Joint Committee on Electoral Matters

Full description

The Electoral Matters Committee is a Joint Investigatory Committee of the Parliament of Victoria. The Committee was constituted under the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003 according to the amendments specified in the Parliamentary Administration Act 2005. Members were first appointed in 2007.

The Committee undertakes inquiries related to elections in Victoria. The inquiries may look at the way elections are conducted or the laws governing elections. The committee's functions are to inquire into, consider and report to the Parliament on any proposal, matter or thing concerned with:

• the conduct of elections for State parliament and referendums in Victoria
• the conduct of local council elections in Victoria
• other matters to do with electoral law in Victoria.

Joint Investigatory Committees

Joint Investigatory Committees are groups of members appointed by the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly to conduct investigations and make recommendations about topics of particular interest to Parliament. Some committees have ongoing functions to scrutinise legislation and finances, and others conduct inquiries into specific subject matters. A key feature of committee work is the taking of evidence from the public and expert witnesses as part of the inquiry process. Committee investigations result in reports to Parliament.

Joint committees have between five and ten members of whom at least one is a member of the Council, and one is a member of the Assembly. Joint committees can inquire into matters referred to it by a resolution of either House or by order of the Governor-In-Council. They may also inquire into, consider, or report to Parliament on any annual report or document relevant to its functions laid before either House. Recommendations made joint investigatory committees are not automatically accepted by Parliament. The responsible Minister must however, table a report stating action to be taken regarding the recommendations within six months of the tabling of the Committee’s report.