Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2021
S.R. No. 57/2021
Version as at
27 June 2021
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Regulation Page
1 Objective 1
2 Authorising provision 1
3 Commencement 1
4 Revocation 1
5 Definitions 1
6 Supply of roll and voting information 2
7 Notification of poll 2
8 Amendment of roll by returning officer 5
9 Issue of ballot-papers and voting information 5
10 Duplicate ballot-papers 6
11 Method of voting 7
12 Processing of return envelopes 7
13 Scrutineers 8
14 Extraction of and counting of votes 8
15 Adjournment of scrutiny and counting 9
16 Notice of result of poll 9
Schedule 1—Ballot-paper for conduct of poll under section 7(1) of the Act 10
Schedule 2—Ballot-paper for conduct of poll under section 9(4) of the Act 11
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Endnotes 12
1 General information 12
2 Table of Amendments 14
3 Amendments Not in Operation 15
4 Explanatory details 16
Version No.001
Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2021
S.R. No. 57/2021
Version as at
27 June 2021
1 Objective
The objective of these Regulations is to prescribe procedures to be followed in the conduct of polls under the Agricultural Industry Development Act 1990.
2 Authorising provision
These Regulations are made under section 62 of the Agricultural Industry Development Act 1990.
3 Commencement
These Regulations come into operation on 27 June 2021.
4 Revocation
The Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2011[1] are revoked.
5 Definitions
In these Regulations—
close of the poll means the date and time fixed in a notice under regulation 7(1) as the date and time when voting in a poll closes;
return envelope means the return envelope referred to in regulation 9(b);
returning officer means the returning officer under section 58(1) of the Act;
roll means the roll of persons entitled to vote in a poll that is prepared by the Minister under section 58(2) of the Act or prepared in accordance with section 58B(2) of the Act (as the case requires);
Secretary means the Department Head;
the Act means the Agricultural Industry Development Act 1990.
6 Supply of roll and voting information
Within 5 business days after the Minister directs under section 7(1) or 9(4) of the Act that a poll be held of producers, the Secretary—
(a) must supply the returning officer with the roll and the number of votes each person on the roll may cast in the poll; and
(b) in the case of a poll conducted under section 7(1) of the Act—
(i) must supply the returning officer with a copy of the proposed Order which is the subject of the poll; and
(ii) may supply the returning officer with a statement setting out a case in support of the proposed Order and with a statement setting out a case against the proposed Order.
7 Notification of poll
(1) As soon as practicable after the Minister directs under section 7(1) or 9(4) of the Act that a poll be held of producers, the returning officer must publish a notice⎯
(a) setting out the question on which the poll is to be held; and
(b) specifying the date for the start of voting in the poll; and
(c) fixing the date and time for the close of voting in the poll; and
(d) specifying that any submissions invited under section 7(1)(b) or 9(4)(b) of the Act from persons ineligible to vote in the poll must be received by the date and time fixed under paragraph (c); and
(e) stating that the roll has been provided to the returning officer and the manner in which a person may access the person's details on the roll; and
(f) stating that a person may request the returning officer to—
(i) add the person's details to the roll; or
(ii) amend the person's details on the roll; or
(iii) confirm the person's details on the roll; and
(g) specifying details of the manner in which and the date by which a person may make a request referred to in paragraph (f) and any information that must be provided with it; and
(h) in the case of a poll under section 7(1) of the Act on the question of whether a proposed Order referred to in section 19B of the Act should be made, stating whether or not it is compulsory for persons who are on the roll to vote at the poll.
(2) A notice under subregulation (1) must be—
(a) published⎯
(i) on the website administered by the returning officer; and
(ii) in or on—
(A) a newspaper or other publication circulating generally in Victoria, or the specific part of Victoria, to which the Order relates; or
(B) a social media website; and
(iii) if the Victorian Electoral Commission is authorised by the Minister under section 58B(1) of the Act to conduct a poll of producers in an area in a participating jurisdiction—
(A) in a newspaper or other publication circulating generally in the participating jurisdiction, or the part of the participating jurisdiction, to which the Order relates; or
(B) on a social media website; and
(b) given to the Secretary.
