LEX9261
Vanessa Teague
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx and
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Vanessa Teague
FOI Request: Freedom of Information Request No. LEX 9261
Your FOI request
On 16 June 2025 you wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission (
AEC) seeking access under the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) to:
First request:
the independent assessor's report on the 2024-2025 security risk assessment of Senate counting
software systems conducted under Section 273AA of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and al
documents specifying the methodology for that assessment.
Second request:
the report on the 2025 Senate bal ot paper sampling assurance conducted under the Commonwealth
Electoral Act section 273AC, al documents associated with the revalidation, by ABS in September 2024,
of their advice on sampling methodology. (This revalidation is referred to in a footnote on p.1 of your
document "Methodology for the Ballot Paper Assurance Sampling Process for the 2025 Federal
Election."), and any other documents, written by either the AEC or the provider, that describe the
sampling methodology.
The AEC wrote to you on 17 June 2025 acknowledging the request and confirming the request would
be processed as one. We also understood your request to exclude:
(a) Duplicate and draft versions of documents, and
(b) Personal information of AEC staff.
The AEC confirmed on 8 July 2025 that an extension of 30 days would occur on account of consultation
pursuant to section 15(6) of the FOI Act. The AEC would be required to notify you of the decision by
no later than 15 August 2025.On 17 July 2025 the AEC further wrote to you under section 24AB to
inform you that your request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the AEC
from its other operations due to its size and broad scope. On 21 July 2025 you wrote to the Australian
Electoral Commission (
AEC) and re-scoped your request to:
the report on the 2025 Senate bal ot paper sampling assurance conducted under the Commonwealth
Electoral Act section 273AC, and the primary document confirming the revalidation, by ABS in September
2024, of their advice on sampling methodology, whether this is an email or a more formal separate
document
I identified 2 of documents that fell within the scope of your FOI Request (the ‘Relevant Documents’).
To locate these documents, I contacted the relevant areas in the AEC to undertake a comprehensive
search.
The schedule of documents in
Attachment A provides a description of each of the Relevant
Documents and the access decision for each of the Relevant Documents.
By way of information, the 2025 Senate ballot paper sampling assurance report conducted under
section 273AC of the Commonwealth Electoral Act did not exist at the time of your request and
therefore we are unable to provide you a copy as part of your FOI request. Since the date of your
request, the AEC has published the report. The published document is located here on the AEC
website: https://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/counting/security-integrity.htm#verification
Decision
With regard to the Relevant Documents identified in
Attachment A, I have decided to provide:
• Edited Copies of Documents 1-2.
The relevant documents are provided as a separate attachment to this decision.
More information, including my reasons for my decision, is set out in
Attachment B. Disclosure log
Section 11C of the FOI Act requires that the documents released under section 11A are published
unless it would be unreasonable to do so.
I have determined that it is not unreasonable to publish these documents. These documents wil be
published on the Freedom of Information (FOI) Disclosure Log - Australian Electoral Commission within
10 business days.
Review rights
You are entitled to seek review of this decision.
Attachment C sets out your rights to apply for review
if you are dissatisfied with my decision.
Yours sincerely
Justine (888-51108)
Senior Government Lawyer
Australian Electoral Commission
Monday, 18 August 2025
