Working Papers
Fresh Thinking
Since 2012 we have published working papers to help foster discussion about all aspects of electoral regulation. Here you can find over 70 papers on a diverse range of topics. Dr Aaron Martin (University of Melbourne) was the Editor from 2012-2025 and built a highly successful series before handing over to the new Editorial Team in September 2025.
Submissions
We welcome papers written on all aspects relating to electoral regulation from academics, electoral commission officials, parliamentarians, party officials and others interested in this field.
Series Editors
Dr Eden Blazejak Dr Patrick Leslie Dr Peta Stephenson
“The re-launch of the working paper series will provide a space for new work which tackles electoral matters in an accessible and engaging way.”
Latest Paper
Are Australians Underrepresented? Why the Commonwealth Parliament Urgently Needs More Politicians
No. 80 - December 2025 Author: Travis Jordan
The size of Australian parliaments has become a repeated theme of inquiries into elections over the last three years. Growing populations and increases in constituency workload contribute to a growing consensus that MPs cannot represent as they once did. This working paper examines the historic reasons why Parliaments have changed their own composition – and models some potential pathways based on Australia’s expected population growth that reflect those historic reasons. With a major expansion a likely outcome of the next term of the Commonwealth Parliament, it is important to understand the reasons behind each of the models, as well as their likely costs and benefits.
Re-Launch Paper
The Australian to Save American Democracy - and America’s Potential to Return the Favour
No. 79 - September 2025 Author: Professor Edward B. Foley
In September 2025 we re-launched our Working Paper series. Our first re-launch paper is an edited version of US constitutional and election law scholar Professor Edward B. Foley’s Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow Lecture delivered at the University of Melbourne on 30 July 2025. In the lecture, Professor Foley advocates for ‘centripetal’ forms of voting to be used to help depolarize the intense partisan competition that is experienced in the United States. He draws on University of Melbourne Professor E.J. Nanson’s pioneering methods of preferential voting proposed at the turn of the twentieth century, which proposed greater centripetal power than the current preferential voting methods used in Australia.
Access all Papers
80
Are Australians Underrepresented? Why the Commonwealth Parliament Urgently Needs More Politicians
Travis Jordan (independent policy researcher)
December 2025
79
The Australian to Save American Democracy - and America’s Potential to Return the Favour
Professor Edward B. Foley (Ohio State University)
September 2025
78
Election Funding and Disclosure in Australian Jurisdictions: A Quick Guide
Dr. Damon Muller (Politics and Public Administration, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia)
June 2023
77
Three Ways to Restore Victoria's Original Integrity Institution
Associate Professor William Partlett (Melbourne Law School)
December 2022
76
Various
November 2021
75
The Climate Crisis and Democracy: From Democratic Debilitation To Innovation
Professor Joo-Cheong Tham (Melbourne Law School)
August 2021
74
Foreign Interference and Australian Electoral Security in the Digital Era
Dr Melissa-Ellen Dowling (University of Adelaide)
May 2021
73
How Does Digital Campaigning Affect the Problems of Political Finance?
Professor Joo-Cheong Tham (Melbourne Law School)
December 2020
72
Remote Voting Under COVID-19
Dr. Narelle Miragliotta (Department of Politics and International Relations, Monash University)
September 2020
71
Electoral Management Under COVID-19
Michael Maley (Electoral Process Specialist, formerly Australian Electoral Commission)
May 2020
70
A Victorian's Response To The Discussion Paper: "Developing A Legislative Framework For A Complex And Dynamic Electoral Environment" By Maley and Orr
Liz Williams (Victorian Electoral Commission)
March 2020
69
The Role Of New Media In Increasing Youth Political Engagement
Dr Peter Chen (University of Sydney)
November 2019
68
Engaging Youth - Strategies For Creating Interested And Informed Voters
Dr Tracey Arklay and Dr Caitlin Mollica (Griffith University)
November 2019
67
Report On Proceedings From The Workshop On The Informed Voter: Improving The Political Literacy of Young Australians
Dr Tracey Arklay (Griffith University)
November 2019
66
The Right Answer Depends On Asking The Right Question
Mr Andrew Giles MP (Shadow Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure; Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs; Shadow Minister Assisting for Immigration and Citizenship; Member for Scullin)