(3) The Secretary must publish a notice received under subregulation (2)(b) on the website administered by the Secretary.
(4) The date specified under subregulation (1)(b) for the start of voting in the poll must be no earlier than 14 days after the date the notice under subregulation (1) is published.
(5) The date specified under subregulation (1)(c) for the close of the poll must be no later than 60 days after the date that the notice under subregulation (1) is published.
(6) For the purposes of subregulation (1)(e), (f) and (g) the returning officer may specify the following in the notice—
(a) that the manner of accessing the person's details on the roll is by the method of electronic communication specified in the notice;
(b) that the manner of making a request to the returning officer is by telephone, or by sending the request by post or by electronic communication specified in the notice.
(7) The date specified under subregulation (1)(g) as the date by which a person may make a request must be no later than 7 days before the close of the poll.
8 Amendment of roll by returning officer
If, after considering any request made under regulation 7(1)(f), the returning officer is satisfied that an amendment of the roll is required in a particular case, the returning officer may amend the roll—
(a) to add a person who is eligible to vote in the poll; or
(b) to make any amendments to details on the roll of persons who are eligible to vote in the poll.
9 Issue of ballot-papers and voting information
The returning officer, at least 14 days before the close of the poll, must post or cause to be posted or otherwise delivered to each person whose name appears on the roll at the address of each person as shown on the roll—
(a) a ballot-paper indicating the number of votes that may be cast by the person—
(i) in the case of a poll conducted under section 7(1) of the Act, in the form of Schedule 1; or
(ii) in the case of a poll conducted under section 9(4) of the Act, in the form of Schedule 2; and
(b) a ballot-paper envelope, which includes provision for the person to sign and specify the date of voting, enclosing the ballot-paper and a return envelope addressed to the returning officer; and
(c) in the case of a poll conducted under section 7(1) of the Act, a copy of the proposed Order and any statements that have been supplied to the returning officer under regulation 6(b)(ii).
10 Duplicate ballot-papers
(1) Subject to subregulation (3), if a person who has been issued with ballot-papers under regulation 9, and who has not already voted in the poll, satisfies the returning officer of any of the following, the returning officer must issue to the person new ballot-papers in accordance with regulation 9—
(a) any of the ballot-papers are damaged, lost or destroyed;
(b) the ballot-papers were not received at the address to which they were sent;
(c) the ballot-papers were sent to an address where the person no longer resides and the person did not receive them.
(2) The returning officer must maintain a record
of all duplicate ballot-papers issued under subregulation (1).
(3) A request under this regulation must be received by the returning officer not less than 7 days before the close of the poll.
11 Method of voting
To cast a vote, a person who has been issued with a ballot-paper must—
(a) write "YES" or "NO" on the ballot-paper in accordance with the directions shown on the ballot-paper; and
(b) enclose the ballot-paper in the ballot-paper envelope and sign and date the envelope in the space provided; and
(c) place the ballot-paper envelope with its enclosed ballot-paper in the return envelope; and
(d) either—
(i) deliver the return envelope so as to be received by the returning officer by the close of the poll; or
(ii) post the return envelope so as to be received by the returning officer no more than 10 business days after the close of the poll.
12 Processing of return envelopes
The returning officer must—
(a) remove the ballot-paper envelope from each return envelope received by—
(i) in the case of a return envelope that was delivered—the close of the poll; or
(ii) in the case of a return envelope that was posted—no more than 10 business days after the close of the poll; and
(b) record receipt of the ballot-paper envelope on the roll of persons eligible to vote; and
(c) separate from the ballot-paper envelopes any ballot-paper envelope that is not signed and dated before the close of the poll; and
(d) disallow any ballot-paper envelope that is not signed and dated before the close of the poll; and
(e) place each ballot-paper envelope that is not disallowed under paragraph (d) in a sealed ballot-box.
13 Scrutineers
(1) Any organisation or body of persons, on the written authorisation of not less than 20 persons entitled to vote at the poll, may by notice in writing served on the returning officer, appoint a scrutineer.
