City of Newcastle Ward 3 – data breach FAQs

After election day printed rolls are collected for scanning and checking against the electronic mark off of electors at pre-poll venues, postal vote records and other rolls in a council area to create a consolidated view of electors who have been marked off the roll.

For the 2024 NSW Local Government elections, a total of 10,739 printed rolls were distributed to 2,099 unique voting venues. All of these rolls have been signed back in and accounted for except for one authorised roll in City of Newcastle Ward 3. The roll was raised as unaccounted for following the pack-down of a polling place after close of voting on election day.

The elector data of 30,971 electors in City of Newcastle Ward 3 is printed on the missing roll. The roll contains data for electors and non-residential electors (non-resident owners, occupiers and ratepaying lessees of rateable land) as at 5 August 2024. View a map of Ward 3.

The printed authorised roll was raised as unaccounted for following the pack-down of a polling place after close of voting at 6pm on election day Saturday, 14 September 2024.

All possible action is being taken to locate the missing roll. As at the published date of these FAQs, the roll has not been recovered.

The potential period of exposure of the personal information printed on the missing roll is from 14 September 2024 until the authorised roll is recovered, provided the information is not replicated elsewhere.

People affected by the loss of the roll have been contacted directly by mail, with details of the information that was available on the roll and actions they can take to protect their personal information.

The elector data printed on the authorised roll is as follows:

• Elector identification number
• Full name
• Residential address for electors (not included for silent electors*). For non-residential electors this is the address that applies for their non-residential elector status.
• Date of Birth (not included for silent electors*).
• Sex of the enrolled person (as the letter ‘F’ or ‘M’).

This is an example of information on the electoral roll:

The ‘Elector identification number’ is a unique number used by the NSW Electoral Commission to identify electors for administrative purposes. It does not appear on ID documents and cannot be used for ID verification purposes.

Silent electors*

Silent elector addresses and dates of birth are not listed on the printed electoral roll. The following details are included on the roll:

• Elector identification number
• Full name
• Sex (as the letter ‘F’ or ‘M’).

This is an example of information on the electoral roll for silent electors:

Please note, no email addresses or phone numbers are included on the electoral roll.

We conducted extensive searches of polling places and all count centres, collection points and central offices. In addition, all staff working on the day at the polling place have been contacted.

The individuals affected have been contacted directly by mail, with details of the information that was available on the roll and action they can take to protect their personal information.

We have informed all relevant agencies and are working closely with the NSW Police and the NSW Privacy Commissioner to take appropriate action to recover the roll and to keep impacted electors informed. We have also informed the Australian Electoral Commission as they manage and provide the electoral roll to us.

While there is no evidence of wrongdoing, we are continuing to investigate the incident and will review our processes for opportunities to strengthen security processes around the management of printed rolls. We will report on our review of these processes in our report to Parliament on the 2024 Local Government elections and also to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

We will update these FAQs if there are any significant updates in relation to the missing roll or guidance for impacted electors.

The safety and privacy of electors remains our priority. With this in mind, we invite you to consider the steps below and think about what steps you might wish to take to protect yourself.

• Review the privacy resources available on the Information and Privacy Commission’s website at ipc.nsw.gov.au/privacy/citizens, including how to reduce your risk of harm if you are notified of an eligible data breach at ipc.nsw.gov.au/fact-sheet-notification-affected-individuals-data-breach.
• Remain vigilant for scams.
• Visit the NSW Government’s ID support website and complete the Personal information breach checklist at nsw.gov.au/id-support-nsw/get-support/identity-breach-checklist
• Be aware of contact from people you do not know. As a precaution, confirm who you are speaking to when making and taking phone calls or who you are dealing with by mail or email. Please note, no email addresses or phone numbers are included on the electoral roll.

The type of action you take will depend on your personal circumstances and we encourage you to access the above resources if you have any concerns.

If you wish, you can lodge a complaint by email to privacy.newcastle@elections.nsw.gov.au. To assist us to resolve your complaint, please explain how you have been affected by the breach and what you would like us to do to resolve your complaint.

If you are not satisfied with the actions taken by the NSW Electoral Commission, you can also make a complaint directly to the NSW Information and Privacy Commission (IPC). The IPC has more information about making a complaint as well as your review rights on its website: ipc.nsw.gov.au/privacy-complaints-your-review-rights

• If you would like more information, please contact the NSW Electoral Commission by emailing privacy.newcastle@elections.nsw.gov.au or phoning 1300 135 736.

You can apply to be registered as a silent elector if you believe having your address included on the publicly available electoral roll could put you or your family’s safety at risk. Silent enrolment means your address will not be shown on future editions of the publicly available roll. This application is made via the Australian Electoral Commission’s website at aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/silent-electors.htm

The NSW Electoral Commission cannot remove eligible electors from the electoral roll. There are very limited circumstances in which a person’s name may be removed from the roll, for example, if a person has moved overseas permanently or the enrolled person is now deceased.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) manages enrolment services for the NSW Electoral Commission. You can learn more about enrolment by visiting the AEC website: aec.gov.au

Voters in New South Wales are required to vote at three levels of government elections. Voting processes differ between these elections. Federal elections are conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission. State and local government (local council) elections are conducted by the NSW Electoral Commission. It is compulsory to vote in an election or by-election if you are eligible to do so.