November 2019
65
Observations From A Comparative Perspective
Leena Rikkila Tamang (International IDEA)
November 2019
64
Developing A Legislative Framework For A Complex And Dynamic Electoral Environment - Discussion Paper
Mr Michael Maley (Electoral Process Specialist, formerly Australian Electoral Commission) and Professor Graeme Orr (University of Queensland)
November 2019
63
Electoral Democracy in Australia: Crisis, Resilience and Renewal
Dr Tom Gerald Daly (Melbourne School of Government)
October 2019
62
Compulsory Voting in Australia Makes Governments More Representative of The People, But It Won't Work Everywhere
Professor Lisa Hill (University of Adelaide)
October 2019
61
Democracy Before Dollars: The Problems With Money in Australian Politics and How to Fix them
Professor Joo-Cheong Tham (University of Melbourne)
October 2019
60
Making India's Democracy Bigger and Better
Tanya Spisbah (Australia India Institute, Delhi)
October 2019
59
The Current Challenges to Electoral Democracy Go Beyond Good Election Administration
Leena Rikkila Tamang (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA))
October 2019
58
Transparency and Accountability in Political Funding
Shelly Mahajan and Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.) (Association for Democratic Reforms)
October 2019
57
Much Remains to Be Done to Make The World's Largest Democracy Also the Greatest
Dr S. Y. Quraishi (Ashoka University)
October 2019
56
India and Australia: Strengthening Electoral Democracy
Warwick Gately AM (Victorian Electoral Commissioner)
October 2019
55
Opening Remarks to the Workshop on the Future of Electoral Democracy in India and Australia
Harinder Sidhu (Australian High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Bhutan)
October 2019
54
Measurement Tools for Comparative Political Finance: Excessive Reductionism or Valuable Simplicity?
William C.R. Horncastle (University of Birmingham)
May 2019
53
Campaigns and Regulation: One Hundred Years On
Dr. Stephen Mills (University of Sydney)
February 2019
52
Electoral Inclusion Among South Australian People Experiencing Homelessness: The Work Ahead
Professor Lisa Hill (University of Adelaide) and Dr Jonathan Louth (Flinders University)
December 2018
51
Resources for a Future: Towards an Articulation of Global Governance (Review Essay)
Dr John R. Morss (Deakin University)
October 2018
50
Reference Document: Literature on Authoritarianism
Peter E. Mulherin (Deakin University)
October 2018
49
Background Paper on Authoritarianism and Religion
Matthew O'Rourke (Monash University)
October 2018
48
A Synopsis on the Deakin Workshop on Authoritarianism
Dr. Zim Nwokora (Deakin University)
September 2018
47
175 years of Voting: The 175th Anniversary of the First Parliamentary Election of 1843
Sean Darragh (New South Wales Electoral Commission)
August 2018
46
Tom Rogers (Electoral Commissioner, Australian Electoral Commission)
January 2018
45
Between Law and Convention: Ministerial Advisers in the Australian System of Responsible Government
Dr Yee-Fui Ng
August 2017
44
The Law of Deliberative Democracy: Deliberating in a Crisis
Dr Ron Levy (Senior Lecturer in Law, ANU)
December 2016
43
Political Donations and Safeguards Code
Neil A. Freestone (Solicitor)
August 2016
42
Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns in the Maldives
Aminath Sweiza Naeem (Student, University of Melbourne)
June 2016
41
A Framework Convention Against Political Corruption
James D. Cooper (Student, University of Melbourne)
June 2016
40
An Instance of Cartel Behaviour? The Politics of Senate Electoral Reform 2016
Dr Nick Economou (Monash University)
April 2016
39
Prohibiting Corporate Felon Political Spending: Is It Possible?
Sheldon Oski (Student, Melbourne Law School)
April 2016
38
Electoral Fairness in South Australia
Sasha Lynch (Student, University of Adelaide)
March 2016
37
Alternative Voting Plus: A Proposal for the South Australian House of Assembly
Daniel Messemaker (BA (Hons) Student, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide)
March 2016
36
The Regulation of Lobbying in New South Wales
Mel Keenan (Principal Legal Officer, NSW Electoral Commission)
March 2016
35
Electoral Integrity and The AEC
Tom Rogers (Electoral Commissioner, Australian Electoral Commission)
February 2016
34
Electoral Rights, Parliament and the Courts: The Case of Prisoner Voting in New Zealand
Andrew Geddis (Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Otago)
February 2016
33
Implications of Change in Electoral Campaign Finance Laws in NSW
Felicity Wright (Senior Advisor, Regulatory Advice and Analysis, NSW Electoral Commission)
February 2016
32
Campaigning and Regulation: Time for Change?
