TERMS OF REFERENCE
Election Access Fund: Te Tomokanga — Pūtea Whakatapoko Pōtitanga
Applications Panel
Background
The Electoral Commission has been tasked with designing and administering the Election Access
Fund under the
Election Access Fund Act 2020. The development of the fund has involved
consultation with disabled people and other key stakeholders on its criteria and processes.
The fund supports disabled people who are standing as candidates or seeking selection as
candidates in parliamentary general elections or by-elections. People can apply to the fund to
pay for access needs, to reduce cost barriers that non-disabled people do not face.
Purpose and Role
Purpose
The Election Access Fund Applications Panel provides independent advice to the Electoral
Commission by assessing and making recommendations on applications, including whether
they should be approved. In this way it assists the Commission to meet its responsibilities
under the Act and provides assurance that fund payments are fair, reasonable, and meet
eligibility criteria.
Role
The role of the Election Access Fund Applications Panel is to:
• carefully consider applications to the fund and assess them using equity of access as a
base principle and informed by a set of criteria.
• determine whether each application is reasonable given:
o the applicant’s support needs relating to their disability
o the applicant’s selection or campaigning activities,
o the amount of funding being sought, and
o the provisions and purpose of the Election Access Fund Act 2020.
• apply disability and election campaigning expertise to discussions of individual
applications.
• where appropriate, ask the Electoral Commission to seek further information on any
application and/or independent/specialist advice on any aspect of an application, to
enable the Panel to make a funding recommendation.
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• for each application, provide the Electoral Commission with a recommended action or
actions and clear justification for the recommendation.
Membership
The Panel is comprised of four community members. The 2022/23 membership is as follows:
• Jade Farrar
• Dianne Glenn
• Huhana Hickey
• Robbie Watene
The group will elect a chairperson, deputy chairperson and temporary deputy chairperson from
amongst its members.
Leigh Deuchars, Deputy Chief Executive, Strategy, Governance and Development, will be in
attendance at all meetings to represent the Electoral Commission and to ensure the
Commission’s final decision on each application is informed by the Panel’s discussion.
Another member of the Electoral Commission will also be in attendance to perform the
secretariat functions.
Member criteria
The group will, as much as possible, reflect diversity in terms of skills and experience, the New
Zealand population and the disability community.
Individual members will have most or all of the following:
• Direct, personal experience of disability
• Experience or knowledge of election candidacy
• Strong community relationships
• Knowledge and understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi, human rights concepts and
diversity and inclusion principles
• Previous experience as part of a panel or similar group such as a reference or advisory
committee.
Political neutrality is essential to all the Electoral Commission’s work. For this reason, members
must not be actively involved in a political party or movement, or other political activities. This
includes not being a current political party member.
Role of members and chairperson
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Panel members are expected to:
• be prepared for all meetings, including reading all application documentation prior to
the meeting
• participate in a constructive, collaborative manner
• have at least 80% attendance
• attend any training upon appointment to the Panel
• understand and respect the need for strict confidentiality of all applications and of
political neutrality in all Panel business
• declare any perceived or real conflicts of interest they may have both prior to
appointment and as they may arise.
The chairperson is expected to:
• provide effective leadership and direction to the Panel
• act as a spokesperson and represent the Panel to the Electoral Commission and any
other key stakeholders
• chair panel meetings: Facilitate discussions toward a consensus view, ensure sufficient
time to cover issues, ensure that all members contribute, and sum up so that all
understand what has been agreed
• exercise a casting vote in the event of the Panel not being able to reach a consensus
view and having tied in a vote
• work with the secretariat to set meetings and approve meeting agendas
• sign off minutes from the previous meeting
• ensure appropriate policies and procedures are in place to support the panel
• provide motivation, guidance and support to other members to ensure they contribute
effectively
• participate in providing induction for new panel members
• participate in identifying and addressing developmental needs of individual panel
members and, where necessary, dealing with underperformance
• ensure that appropriate interest management tools are in place, that conflicts of
interest (including the chairperson’s) are dealt with appropriately and that, where
appropriate, permission to act is granted despite being interested.
The deputy chairperson and temporary deputy chairperson are expected to:
• exercise all of the functions and powers of the chairperson in relation to a matter if the
chairperson is unavailable or has declared an actual or perceived interest in the matter.
Terms of membership
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The initial term of appointment will be October 2022 until December 2023. Members may seek
re-appointment for a further term.
A Panel member’s membership may cease if that member:
• resigns their membership
• misses two or more meetings per year without due cause
• behaves in a way that is detrimental to the effective operation of the Panel.
The Electoral Commission will seek to appoint a replacement to any vacant position, through an
expression of interest process seeking applicants with the skills and experience required.
Following the 2023 General Election, the role, function and membership will be reviewed as
part of the overall evaluation of the fund and its administration systems and processes. As a
result of the review a decision will be made as to whether the Panel will continue in its current
form or changes are made for subsequent elections and by-elections.
