It has been revealed the personal information of more than 30,000 Novocastrians has been lost in a major Local Government Election bungle.
The NSW Electoral Commission has today confirmed the official roll used to mark off voters in Newcastle’s Ward 3 during the September 14 ballot is missing.
It means the data of 30,971 people across Lambton, New Lambton, New Lambton Heights, Broadmeadow, Waratah, Jesmond, Callaghan and Birmingham Gardens could potentially be compromised.
The missing roll contains information for electors and non-residential electors (non-resident owners, occupiers and ratepaying lessees of rateable land) as at 5 August 2024.
The elector data printed on the authorised roll includes:
• Elector identification number
• Full name
• Residential address for electors. For non-residential electors this is the address that applies for their non-residential elector status.
• Date of Birth
• Sex of the enrolled person (as the letter ‘F’ or ‘M’).
For silent electors, addresses and dates of birth are not listed on the printed electoral roll, however the following data is included:
• Elector identification number
• Full name
• Sex (as the letter ‘F’ or ‘M’).
Newcastle’s Ward 3 roll was raised as potentially unaccounted for following the pack-down of a polling place after the close of voting on election day.
After election day printed rolls are collected for scanning and checking against the electronic mark off of electors at pre-poll venues, postal vote records and other rolls in a council area to create a consolidated view of electors who have been marked off the roll.
For the NSW Local Government Elections, a total of 10,739 printed rolls were distributed to 2099 unique venues.
All have been signed back in and accounted for except for one authorised roll Newcastle’s Ward 3.
The NSW Electoral Commission is working closely with NSW Police and the NSW Privacy Commissioner to take appropriate action.
The individuals affected are being contacted directly by mail, with details of the information that was available on the roll and action they can take to protect their personal information.
Acting NSW Electoral Commissioner Dr Matthew Phillips said all possible action was being taken to locate the missing roll.
“I apologise to the electors of Ward 3 of the City of Newcastle for the concern this will cause and encourage them to be alert to any potential misuse of their details.”
Dr Phillips said while the roll was unaccounted for, all ballot papers are secure.
“This does not affect the validity of the City of Newcastle election results. All votes taken at the polling place where the roll was used were counted on election night and continued through the usual ballot tracking, counting and results processes,“ he said.
“Because we no longer have the roll to check who was marked off at that polling place, electors in Ward 3 will not be issued with failure to vote notices for the election,” he said.
Dr Phillips said the NSW Electoral Commission was investigating the incident and would review its processes for opportunities to strengthen security processes around the management of printed rolls.
If electors are not satisfied with the NSW Electoral Commission’s handling of the incident, they can make a complaint by email at privacy.newcastle@elections.nsw.gov.au
Anyone with information that may assist investigations relating to the missing roll is urged to contact NSW Police.