Transitional Electoral Officer Privacy policy

Pursuant to section 14 of the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022 and section 191 of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025, the Treaty Authority has appointed the transitional Electoral Officer.

The transitional Electoral Officer is bound by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDPA) and other laws that impose obligations on the handling of personal information that directly or indirectly identifies a person (personal information). This policy is compliant with the laws.

Defined terms

Election Rules means the Election Rules of the First Peoples’ Assembly, available here.

First Peoples’ Assembly means the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Ltd.

PDPA means the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

Statewide Treaty Act means the Statewide Treaty Act 2025.

transitional Electoral Officer means the transitional Electoral Officer employed by the Treaty Authority pursuant to section 191 of the Statewide Treaty Act.

Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance

The transitional Electoral Officer recognises First Peoples’ data as a valuable cultural resource that should be used to enable their self-determined priorities and aspirations, in line with their values and worldviews.

The transitional Electoral Officer asserts the individual and collective rights of First Peoples to control, own, access, and possess information and knowledge that is about, connected to or may affect them.

The transitional Electoral Officer upholds Australia’s Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance Principles, as also described in the Treaty Authority’s First Peoples Data Sovereignty and Governance Framework (available here). This policy is subject to the Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance principles to the extent possible having regard to applicable laws.

Functions of the transitional Electoral Officer

The transitional Electoral Officer is responsible for conducting the transitional election, which is the election of persons who will become the general members of the initial First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria within Gellung Warl.

A key responsibility of the transitional Electoral Officer is maintaining the electoral roll for the purpose of conducting a transitional election in accordance with the Election Rules. The electoral roll that will be used for the transitional election is the electoral roll established by the First Peoples’ Assembly. In accordance with the Statewide Treaty Act, that electoral roll will be transferred by the First Peoples’ Assembly to the transitional Electoral Officer.

The electoral roll is an independent electoral roll that is separate and distinct from:

an electoral roll prepared by the Victorian Electoral Commission;
an electoral roll prepared under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918; and
any other electoral roll prepared under any other Act.

The Election Rules (as amended from time to time) set out the eligibility for inclusion on the electoral roll, the processes for applying for enrolment, documentation or evidence required to apply, and administrative requirements relating to the registration of people who are eligible to vote. The purpose of these requirements is to ensure that Gellung Warl electoral processes remain free, fair, autonomous and representative of First Peoples.

If you would like to check if you are enrolled, to update your enrolment details, or request to be removed from the electoral roll, please contact [email protected].

Collection of personal information

In addition to personal information in the electoral roll, the transitional Electoral Officer may also collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for the performance of their functions as detailed in the Statewide Treaty Act, the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022 and the Election Rules.

When collecting personal information, the transitional Electoral Officer will only collect such personal information that is reasonably necessary for the performance of their functions. The transitional Electoral Officer must also take reasonable steps to advise what information is being sought, for what purpose, whether any law requires the collection of the information, and the main consequences, if any, of not providing the information.

Who has access to personal information held by the transitional Electoral Officer

The transitional Electoral Officer restricts access to personal information and will have access to personal information only when it is necessary.

Unless authorised by the person, or by legislation, the transitional Electoral Officer will use and disclose personal information:

for the primary purpose of collection or a directly-related secondary purpose;
for another purpose, with the person’s consent; or
if required, as permitted or authorised by law.

Please see below for more information about how the First Peoples’ Assembly may access your personal information on the electoral roll.

There are also additional restrictions that apply to electoral information. “Electoral information” is information (including the electoral roll) obtained by the transitional Electoral Officer in the course of performing the transitional Electoral Officer’s functions or exercising the transitional Electoral Officer’s powers under the Statewide Treaty Act, any other Act or the Electoral Rules.

The only persons authorised to access electoral information are the transitional Electoral Officer, and persons employed or engaged by the Treaty Authority for the purpose of, or to assist with, the performance of the transitional Electoral Officer’s functions or the exercise of the transitional Electoral Officer’s powers. This may include, for example, contractors engaged by the Treaty Authority to help deliver elections.