Meetings
A regular meeting schedule will be agreed and where there are no applications received within
five working days of any meeting and no other business, the meeting will be cancelled.
The chairperson or deputy chairperson may call a special meeting by giving at least five working
days’ notice (or any shorter notice period if all members agree) of the special meeting and the
business to be transacted at the meeting. Only the business stated in the notice may be
transacted at the special meeting. Special meetings may be called for applications received in
between scheduled meetings, to service any by-elections that are called, or for any other
business that arises and is within the panel’s scope.
The quorum for a meeting is three members including the chairperson or deputy chairperson.
No business may be transacted at a meeting if a quorum is not present. A member who is
interested in a matter is to be disregarded for the purpose of forming a quorum for that part of
a meeting (i.e. where their absence results in only two members then the quorum becomes
two).
Meetings will be held online via MS Teams or Zoom video conferencing, unless otherwise
agreed. The duration of any meeting will depend on the number of applications to be
considered.
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Appropriate access assistance will be made available at meetings and other reasonable costs
associated with attending will be met by the Electoral Commission on a case-by-case basis.
Election Access Fund Project team members or others may attend or report to meetings as
required.
Presiding at meetings
At a meeting of the panel, the following person presides:
• The chairperson, if he or she is present and not interested in the matter
• The deputy chairperson, if there is no chairperson or he or she is not present or is
interested in the matter, or
• The temporary deputy chairperson, in any other case.
The deputy chairperson or temporary deputy chairperson may exercise all the powers and
functions of the chairperson for the purposes of the meeting.
Voting
Each member has one vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairperson also has a
casting vote. A resolution is passed if it is agreed to by all members present without dissent or
if a majority of the votes cast are in favour of it.
A member present at a meeting is presumed to have agreed to and voted in favour of a
resolution unless he or she expressly dissents from or votes against it.
A resolution signed or assented to in writing by all members entitled to vote on the matter is as
valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting.
In order to preserve the independence of the panel, voting does not apply to the Electoral
Commission representative
Attendance at meetings
Members will use their best endeavours to attend meetings and will prepare thoroughly.
Members unable to attend will inform the chairperson and secretariat as early as possible.
Administration
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Meeting agenda items will be agreed with the chairperson and circulated at least five business
days prior to the meeting.
The Electoral Commission will provide the secretariat function and be responsible for
documentation, preparing agendas and taking minutes.
Payment
Community members will be paid $50.40 per hour for meetings and time spent on panel
business (meeting preparation, reading, etc.), in accordance with the rates laid out in the
Cabinet Fees Framework.
The Chairperson will be paid $71.75 per hour for meetings and time spent on panel business, in
accordance with the rates laid out in the Cabinet Fees Framework.
Time claimed on Election Access Fund business should be actual and reasonable.
Members will submit invoices for time spent and expenses incurred to
[email address] and upon approval payment will be made into their
nominated account.
Declarations of interest
Members are responsible for declaring any perceived or real conflicts of interest, whether
financial or non-financial, relating to any individual application or more generally.
Declarations should be made to the chairperson as soon as the interest becomes apparent,
either prior to or during meetings.
In all cases where a conflict exists or may be reasonably perceived to exist, the chairperson shall
rule on whether the member, having disclosed the interest:
• may participate in the discussion
• may remain in the meeting room but not participate in the discussion
• shall leave the room and be excluded from any considerations.
Declarations of interest will be recorded in the meeting minutes.
Conflict of interest risk will further be reduced by using clear criteria and anonymising
applications.
Privacy and Confidentiality
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Much of the information to which panel members have access is confidential and sensitive.
Members are expected to:
• take proper care with the use, exchange, storage, disclosure and disposal of all
information (whether in electronic or written form) to ensure it remains secure at all
times and is used only for panel business
• return to the Electoral Commission their comments and analysis of each application
• take all reasonable steps to prevent the information they have access to being accessed
by unauthorised people
• ensure they have no communication with any fund applicant, or potential applicant,
about the fund
• ensure they do not use, comment on or reveal any information gained in their capacity
on the Applications Panel unless they are specifically authorised to do so
• ensure they do not make statements to the media or comments about Election Access
Fund matters unless they are authorised to do so.
These obligations of confidentiality continue after engagement with the Electoral Commission
ends.
The Electoral Commission is required to release certain information if requested. Where a
request is received, information will only be released in accordance with the requirements of
the Official Information Act 1982, the Privacy Act 2020 or other applicable statues; and by
personnel specifically authorised to disclose requested information on behalf of the
Commission.
Where an individual requests information about the assessment of their application to the
Election Access Fund, the Electoral Commission may release documentation from each panel
member related to that application.
Review of Terms of Reference
The Terms of Reference will be reviewed as required. Members will be involved in any review.
The final decision on any changes will be made by the Electoral Commission.
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