1 December 2008

The NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) 2007-08 Annual Report has been tabled in State Parliament.

During the reporting period, NSWEC introduced a Corporate Plan that identifies strategies and sets out goals to achieve a vision of an impartial and fair electoral system in NSW.

"The 2008-2011 Corporate Plan will help us measure our performance against key result areas," said NSW Electoral Commissioner Colin Barry.

"These include how we conduct elections, our electoral roll management, communication and public awareness, organisational development and innovation."

Much of the reporting year was spent undertaking preparation for the September 2008 Local Government elections, the most complex elections in Australia.

"The process included allocating 148 councils with a transparent, line-by-line budget that for the first time identified the real cost of their election. An independent audit has since found our costing model to be fair and equitable."

The NSWEC’s medium to longer term goals include increasing participation in the democratic process by all sections of the community and a greater understanding of the issues that may prevent people from voting.

"This includes conducting research into the demographics of those who fail to vote which will be useful for targeted advertising and education campaigns in the future.

"We have already launched an Aboriginal Elector Strategy and will review recruitment practices to attract more election officials from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds."

Mr Barry said the NSWEC would continue to review feedback from its elections and investigate the use of new technology to increase participation and convenience for electors, candidates and other election stakeholders.

The NSWEC will implement at the 2011 State election those recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for which it has legislative authority.

The NSWEC’s Annual Report is available at www.elections.nsw.gov.au/media

Media Contact: Adrian Kerr, NSW Electoral Commission

(02) 9290 5954 adrian.kerr@elections.nsw.gov.au