{"id":"C2004A00720","name":"Commonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000","slug":"commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"127 of 2000","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6074,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00720-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCommonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 127, 2000\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nCommonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 127, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for the use of information provided under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for other purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title...................................\n\n2 Commencement...............................\n\n3 Validation of provision of information..................\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nCommonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000\n\nNo. 127, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for the use of information provided under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for other purposes\n\n[Assented to 26 October 2000]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth Electoral Legislation (Provision of Information) Act 2000.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Validation of provision of information\n\n (1) This section applies to information where:\n\n (a) the Electoral Commission has provided the information on a tape or disk to a person who, at the time the information was provided, was a prescribed authority (within the meaning of subsection 91(10) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918); and\n\n (b) the information was provided under an agreement entered into, on or before 9 May 2000, between the person (or the relevant Agency or authority) and the Electoral Commission; and\n\n (c) the information was provided by the Electoral Commission on or before 8 June 2000.\n\n (2) If this section applies to information, then for all purposes:\n\n (a) the information is taken to have been provided under paragraph 91(4A)(e) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918; and\n\n (b) any use of the information by the person (or the relevant Agency or authority) on or before 30 June 2000 is taken to be use for a purpose that is a permitted purpose in relation to the person (or the relevant Agency or authority); and\n\n (c) any purposes prescribed, after 30 June 2000, for the purposes of paragraph 91A(2A)(c) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 are taken to apply to use of the information in the same way as they would to use of information provided under paragraph 91(4A)(e) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 immediately after 30 June 2000.\n\n (3) If this section applies to information and the information has been incorporated with, or into, other information held by the person (or the relevant Agency or authority) in such a way that either:\n\n (a) the information can no longer be identified as having been supplied by the Electoral Commission; or\n\n (b) the information cannot be removed without rendering the other information unusable;\n\nthen, for all purposes, any use of the information by the person (or the relevant Agency or authority) whether before, on or after 30 June 2000 is taken to be use for a purpose that is a permitted purpose in relation to the person (or the relevant Agency or authority).\n\n (4) Unless the contrary intention appears, an expression used in this section has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.\n\n \n\n   \n\n(165/00)\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 4 October 2000\n\nSenate on 11 October 2000]\n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act does not expand ongoing data-sharing powers. It retroactively treats specified past supplies and uses as having been made under paragraph 91(4A)(e) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (s 3(2)(a)) and deems uses up to 30 June 2000 to be for permitted purposes (s 3(2)(b)). It also addresses cases where the supplied information was merged and cannot be separated (s 3(3)). The effect is corrective and confirmatory rather than a substantive broadening of recipient authority."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (paragraph 91(4A)(e), paragraph 91A(2A)(c), subsection 91(10)) create dependency on external definitions and regimes (s 3(2), s 3(4)).","Multiple temporal cut-offs: agreement date (on or before 9 May 2000), supply date (on or before 8 June 2000), and permitted-use cut-off (on or before 30 June 2000) (s 3(1)(b)-(c), s 3(2)(b)).","Retroactive validation of past disclosures and uses raises evidentiary and legal-status issues for conduct already taken (s 3(2)).","Clause dealing with integrated or unidentifiable data (s 3(3)) imposes practical challenges for data management, proof and removal obligations.","Narrow factual trigger (media type: tape or disk; specific dates; prescribed-authority status) makes applicability binary but fact-sensitive (s 3(1)).","Treatment of later-prescribed purposes as applying to these datasets links future regulatory action to past disclosures (s 3(2)(c)).","Limited remedial scope: the Act declares legal status rather than creating new ongoing powers, which can complicate interpretation in litigation or administrative reviews."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act retroactively authorises specific electoral-roll information that the Australian Electoral Commission supplied on tape or disk to certain \"prescribed authorities\" under agreements made on or before 9 May 2000 and delivered by 8 June 2000. It treats those past supplies and any uses (including where the data has been merged into other datasets) as if they were provided under the cited provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, removing legal uncertainty for recipients and their permitted uses up to 30 June 2000."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: validating specific data transfers that occurred between government agencies and the AEC in early 2000. It does not expand beyond this retrospective validation function."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute—only 3 sections and 4 subsections in the substantive provision","Single purpose: retrospective validation of specific data transfers with fixed dates (9 May 2000, 8 June 2000, 30 June 2000)","Minimal defined terms—relies on definitions from the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 via a standard 'same meaning' clause (section 3(4))","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic; straightforward 'if-then' structure in subsections (1) and (2)","No cross-references beyond the parent Act (Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918) and specific paragraph references"],"plain_english_summary":"This law fixes a technical problem with how the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) shared voter information with government agencies in mid-2000.\n\n**What happened:**\nIn early 2000, the AEC gave certain government agencies ('prescribed authorities') voter information on computer tapes or disks. This was done under agreements made before 9 May 2000, and the data was handed over by 8 June 2000.\n\n**The problem:**\nAt that time, the law about sharing electoral information was changing. The agencies had received the data under the old rules, but technically the new rules might have made that sharing illegal—or at least unclear.\n\n**What this law does:**\nIt **validates** (makes legally proper) those data transfers that happened in early 2000. It says:\n- The information is treated as if it was handed over under the new legal rules (paragraph 91(4A)(e) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918)\n- Any use of that data by agencies before 30 June 2000 is deemed lawful\n- If the data got mixed in with other agency databases and can't be separated out, any future use is also deemed lawful\n- Future rules about how that data can be used will apply to this batch of information too\n\n**Who it affects:**\nGovernment agencies that received voter roll data from the AEC in early 2000, and anyone concerned about the privacy or proper handling of that data.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this law, agencies might have been acting illegally by holding or using voter information they'd received in good faith. It provides legal certainty and protects the privacy framework by ensuring the data is treated under the proper regulatory scheme going forward."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-electoral-legislation-provision-of-information-act-2000/documents"}}