EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 251

 

 

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984

 

Electoral and Referendum Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

Section 395 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with that Act, prescribing matters which by that Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to that Act.

 

In addition, section 144 of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 (the Referendum Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with that Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by that Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to that Act.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to prescribe three persons as persons that may be given electoral roll information for the purposes of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 and /or the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

 

The Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2006 amended the Electoral Act to allow the provision of electoral roll information to prescribed persons or organisations that verify, or contribute to the verification of, the identity of persons for the purposes of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988.

 

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2006 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2007 amended the Electoral Act to allow the provision of electoral roll information to prescribed persons or organisations that provide information for the purposes of, or to carry out, customer identification procedures under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

 

The scheme to provide information to persons or organisations under the Electoral Act (the financial services scheme) is modelled on the scheme to provide information to prescribed Commonwealth authorities (the prescribed authorities scheme) under a separate provision of the Electoral Act. The Commonwealth authorities who may receive information, and the purposes for which the information may be used, are specified in Schedule 1 to the Electoral and Referendum Regulations 1940. The Electoral Act specifies for the financial services scheme the purposes for which the persons or organisations may use the roll information and in that respect, the proposed scheme differs from the prescribed authorities scheme.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Regulations commence on the day after registration.

 

Experian Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, Perceptive Communications Pty Ltd, and Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Ltd were consulted in the preparation of these Regulations.

 

 

 

Authority: Section 395 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and section 144

of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984

Attachment

 

Details of the Electoral and Referendum Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Electoral and Referendum Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 2).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides that the Regulations commence on the day after registration.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Electoral and Referendum Regulations 1940

 

This regulation provides that the Electoral and Referendum Regulations 1940 are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

 

Item [1] – Regulation 7

 

This item substitutes a new regulation 7 consisting of two subregulations. Subregulation 7(1) inserts a table in which persons or organisations are specified for the purposes of items 4, 5 or 7 in the table in subsection 90B(4) of the Electoral Act. This is a new table to cater for future applications for roll information under items 5, 6 and 7 of the table in subsection 90B(4) of the Electoral Act.

 

In the new table the following persons are prescribed:

(a)           Experian Asia Pacific Pty Ltd as a person that may be provided with roll information under item 7 of the table in subsection 90B(4) of the Electoral Act;

(b)          Perceptive Communications Pty Ltd as a person that may be provided with roll information under items 5 and 7 of the table in subsection 90B(4) of the Electoral Act; and

(c)           Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Ltd as a person that may be provided with roll information under items 5 and 7 of the table in subsection 90B(4) of the Electoral Act.

 

Subregulation 7(2) is a consequential change as a result of the table being inserted in new subregulation 7(1). Subregulation 7(2) contains the same information as was previously set out in regulation 7.