Skip to contentInformation for people with disabilityInformation on accessibility
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission has temporarily taken the Transparency Register offline. This register displays information regarding political donations and other financial disclosures.
This action was taken on the afternoon of Wednesday 15 May after the AEC became aware that the Register had drawn information listed in the address field from candidate nomination forms (and in some instances we understand this to be the same as the individual’s residential address).
The AEC has commenced communicating with relevant individuals to advise the steps we have taken, including assuring them that the Transparency Register was taken offline as soon as the AEC became aware. The Transparency Register has been in operation since October 2019 and this function of the Register is not new.
As part of its response, in addition to contacting affected individuals the AEC is also liaising with appropriate authorities. This includes briefing the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The investigation and contact with impacted individuals is ongoing.
Note: This matter relates solely to information available through the Transparency Register and does not impact the electoral roll. This is not a cyber security breach and none of the AEC’s systems have been compromised. There was no involvement of a third party outside the AEC. This has been caused by an internal process issue that has arisen within the AEC’s highly complex ICT environment.
The AEC is prioritising contact with those affected that either were or have since become a silent elector. Our investigation at this stage indicates this is 68 people but it will take a number of days to fully investigate.
While many candidates provide consent on their nomination form for their details to be published, there are a number that do not consent. Those that have not consented for this information to be published and are not silent electors are additional people that need to be aware of this issue.
Privacy is a matter the AEC takes extremely seriously. We deeply regret what has occurred and we sincerely apologise to those people affected. The Electoral Commissioner will initiate a fulsome external review led by an appropriately experienced person once initial investigation and remediation is complete.
The AEC is communicating this matter publicly now - as soon as it was possible following determination of the nature and extent of the issue and after direct communication with affected individuals and authorities had commenced. Further information will be communicated when available.
background information
The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.