Review of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 and the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981

Resolution passed 3 April 2012, Minutes No 7, Item 3

1. That the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters conduct a comprehensive review of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 ("the PE&E Act") (excluding Part 2) and the Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981 (the "EFE&D Act").
2. The Committee is to consider whether the Acts should be amended or rewritten to promote free, open and honest elections in New South Wales.
3. In its review of the PE&E Act, the Committee is to inquire into and report to Parliament on the following matters:

a) whether the terms and structure of the PE&E Act remain appropriate having regard to changes in electoral practices and the nature of modern political campaigning;

b) the role and functions of the New South Wales Electoral Commission;

c) whether existing provisions regarding the entitlement to enrol and vote in New South Wales elections are appropriate;

d) the effectiveness of amendments made by the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Automatic Enrolment) Act 2009 to facilitate automatic enrolment for the NSW elections;

e) whether existing provisions relating to pre-poll voting, postal voting and other forms of voting remain appropriate;

f) whether the PE&E Act provides appropriate voting options for electors with a disability and rural and remote electors;

g) those provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that relate to local government elections and that are administered by the Electoral Commissioner under section 21AA(2) of the PE&E Act;

h) whether the offences and penalties prescribed by the PE&E Act remain appropriate; and

i) any other matter relating to the administration of state and local government elections under the PE&E Act.

4. In its review of the EFE&D Act, the Committee is to consider the following matters:

a) whether the terms and structure of the EFE&D Act remain appropriate having regard to changes in electoral practices and the nature of modern political campaigning;

b) the role and functions of the Election Funding Authority of New South Wales;

c) the operation and effectiveness of recent campaign finance reforms including the Election Funding Amendment (Political Donations and Expenditure) Act 2008, the Election Funding and Disclosures Amendment (Property Developers Prohibition) Act 2009, and the Election Funding and Disclosures Amendment Act 2010; and

d) the recommendations made by the Committee following its 2010 inquiry into the public funding of local government election campaigns.