s financial reporting, performance reporting, risk oversight and management, and systems of internal control	Three or more members appointed by EC (the majority external). See Table 13 for membership details Additional AEC advisers are permitted to attend	Five times a year
Electoral Integrity Committee	Responsible for AEC cyber, physical and personnel security, implementation and effectiveness. This committee also oversees fraud control and related risks, privacy, and maturing of our information and knowledge management.	FAC Enabling and Regulation FAC Service Delivery AC Disclosure Assurance and Engagement AC Digital Communications and Technology AC Enterprise Strategy and Modernisation CFO Chief Legal Officer Director, Service Operations State Manager, Queensland Director, Service Strategy and Design Director Operations, NSW Advisers from Cyber Security, Governance and Assurance Section	Every second month, with more meetings as required (i.e. in run-up to and during an electoral event)
National Operations and Readiness Committee (NOR) and National Election Delivery Committee (NEDC)	Supports the National Election Manager (NEM) to oversee and monitor preparations for—and successful conduct of—federal electoral events (including by-elections, plebiscites and referendums). NEM reports regularly on behalf of the NOR to the Executive Leadership Team and the Electoral Commissioner. The committee becomes the NEDC during an election event.	FAC Service Delivery Division/National Election Manager All state managers ACs	Monthly, weekly or daily as required (i.e. in run-up to and during an electoral event)
Education and Engagement Committee	Provides oversight to ensure sustained improvement in voter awareness, education, engagement and experience.	DEC AC Design and Improvement State manager SA Director, National Training and Education Unit Director, Community and International Engagement Director, Communications Director, Operations QLD and WA	Every six weeks
Work health and safety committees	A consultative forum to address health and safety at a national and strategic level, with reference to the requirements of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011	FAC Enabling and Regulation Management representatives Employee representatives Advisers from People and Property Branch	Quarterly and out-of-session as required

*Key: Electoral Commissioner (EC); Deputy Electoral Commissioner (DEC); First Assistant Commissioner (FAC); Assistant Commissioner (AC); Chief Finance Officer (CFO)

Visit

https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/australian-electoral-commission/reporting-year/2020-21-17

Transparency Portal