What is a successful response to an e-communication?
What is a successful response to an e-communication?
You must receive a response to an e-communication from at least one elector in a household within a reasonable period of time, even where there are no changes to the information for that property.1
A successful response to an e-communication can be defined as one which either:2
confirms that all of the information is complete and accurate
provides new information regarding who is resident at the property
provides new information regarding changes required to an elector’s details
provides new information indicating an existing elector is no longer resident at the property
or provides any combination of the above.
You only need to have received a successful response from one elector contacted via an e-communication to be satisfied that you have received a response for that property.3
Making additional enquiries
You can make additional enquiries if you receive a response that indicates a change may have occurred at the property but does not include enough information to provide a successful response as above.
If as a result of making additional enquiries you are able to get information needed to provide a successful response, you can close the route and undertake any additional actions required, for example, beginning the ITR process for new residents at the property.
If you are unable to obtain the information that is needed to provide a successful response, you must transfer the property to Route 2 – the unmatched property route, as you can no longer be satisfied that there are no changes to the property. For example, a response may suggest that there are potential new electors at the property but may not give their names. If you are unable to obtain the names of the potential new electors having made additional enquiries, this would require you to move the property to Route 2.
What action to take if no response is received
Where no response is received within a reasonable time period, you must send a CCA to the property.4
However, you may choose to send a reminder e-communication before sending the CCA.
While a reasonable period of time is not defined in legislation, in our view this should be no longer than 28 days and may in some circumstances be shorter (for example, where you are approaching the conclusion of the canvass or where there is an election due to take place).