Annual Report 2010-2011 Northern Territory Electoral Commission
Tabled paper 1602
Tabled Papers for 11th Assembly 2008 - 2012; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2011-11-21
Tabled By Speaker
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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Tabled papers
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/280792
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/415582
7 The 2010 legislative change now requires evidence of identity (EOI) to be in the form of either a drivers licence number, a passport number or the signature of a person currently on the electoral roll confirming the applicants identity. The requirement to produce an approved form to a prescribed person was removed. Further discussion at the federal level has taken place on the introduction of legislation to allow for direct enrolment i.e. a change of details on an official database such as MV Licence or Centrelink, would be applied automatically to the electoral roll. This provision now applies for enrolment for state purposes in NSW and Victoria but is yet to be implemented operationally. The federal government is considering similar provisions and, if eventually implemented, they would apply to the NT roll as a matter of course. 2.2 Roll status The NT roll increased by 3496 electors over the reporting period to 120 950 electors enrolled at 30 June 2011. The main drivers of enrolment activity over the year were the 2010 federal election, targeted enrolment activities by MLAs in early 2011 and NTEC enrolment stimulation activities. The AEC estimate that at 30 June 2011, an estimated 78.4% of eligible persons were enrolled compared to the national average of 90.9% (see the table below). Table 1: Estimated eligible participation on the roll - 2004, 2008, 2011 Participation rates for 30 June 2004, 2008 and 20111 Year Area Total Enrolment 18-25 enrolment 2004 NT 82.2% 61.9% National 92.5% 80.9% 2008 NT 83.3% 68.3% National 92.2% 82.0% 2011* NT 78.4% 57.0% National 90.9% 78.0% *Note: ABS has recently modified a longstanding participation rate formula used to estimate eligible population, resulting in the lowering of estimates of eligible electors. This causes current and previously reported figures to show a change in the participation rate across the board and will also have an impact on trend analysis. The Northern Territory has the lowest participation of all jurisdictions in relation to enrolment and voting, being consistently 10 15% below that for interstate jurisdictions and nationally. This is due in part to the younger average age of the eligible population, the high level of mobility in the community including interstate moves and the special difficulties of maintaining the roll in remote areas where enrolment and voting rates are significantly lower than in the urban areas of the Territory. 2.3 Roll stimulation activities and initiatives In accordance with the JRA, the NTEC contributes to the joint roll by: Undertaking regular electoral roll awareness and enrolment programs Maintaining an office in Alice Springs as a base for enrolment activities in the Centre and as a jointly branded public shop front with the AEC for the public Providing the AEC with information collected at electoral events. The NTEC collected an estimated 3000 enrolment forms from the public during 2010-11, approximately 15% of all enrolments processed for the Territory. Other information provided to the AEC during the reporting period for roll integrity purposes included data collected at roll reviews and elections and official elector mail returned unclaimed. This included information collected at LA and council by-elections and subsequent non-voter action and constituent mail returned unclaimed from mailing by MLAs. 1 Electoral Management Information System 2004 and 2008 Key Performance Measure data, Australian Electoral Commission