Who are we?

Updated 6 Feb 2024

Responsibilities

The ACT Electoral Commission is an independent statutory authority with responsibility for:

  • the conduct of elections and referendums for the ACT Legislative Assembly;
  • the determination of electoral boundaries for the ACT; and
  • the provision of electoral advice and services to a wide range of clients:

Structure and staffing

The ACT Electoral Commission comprises three statutory office holders - a part-time Chairperson (Mr David Kalisch), a full-time Electoral Commissioner (Mr Damian Cantwell AM CSC) and a part-time member (Mr Ed Killesteyn PSM). The members of the Electoral Commission are independent officers of the ACT Legislative Assembly. The Commission reports to the Legislative Assembly through the Speaker of the Assembly.

The Electoral Commissioner is assisted by 13 full and part-time permanent officers employed under the Public Sector Management Act 1994. The Commissioner has the powers of a Chief Executive under the Public Sector Management Act in relation to those staff.

The positions are:

  • Deputy Electoral Commissioner
  • Funding and Disclosure Manager
  • Finance Manager
  • Election Operations Manager
  • Elections Cyber Security and Integrity Assurance Manager
  • Office Manager
  • 2 x Election Operations Officers
  • Education and Information Officer
  • 2 x Funding and Disclosure Officers
  • Executive Assistant
  • Finance Officer

For the preparation and conduct of elections the Commissioner employs additional temporary and casual staff under the Public Sector Management 1994 and the Electoral Act 1992.

Budget

Budget details are recorded in the Commission's annual reports.