Warwick Gately AM (Electoral Commissioner of Victoria)
February 2016
31
Nathaniel Reader (Swinburne Institute for Social Research)
August 2015
30
Lisa Hill (University of Adelaide)
March 2015
29
Professionalisation: Of What, Since When ,and By Whom
Stephen Mills (Graduate School of Government, University of Sydney)
October 2014
28
Postals and Personation in the United Kingdom
Brian Costar (Swinburne Institute for Social Research)
October 2014
27
Enhancing Local Government Democracy: City of Melbourne
Ken Coghill (Monash), Yee-Fui Ng (Monash) and Paul Thornton-Smith (Victorian Electoral Commission)
September 2014
26
Polling Officials: The Strength and Weakness of Democratic Systems
Ed Killesteyn (Australian Electoral Commissioner, 2009 – 2014)
September 2014
25
Victorian Local Government Electoral Review
Petro Georgiou AO (Chair of the Local Government Electoral Review Panel (Victoria) and Former Member for Kooyong)
April 2014
24
The Application of Strict Liability to NSW Funding and Disclosure Offences
Alison Byrne (Principal Legal Officer, NSW Electoral Commission)
February 2014
23
The Right to Vote and the Bill of Rights Debate
Emeritus Professor Colin Hughes (University of Queensland)
November 2013
22
High Court Challenges and the Limits of Political Finance Law
Professor George Williams (Anthony Mason Professor, Scientia Professor, Foundation - Director Gilbert+Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales)
November 2013
21
2013 Redivision of Victorian Electoral Boundaries
Dr Paul Thornton-Smith (Secretary, Electoral Boundaries Commission)
November 2013
20
Deliberative Democracy and Electoral Management Bodies: The Case of Australian Electoral Commissions
Associate Professor Joo-Cheong Tham (Director, Electoral Regulation Research Network, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne)
November 2013
19
Campaign Professionalisation: Levelling the Playing Field or Tipping the Scales?
Jennifer Rayner (Centre for the Study of Australian Politics, Australian National University)
November 2013
18
Professor Graeme Orr (Professor of Law, University of Queensland, Australia)
November 2013
17
Party Professionalisation: Electoral Regulation and National Party Officials
Dr Stephen Mills (Graduate School of Government, University of Sydney)
November 2013
16
Optional Preferential Voting for the Australian Senate
Michael Maley (Associate, Centre for Democratic Institutions, Australian National University)
November 2013
15
The Law of Deliberative Democracy: Seeding the Field
Dr Ron Levy (Lecturer, Griffith University)
November 2013
14
New Developments in Political Speech Case Law
Professor Katharine Gelber (Professor of Politics and Public Policy, and an ARC Future Fellow (2012-?2016), in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland)
November 2013
13
New Zealand's Ill-Fated Review of MMP
Professor Andrew Geddis (Faculty of Law, University of Otago)
November 2013
12
Australian Political Finance Law in International Perspective
Andrew Ellis (Director for Asia and the Pacific, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)
November 2013
11
Eyal Halamish (Co-Founder and CEO, OurSay)
November 2013
10
Reform Options for the South Australian Legislative Council
Antony Green (Australian Broadcasting Association)
November 2013
9
Fairness and Equality in Electoral Distributions
Jenni Newton-Farrelly (Electoral Specialist, South Australian Parliament Research Library)
November 2013
8
Political Funding and Disclosure Schemes: Approaches to Compliance and Enforcement
Bradley Edgman (Australian Electoral Commission)
November 2013
7
Letting the People Decide: Local Government, Gay Marriage and the Politics of Referendums
Professor George Williams (Anthony Mason Professor, Scientia Professor, Foundation Director ? Gilbert+Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales)
June 2013
6
Fair Enough? Redistributions in Australia
Jenni Newton-Farrelly (Electoral Specialist, South Australian Parliament Research Library)
April 2013
5
Ministerial Advisers: Influences on the Executive and Accountability Mechanisms
Yee-Fui Ng (Sessional Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Monash University Law School)
October 2012
4
The Fairness Clause in South Australia
Jenni Newton-Farrelly (Electoral Specialist, South Australian Parliament Research Library)
October 2012
3
Issues for Electoral Regulators
Dean Jaensch AO (formerly Professor of Politics, Flinders University)
October 2012
2
Research and Electoral Regulation
Jane Peace (Northern Territory Electoral Commission)
October 2012
1
The Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC): A Toothless Tiger?
The Hon. T.H. Smith QC (Adjunct Professor, Monash University, Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, and Chair of the Accountability Round Table)
August 2012
