Quality Certified

Certification
What is Quality Assurance?
Why Quality Assurance?
Implementating Quality Assurance
Progress
Suggestions

Certification

Under Quality Management standard AS/NZS ISO 9001:2008, the Commission's Election Management Branch is certified for the provision of election services for the State of Western Australia. The Certification covers:

The Certificate of Approval confirms that the WAEC's management systems comply with the requirements of the standard for these core activities.

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What is Quality Assurance?

The Commission has adopted Quality Assurance (QA), a customer focused strategy, to enhance the effectiveness of all its activities - maximising reliability and performance.  The strategy, with continuous improvement, systemic documentation and regular internal audits, aims to meet specifications of the International Quality Management standard ISO 9001:2008 across all Commission activities.

Quality Assurance is about attaining and maintaining a recognised standard of quality in our services in a demanding world. Although very often invisible, standards make an enormous contribution to most aspects of our lives, by providing a 'safety net' that assures activities meet reasonable public expectations.  When products or services meet our expectations, we tend to take this for granted.  But where they don't we soon notice, but often not until after risks emerge or damage occurs. Standards raise levels of quality, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability - while providing such benefits at an economical cost.

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Why Quality Assurance?

Effective QA helps promote public credibility about the integrity of electoral processes, and gives the Commission a stronger customer focus - to which it is already committed.  As a pre-condition, QA requires 'quality awareness' - through effective communication, documentation of all electoral processes, and training to make information accessible and usable to all electoral officers, both within the Commission and at polling places.

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Implementing Quality Assurance

A Quality Assurance Management Review Committee (QAMRC), chaired by the Deputy Commissioner (General Manager, Elections), is responsible to the Commission's Corporate Executive for implementing quality processes.  Regular QAMRC meetings are held and minutes are generally available to all staff.  Commission staff are consulted about how to handle suggestions, improvement requests and audit findings.

The QA manual documents all key processes down to basic user level. An active, comprehensive QA internal audit program exists and regular audits are routinely performed to assure standards are met.  Suggestions for improvement arising from improvement requests, complaints, or audit findings are recorded in a QA register, with recommendations, action plans and progress all overseen by the QAMRC.  Both the register and manual are available to all staff.

It is envisaged that, over time, Quality Management systems and processes will be applied across the whole of the Commission, not just the certified areas.

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Progress

• Election Services and Enrolment are Quality Certified by BSI Management Systems. This certification is reviewed annually by an external audit of Commission systems and processes, against Australian Standards, in the context of the QA manual.
• The QAMRC meets regularly, and reports quarterly to the Commission's corporate executive.
• The QA manual is being very significantly reworked to make it more relevant to everybody concerned.
• Continuous improvement recommendations are progressed by the QAMRC through the QA register.
• All QA findings, suggestions and complaints are followed through.

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Suggestions are welcomed

You may make a suggestion for improving a Commission electoral process:

Proceed to general online Feedback Form

Hardcopy Feedback Form (PDF, 37.25 kB)

or

Contact the WAEC

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