Our electoral integrity framework

Electoral integrity is a key foundation of a strong democracy.

We contribute to electoral integrity by delivering impartial, transparent and legitimate electoral outcomes.

Our commitment to integrity

We demonstrate our commitment to electoral integrity through our vision of all Victorians actively participating in their democracy.

We believe electoral outcomes are accepted as legitimate when there is widespread active participation. Widespread active participation itself increases when there is trust and belief in the legitimacy of the electoral system.

We contribute to electoral integrity through:

• what we deliver – services to facilitate widespread active participation
• how we deliver it – building trust.

Electoral participation is more than voting at elections. It includes enrolling, nominating as a candidate, forming a political party, giving or receiving political donations, being a scrutineer, making a submission on electoral boundaries, or disputing an election result.

Active participation in democracy is achieved when people can participate, will participate and do participate.

Core objectives

We have identified 6 core objectives that are the focus of our electoral integrity contribution. These are:

1. promoting enrolment
2. reducing barriers to participation
3. motivating participation and promoting respect for electoral law
4. fostering public trust in the VEC’s services and electoral systems
5. developing knowledge of how, when and where to participate
6. delivering systems, tools and processes that enable free and fair participation.

There are numerous activities that we deliver to support each core objective.

Demonstrating electoral integrity

The VEC’s guiding electoral integrity principles are:

1. Transparency – being open to scrutiny and making it easy for others to observe our work.
2. Accountability – being responsible for the work we are expected to do and the outcomes we produce.
3. Fairness – treating others equitably, in an objective manner, without the influence of arbitrary considerations.
4. Impartiality – being politically neutral and non-discriminatory in our decisions and conduct.
5. Honesty – being truthful, including when we make mistakes.
6. Autonomy – being independent in our decisions and views and free from interference.
7. Cohesion – being consistent and reliable in our services and conduct.

Download the framework and supporting materials

Our electoral integrity framework is supported by several strategic documents.

This includes our regulatory approach released in October 2022 and our reputation management strategy.