First Peoples’ Assembly access to the electoral roll

The Statewide Treaty Act and Election Rules set out rules about who may have access to the electoral roll (including personal information on the electoral roll). The Election Rules provide that the electoral roll may be accessed by the First Peoples’ Assembly for purposes permitted by the Election Rules (as amended from time to time). Those permitted purposes include:

contacting voters with information about the First Peoples’ Assembly;
compiling statistics and data about voters in a de-identified manner; and
any purpose reasonable related to the above purposes.

Sensitive Information

The limited circumstances in which the transitional Electoral Officer collects sensitive information include when the individual has provided their specific consent to the collection or when the collection is authorised under law. When collecting sensitive information, the transitional Electoral Officer or its delegate must describe why the information collection is necessary, and tell the individual that the information is available, on request.

The transitional Electoral Officer also acknowledges that the personal information you provide may include sensitive cultural knowledge or sensitive information that may need specific protection. You can ask the transitional Electoral Officer to manage the sensitive cultural knowledge or sensitive information that you provide in particular ways. If you have questions or concerns about how your sensitive cultural knowledge or sensitive information is being managed by the transitional Electoral Officer, please contact the transitional Electoral Officer at the details below.

Unique Identifiers and anonymity

The transitional Electoral Officer only creates unique identifiers where they are required to enable it to carry out its legislative obligations. The transitional Electoral Officer will not request a unique identifier created by another organisation unless required by law, nor will the transitional Electoral Officer use or disclose a unique identifier created by another organisation unless there is a lawful basis for doing so.

The transitional Electoral Officer allows individuals to remain anonymous wherever possible. However, there are some circumstances where personal information will be required, such as being on the electoral roll.

Storage and security

The transitional Electoral Officer will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard your personal information from loss and misuse, and from unauthorised access, modification, disclosure or destruction.

The transitional Electoral Officer implements a range of physical and electronic security measures to protect the personal information that we hold. These measures include:

only allowing authorised personnel to access personal information;
keeping hard copy records in locked storage; and
password protecting access to digital records.

You should keep in mind that no internet transmission is ever completely secure or error-free. In particular, emails sent to or from this website may not be secure.

Transfer of information outside Victoria

Generally, the transitional Electoral Officer will not send your personal information outside Victoria.

On some occasions, it may be necessary to send your personal information outside Victoria. This includes sharing your information with third parties who provide the online voting platform used by the transitional Electoral Officer to conduct elections. The transitional Electoral Officer will only send this personal information if the recipient of the information is bound by a scheme that is substantially similar to the Information Privacy Principles contained in the PDPA or where the transitional Electoral Officer has obtained your consent.

Any other transfers of information outside Victoria will be made in accordance with the provisions of the PDPA.

Access and correction

The transitional Electoral Officer will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects, uses or discloses is accurate, complete and up to date. To ensure your personal information is accurate, you can notify the transitional Electoral Officer of any errors or changes to your personal information and the transitional Electoral Officer will take appropriate steps to update or correct such information in our possession.

If you would like to update your enrolment details, or request to be removed from the electoral roll, please contact [email protected].

With a small number of exceptions (included in the PDPA) any person has the right to receive reasonable access to their own information held by the transitional Electoral Officer and to seek corrections to their own information.

To request any personal information held by the transitional Electoral Officer, please contact [email protected].

Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about our collection, use or disclosure of personal information, or if you believe the transitional Electoral Officer has not complied with this Privacy Policy or the PDPA, please contact [email protected].

The transitional Electoral Officer expects its procedures will deal fairly and promptly with your complaint. However, if you remain dissatisfied, you can also lodge a formal complaint with the Office of the Victorian Information Commission (OVIC):

Address: PO Box 24274, Melbourne Vic 3001
Telephone: 1300 006 842 (international callers may call +61 3 8684 7565)
Email: [email protected]
Website: ovic.vic.gov.au

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our information practices, please contact [email protected].

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time as updated on this website. Please check this Privacy Policy on our website for any changes.

Last updated: 9 December 2025