Mairead Doyle

As the Victorian Electoral Commission's Executive Director, Governance & Enabling Services, Máiréad leads and shapes corporate strategy, planning and governance to drive the VEC’s response to current and future environments. 

In 2024, elections took place in 76 countries, home to over half the global population. Australian state or local elections occurred in 2024 in almost every state and territory, involving 80% of the country’s population.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to create election-related misinformation and disinformation, including deepfake images, audio files, and videos. Some messages are driven from within political campaigns; others come from foreign actors or others, seeking to skew election results or simply spread discontent and distrust.

AI technology is maturing quickly whilst becoming cheaper to access. Electoral practitioners around the world are learning quickly, developing policy, public education and operational tactics to counter its negative impacts.

Published in September 2025, Máiréad's report focused on the impact of AI on the spread of misinformation and disinformation in large-scale elections. Her research investigated what worked, and didn't work, in the 2024 "global year of elections" so we can better counter misinformation and disinformation in Australia, especially where it’s AI-driven.

Máiréad’s profession as a chartered mechanical engineer in oil and gas led to a 30-year career in executive leadership roles in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, focusing on productivity, operational resilience and crisis management.

A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Máiréad received the Governor-General’s National Emergency Medal, the Australian Red Cross Meritorious Service Award and the New Zealand Red Cross Emergency Management Medal for her work in disasters.