(2) A scrutineer appointed under subregulation (1) is entitled to be present during the examination and opening of return envelopes and at the scrutiny and counting of votes.
14 Extraction of and counting of votes
(1) As soon as practicable, but not less than 10 business days after the close of the poll, the returning officer, in the presence of any scrutineers who choose to be present, must—
(a) open the sealed ballot-box; and
(b) produce (unopened) all the ballot-paper envelopes; and
(c) detach and separate the flap containing the person's details from each ballot-paper envelope; and
(d) after the flaps have been detached, open each ballot-paper envelope and extract the ballot-paper; and
(e) count the votes taking into account the number of votes each person may cast.
(2) Any ballot-paper that does not contain the word "YES" or the word "NO" written by the person on the ballot-paper or contains both the word "YES" and the word "NO" is informal and must not be counted.
(3) A ballot-paper must not be rejected as informal for any reasons other than those specified in subregulation (2) if the person's intention is clear.
15 Adjournment of scrutiny and counting
The returning officer may at any time adjourn the scrutiny and count of votes to a day and hour fixed by the returning officer and notified to the scrutineers.
16 Notice of result of poll
(1) As soon as practicable after the result of the poll has been ascertained, the returning officer must give to the Minister a written notice of the result of the poll and must ensure that a similar notice is—
(a) published—
(i) on the website administered by the returning officer; and
(ii) in the newspaper or other publication in which, or the social media website on which, the notice of the poll under regulation 7 was published; and
(b) given to the Secretary.
(2) The Secretary must publish a notice received under subregulation (1)(b) on the website administered by the Secretary.
Schedule 1—Ballot-paper for conduct of poll under section 7(1) of the Act
Regulation 9
Order to [insert purposes of Order]
Number of votes you may cast in a poll
Are you in favour of the Order?
DIRECTIONS FOR VOTING
To vote in favour of the Order, write the word "YES" in the box.
To vote against the Order, write the word "NO" in the box.
If you are entitled to more than one vote your marking of "YES" or "NO" on the ballot-paper will be treated by the returning officer as voting "YES" or "NO" the number of times that you are entitled to cast a vote.
After marking your ballot-paper, insert the ballot-paper in the envelope marked "Ballot-Paper Envelope" and sign and date the envelope in the place provided.
Then enclose the Ballot-Paper Envelope in the return envelope and either—
(a) deliver the return envelope to the returning officer no later than [insert date and time of close of the poll]; or
(b) post the return envelope to reach the returning officer no later than [insert the day that is no more than 10 business days after the close of the poll].
Schedule 2—Ballot-paper for conduct of poll under section 9(4) of the Act
Regulation 9
Order to [insert purposes of Order]
Number of votes you may cast in a poll
Are you in favour of the continuation of the Order?
DIRECTIONS FOR VOTING
To vote in favour of the continuation of the Order, write the word "YES" in the box.
To vote against the continuation of the Order, write the word "NO" in the box.
If you are entitled to more than one vote your marking of "YES" or "NO" on the ballot-paper will be treated by the returning officer as voting "YES" or "NO" the number of times that you are entitled to cast a vote.
After marking your ballot-paper, insert the ballot-paper in the envelope marked "Ballot-Paper Envelope" and sign and date the envelope in the place provided.
Then enclose the Ballot-Paper Envelope in the return envelope and either—
(a) deliver the return envelope to the returning officer no later than [insert date and time of close of the poll]; or
(b) post the return envelope to reach the returning officer no later than [insert the day that is no more than 10 business days after the close of the poll].
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Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
The Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2021, S.R. No. 57/2021 were made on 22 June 2021 by the Governor in Council under section 62 of the Agricultural Industry Development Act 1990, No. 48/1990 and came into operation on 27 June 2021: regulation 3.
The Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2021 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 22 June 2031 (see section 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994).
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.
See section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after
1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
There are no amendments made to the Agricultural Industry Development (Polls) Regulations 2021 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.
3 Amendments Not in Operation
This version does not contain amendments that are not yet in operation.