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Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union elections.
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902 set up the framework for the Commonwealth electoral system, which was administered until 1916 as a branch of the Department of Home Affairs, by the Department of Home and Territories until 1928, back to Department of Home Affairs to 1932, and then Department of the Interior until 1972. The Australian Electoral Office was created in 1973 by the Australian Electoral Office Act 1973.
In 1984 the Australian Electoral Office was reformed through amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and is currently known as the Australian Electoral Commission.
After the loss of 1,400 ballots during the recount for the 2013 Western Australia Senate election and the subsequent 2014 special election, the AEC came under significant scrutiny, leading to the resignation of Commissioner Ed Killesteyn.
During the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, opposition leader Peter Dutton claimed that the commission's counting process was "rigged", on the basis that the AEC would count ticks as "yes" votes but would not count crosses as "no" votes. Dutton's comments were criticised as undermining faith in Australia's electoral system and of echoing Trumpian misinformation regarding election integrity.
Later in 2023, the commission topped an annual Commonwealth government trust survey, with 87 per cent of respondents indicating some level of trust in the AEC's running of the commission's work, the highest trust rating of any government authority.
Research by pollster DemosAU following the 2025 federal election revealed 67% of Australians trusted the AEC, while 75% trusted that their vote was counted fairly at the election.
The AEC is accountable to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Parliament of Australia, and must report on how elections were carried out and the success of elections in general.
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Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union elections.
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902 set up the framework for the Commonwealth electoral system, which was administered until 1916 as a branch of the Department of Home Affairs, by the Department of Home and Territories until 1928, back to Department of Home Affairs to 1932, and then Department of the Interior until 1972. The Australian Electoral Office was created in 1973 by the Australian Electoral Office Act 1973.
In 1984 the Australian Electoral Office was reformed through amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and is currently known as the Australian Electoral Commission.
After the loss of 1,400 ballots during the recount for the 2013 Western Australia Senate election and the subsequent 2014 special election, the AEC came under significant scrutiny, leading to the resignation of Commissioner Ed Killesteyn.
During the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, opposition leader Peter Dutton claimed that the commission's counting process was "rigged", on the basis that the AEC would count ticks as "yes" votes but would not count crosses as "no" votes. Dutton's comments were criticised as undermining faith in Australia's electoral system and of echoing Trumpian misinformation regarding election integrity.
Later in 2023, the commission topped an annual Commonwealth government trust survey, with 87 per cent of respondents indicating some level of trust in the AEC's running of the commission's work, the highest trust rating of any government authority.
Research by pollster DemosAU following the 2025 federal election revealed 67% of Australians trusted the AEC, while 75% trusted that their vote was counted fairly at the election.
The AEC is accountable to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters of the Parliament of Australia, and must report on how elections were carried out and the success of elections in general.