This private company is running two council elections. It may have breached the law

A private company handling two council elections in Sydney’s south-west has conceded it may have breached NSW electoral laws, delivering Liverpool Council another headache as it grapples with the threat of suspension.

The Australian Election Company has been engaged by Liverpool and Fairfield councils to run their respective September 14 polls, the only two councils in Sydney to use private contractors rather than using the NSW Electoral Commission.

City of Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun says the ruling was a “one-one draw” with the state government.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun has previously said the decision to use the company was based on extensive voting wait times in parts of the local government area in 2021. The council has paid the Queensland-based company $1.6 million to run the election.

In correspondence with the state’s electoral agency, Labor Leppington MP Nathan Hagarty relayed “multiple reports from constituents” who were provided with methods of completing ballots for the September 14 poll which were “contrary to the [Local Government] Act”.

Hagarty said separate constituents had provided examples of how they were able to obtain ballot papers in breach of electoral laws. First saying they would be out of the country on polling day, they obtained a postal vote application form via email or at the company’s returning office, and were then handed a ballot paper to fill out.

“This raises serious questions about the security of ballot papers and the validity of the election generally,” he said.

Under the state’s Local Government Regulation, the election manager must “deliver or send” the postal vote package to the elector. For non-resident postal voters (businesses may be eligible to vote in wards or council areas) these forms “must be delivered or sent to the elector’s residential address or other preferred postal address specified in their application”.

In response to questions, Australian Election Company principal Richard Kidd said the company’s returning officer had advised of two electors who were “provided personally delivered ballot material” to provide “the best possible service to the particular electors”.

The returning officer had conceded that the “original applied interpretation … was incorrect” and “no postal voting material is to be issued other than through the postal service and that remains our position”, Kidd said.

He said there was another case where an elector was concerned about the “potential for their postal vote material to be stolen”, which was the “underpinning motivation” to provide any hand delivery of materials.

Leppington MP Nathan Hagarty wrote to the Electoral Commission about the breaches to the state’s electoral regulations. Credit: Rhett Wyman

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “The NSW Electoral Commission reviews all allegations it becomes aware of in accordance with its compliance and enforcement policy.

“Unless permitted by law, the commission cannot comment on specific compliance matters or confirm whether or not it is conducting an investigation.”

The Australian Election Company was “entirely responsible for the election process”, a Liverpool Council spokesman said.

“It is up to the company to ensure the process complies with the relevant regulatory requirements,” he said.

University of Sydney professor Rodney Smith said private companies had been administering local government elections in NSW since 2012, with a major argument used being the cheaper costs offered by private providers.

But he said the Electoral Commission’s reputation was based on the professional job it did in delivering elections, particularly training staff.

“Maybe it explains why councils decide to pay a little more to go with Electoral Commission,” he said.

A spokesman for Fairfield Council said she was not aware of any potential breaches occurring at the company’s registered office in the local government area.

With the election just over a week away, Liverpool Council suffered another blow after a legal loss in its battle with the Minns government on Monday. Justice John Robson dismissed several injunctions seeking to prevent the council from being suspended while a public inquiry examined damning allegations of misconduct.

In an email to councillors after the ruling, acting Liverpool Council chief executive Jason Breton said he was seeking advice on “actions to save costs and our appeal rights”, noting $1.6 million had already been paid to the Australian Election Company to administer the election.

“Today’s decision means that the three matters we had injunctions against were lost. That is an administrator being appointed, delaying of the election and a public inquiry,” he said.

“However, we have three days to supply the minister with reasons why he should not act on those three actions.”

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