victorian electoral commission

The Victorian Electoral Commission (formerly State Electoral Office), or VEC, is the government agency responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria.

An Independent Agency

Although it is an independent agency, the Commission falls under the Department of Justice umbrella. It does not share a premesis with the Department and does not directly work with the Department most of the time. The Commission head office is located on level 8 the State Revenue Office building, at 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, although during election time there may be as many as sixty offices around Victoria.

Leadership

The Chief Executive Officer of the VEC is the Electoral Commissioner (EC). This office is currently unfilled, with Doug Beercroft in the office of Acting Electoral Commissioner. This position became vacant earlier in 2004 when Colin Barry accepted an appointment to the New South Wales State Electoral Office. Prior to Mr Barry becoming EC in late 1998, the electoral Commissioner was Greg Lyons. A new EC is expected to be appointed soon.

Functions

State Elections

The primary function of the VEC is to conduct Victorian state elections, the last of which was held in 2002.

Municipal Elections

Municipal, or local government, elections are conducted by the VEC in Victoria. Previously there was a system of competitive tendering between the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the VEC but now the VEC runs all of the municipal elections.

Non Government Elections

Private organisations also hire the VEC to conduct elections for them. These may include board elections.

Liquour Licensing Polls

In some municipalities (eg. City of Whitehorse, City of Boroondara) there are areas which require approval of residents for a liquor licence to be granted. In such circumstances the VEC conducts these polls.

Electoral Enrolment

The VEC has its own Electoral Enrolment Branch which is responsible for maintaining the State Electoral Roll. Unlike all other States (except Western Australia), the VEC maintains its own roll rather than depending on the Federal roll as maintained by the AEC. The VEC still receives updates from the AEC to ensure that the Federal and State rolls mirror each other. The VEC conducts several promotional programs to ensure that electors update their information by filling in Electoral Enrolment Forms when their details change.

Boundary Redeistributions

The VEC assists the Electoral Boundaries Commission in redistributing State Electoral Boundaries from time to time. It also performs simialr tasks in relation to local government.