Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 3:16:04 to 3:24:58
The Australian Electoral Commission provides an update on the implementation of complex funding and disclosure reforms and the launch of a new IT system.
Topics: Integrity, Government IT systems
Speakers: Jeff Pope, Senator The Hon James McGrath, Rachel Houghton, Speaker 1, Unknown Speaker, Interjection
Uh, and I will also now um advise that we will release the parliamentary workplace support service and questions will all be placed on notice and we will also release the independent parliamentary expense authority and all questions will be placed on notice. Welcome Mr. Pope, Electoral Commissioner. um delighted to have you see us through the end of tonight. Um would you care to make an opening statement?
>> Uh no, thank you, chair.
>> Okay, we will go directly to questions. Senator McGrath.
>> Uh thank you. Good evening. Uh Commissioner to you and uh your team. Um with the substantive electoral funding and disclosure reforms commencing in uh 3 months time uh I think that's correct. Can you provide an update on the implementation of the reforms? Actually it's 2 months. It's two months time the reforms commence.
>> Two months and about four two months and about four days. Uh Senator
>> Excellent. Can you provide an update on the implementation of the reforms commencing in two months and four days?
>> I certainly can. Um and and thank you very much. >> Well, I might just say at the outset, I'm incredibly proud of the team that have been working on the funding and disclosure reform program. This has been an incredibly complex task that's been given to the AEC with I think many have described the most complex legislation in uh in recent history and a very short period of time to build a new system and a new process and to bring a uh a large stakeholder cohort on this uh on this Uh the most substantive outcome I can update you on is on the 18th of October were successful in integrating our new system uh for funding and disclosure reform so that disclosure donation notices uh will be able to be electronically lodged as of the 1st of January 2027. um that uh that enhancement into and uh integration of that new system and new capability into uh the A broader ICT architecture went incredibly smoothly actually ran ahead of schedule and um the team who worked on that and have been working on that for many many months have done an excellent job. So we are now in the process of starting to contact entities to onboard them uh and to get them effectively registered into the system and to get them linked so that they are ready to go um on the 1st of January 2027. >> But I could provide a lot more detail if
you'd like. We we may um because it is it is important and I'm sorry that it's um at the end of of of today. Um so I'm just want to confirm that the new funding and disclosure system is fully operational and available for end to end testing by regulated entities.
Um while entities have been involved in user acceptance testing um I will ask the chief operating officer to complement my answer. I just want to be careful about understanding so we we don't misunderstand where we're at. What we have done is put the first module of the system live which is for donation disclosure notices. There are many other phases that are planned throughout 2027 to add to this system, but that is the first module and that will be available for entities to electronically uh upload their donation disclosure notices on the 1st of January 2027 when the scheme goes live. So I suppose I
suppose that's a good way to clarify or sort of nowish when I say in the next in terms of the entire project what what functions will be ready to go or have been available for people to test but ready to go on the 1 of January and and what functions I don't want to say that are still under development but I can't think of a better way of putting it that are still >> under development and yet to be implemented over 2027. Referring to your to your answer.
>> Yeah. Well, I might ask the chief operating officer to uh complement my answer and correct it if need be.
>> Thank you, Rachel Hton, chief operating officer. Um, so what we have launched most recently is our disclosure capability. So what users can currently do is that they can sign in. They can create and manage accounts. They can create their draft disclo disclosure notices. They can save and review those draft disclosure notices. And they can view disclosure activity ahead of the system being launched on the 1st of January. um from the 1st of January we will turn the system on so they can actually lodge disclosure notices at that point and we will then be able to publish them to the transparency register. The additional two capabilities that we will launch over the coming uh 12 months will be um the funding capability. So the payment of uh administrative uh assistance funding uh the payment of advanced electoral funding and the other one is the registration of political parties and all of the different elements associated with those two significant capabilities. Then what we have for the AEC's regulatory capability are three additional components which is the compliance investigation and enforcement capabilities and we also have some technology uplift which forms another component of the
So Senator, this remains um obviously it's a very large and complex uh program uh with a you know a complex IT element but also complex stakeholder engagement, education, awareness uh and there are many challenges still ahead um that we still need to navigate and >> [snorts] >> uh you know we've got a fantastic team and they are doing their very best but I'm um conscious whilst we're off to a great start this is a fantastic fic achievement and a great milestone and almost a near miracle if you like. Um there is much complexity uh ahead for us in 2027 and into 2028
>> and for for and for the entities
>> and for the entities that are coming on this journey
and you might can you take this on notice um the will you be undertaking sort of an advertising campaign I mean or you're obviously engaging with
>> yes
>> certain stakeholders at the moment but in terms of people understanding because these are quite serious reforms.
Yes, we we've um I mean, as you know, we've been engaging very widely um Senator and uh if I can just rip off the top of my head here, 14 user groups with 295 attendees, seven virtual engagement sessions with 38 attendees, nine uh engagement sessions at Parliament House here on site, 43 one-on-one engagements, videos, interactive walkthroughs of the systems, 11 fact sheets, 23 detailed guidelines, five videos, seven monthly newsletters that have gone to over 3,000 stakeholders and multiple letters to stakeholders. Um, so we're doing a lot, but you're pointing to the fact that outside of the known entities, there are donors out there that need to be alert to particularly the new um changed donation threshold. So, yes, we will be doing an advertising uh campaign and um the chief operating officer's got more detail on that if you would like what we can provide.