The Australian Electoral Commission is planning on using Elon Musk’s Starlink services as back up for transmitting voting results information in the upcoming federal election.
In a contract published late last year, the AEC appointed Telstra responsible for the agency’s fixed line and Starlink services until mid-2027, in a deal worth $1.38m. A spokesperson for the AEC confirmed Starlink could be used in the upcoming election for sensitive election data.
“The AEC will use Starlink services as a backup telecommunications platform as part of our contract with Telstra for fixed line internet services. Starlink is one of several possible backup services, which also include 4G mobile,” the spokesperson said.
All data would be encrypted, the spokesperson said.
“This service is part of our business continuity to ensure that encrypted election results data is communicated securely in a timely manner on election night and the weeks that follow.”
Voters will head to the polls this year for the federal election, although the date is yet to be called.
The Starlink revelation comes just weeks after questions had been raised about the increasing role Musk was having in Australia’s communications systems.
Starlink is the only low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator covering most of Australia, and has more than 200,000 customers in the country. NBN Co is reportedly set to announce Amazon’s own network as its replacement for the ageing Sky Muster satellites in a few years.
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young questioned officials in Senate estimates about what would happen to a new universal coverage plan announced by the Albanese government if Musk decided to switch off the network for any reason, given Starlink is the only operator currently.
“If Starlink is the only company, US owned, what does that mean if somebody – Elon Musk or somebody else, I don’t know – decides that’s not a service to be offered to Australia?” Hanson-Young asked.
“We welcome Starlink’s participation in this technology and in these markets, and we also welcome other entrants, which is why the policy is sending that clear signal,” the communications department deputy secretary James Chisholm replied, indicating there would be a number of players in the market in the future.
In Telstra’s half-year results call last month, in response to a question on the risk posed by being reliant on Musk and what guardrails the telco may have in place to ensure customer service delivery on Starlink, the Telstra chief executive, Vicki Brady, said the telco had a number of relationships with LEO providers, and Telstra had a “great partnership” with Starlink.
“[They’re] absolutely a leader in this space in terms of launching direct-to-handset,” she said. “So we have a great partnership with them. We work across their team to make sure we can bring these technologies to market as soon as they’re ready to go.
“And so look, it’s a great partnership with Starlink. They’re a good team to work with.”
Musk denied reports earlier this month that Starlink services, a crucial communications tool used by Ukrainian soldiers in the fight against Russia’s invasion, were being used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the country over US access to critical minerals, and said the service would never be cut off.
Musk has financially backed Donald Trump and now runs the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the new US administration. But the world’s richest man has also taken a keen interest in the politics of other countries, including the UK and Germany. Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the most recent German elections, and gave an address to the party in January.
Last year, Musk labelled the Australian Labor government “fascist” over its since-abandoned bill aimed at tackling misinformation and disinformation on social media. Musk’s social media site, X, is also engaged in a number of ongoing legal battles with the Australian online safety regulator over removal notices, or requests for information.
The first of these cases will be heard in the administrative review tribunal at the end of March.
Starlink has been contacted for comment via SpaceX.
