History of the committees
The existence of parliamentary committees is mentioned in section 49 of theThe Senate is now undergoing the most fundamental and dramatic changes witnessed in the Commonwealth Parliament since the States decided to federate 70 years ago. The introduction of a wide-ranging committee system will make the red-carpeted Upper House potentially the most powerful parliamentary chamber in Australia.These reforms were also significant in that they gave to Senate committees the role of examining the budget (what is referred to as the ''estimates process'' or ''estimates hearings''), which had hitherto been confined to the Senate and its
Purposes of committees
The functions of committees depend on the type of committee and on the work it is undertaking. Most of the committees are established under the Senate's Standing Orders.Standing committees
The Legislative and General Purpose Standing Committees (often referred to simply as 'standing committees') are established by Standing Order 25. The standing committees are actually made up of pairs of committees – a legislation committee and a references committee. The legislation committees are responsible for scrutinising bills referred to them by the chamber; examining the government's budget and activities (in what is called the budget estimates process); and for examining departmental annual reports and activities. The references committees are responsible for conducting inquiries into topics referred to them by the chamber.Select committees
Select committees are temporary committees, established by the Senate to deal with particular issues. This may occur when a particular group of Senators wishes to examine an issue in depth, or where there is no existing committee suited to addressing a particular topic. Australian Senate select committees have included ones set up to examine the Administration of Indigenous Affairs, and Mental Health. Select committees usually cease to exist upon reporting back to the chamber. One exception to this was the Senate Select Committee on Superannuation which in various forms existed for a decade.Domestic committees
Domestic committees are responsible for administering aspects of the Senate's own affairs. The selection of bills committee meets each sitting fortnight to consider which of the bills coming before the Senate will be referred to committees for detailed consideration. The procedure committee considers "any matter relating to the procedures of the Senate referred to it by the Senate or by the President". This committee thus regularly examines and reports back to the chamber on suggested changes to the operation of the Senate and its committees, such as what times of day the chamber will sit and what rules should govern its order of business. Established by Standing Order 18 of the Senate, the privileges committee is responsible for reporting on matters ofLegislative scrutiny committees
The purpose of the scrutiny of bills committee is to assess "legislative proposals against a set of accountability standards that focus on the effect of proposed legislation on individual rights, liberties and obligations, and on parliamentary propriety". The Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation performs a similar task, but for allOther committees
Senators may be members of joint committees: committees jointly established by both chambers of the Australian parliament. An example of this is the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia, appointed by resolution by the House of Representatives on 4 July 2019 and the Senate on 22 July 2019. The Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at theList of committees
These are the committees of the 45th Parliament that exist within each category:Membership and rules of committees
The Senate's committees are formed at the commencement of each new parliament, in accordance with rules set out in the Standing Orders. The committees exist until the first day of the following parliament, in contrast to the lower house committees, which cease to exist as soon as parliament isThe work of Senate committees
A typical year in the life of a Senate legislation committee will see it conduct eight days of hearings around budget estimates, in three sessions: February (additional estimates), May/June (the main budget estimates) and October/November (supplementary budget estimates). In addition, it will typically conduct several inquiries into pieces of legislation being considered by the parliament. A references committee will conduct inquiries into policy issues referred to it by the Senate. Each of these inquiries will usually result in a report tabled in the Senate (there may be exceptions if an election intervenes during the committee's deliberations). A consolidated list of the reports prepared by all Senate committees since 1970 is published by the Department of the Senate.Inquiries into topics and bills
Committee inquiries typically begin with the reference of an issue or a proposed law to the committee for inquiry and report back to the Senate. The committee will make a call for submissions, seeking public input on the matter referred to the committee. It will often publish those submissions to help inform stakeholders of the views that are being put to the committee. A committee will often hold one or more public hearings, at which committee members ask questions of key stakeholders interested in the issue under inquiry. These hearings may be held anywhere in Australia, are often broadcast, and result in a published transcript (Hansard) that records the evidence taken. The opportunity to make submissions, and the greater accessibility of the committees compared to parliament itself, can provide disadvantaged individuals and organisations valued opportunities to engage in democratic processes. Committees also frequently ask relevant government agencies to respond to issues raised by submissions or evidence given to the inquiry. Once evidence has been gathered there usually follows a period of research and analysis by the committee. It will then deliver a report to the Senate, which will generally include recommendations. The Commonwealth government is then expected to table a response to the report, stating responses to any recommendations the committee may have made.Scrutiny of the budget
Following the introduction of appropriation bills into the Parliament, the expenditure proposed in those bills is referred to Senate legislation committees for inquiry. Such referrals result in what are generally known as budget estimates hearings. Senate standing committees will usually conduct eight days of hearings around budget estimates, in three sessions: February (additional estimates), May/June (the main budget estimates) and October/November (supplementary budget estimates). During these hearings ministers, assisted by senior public servants, answer questions put to them by any Senator that relate to the operations and expenditure of departments and agencies that receive federal government funding. In such hearings, ministers from the House of Representatives are represented by a minister who is also a Senator. Budget and management reforms in the 1980s and 1990s saw a change in budgeting, including a greater emphasis on outcomes, and decreasing emphasis on inputs. This has been reflected in the activities of Senate committees, with Senators' questions being increasingly focussed on the 'results of government activities and away from a concern with inputs'.Impact
The impact of the Senate's committees varies and has been the subject of debate. The work of the committees is frequently more consensual and less partisan than activity in the parliamentary chambers, and unanimous committee reports that agree recommendations across party lines are not uncommon. As a result, these recommendations may contribute to subsequent government policy announcements and occasionally to changes in government actions. The work of the regulations and ordinances committee has led to revisions of subordinate legislation in significant respects. Committee scrutiny of bills has contributed to them being amended or withdrawn. The impact of committees on legislation overall has however been described as 'rather limited', particularly as the committees that review bills are controlled by a government majority. Senate committees can be affected by the party composition of the Senate. The Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans, argued that a government majority of seats in the Senate resulted in limitations on what the committees inquired into, and how readily governments responded to their queries and requests for information. Statistics published by centrist political party the Australian Democrats have been used to support the contention that committee operations have been inhibited by government control of the Senate, particularly in respect of selection of topics for committee inquiry. However Senator Minchin, the leader of the government in the Senate in the mid-2000s, pointed out that their political rivals had previously cut off debate on more bills in the Senate than had his government.Prominent inquiries
One of the most high-profile Senate committee inquiries was the Senate Select Committee on a Certain Maritime Incident, which in 2002 investigated what became known as the Children Overboard Affair. The events and subsequent Senate committee inquiries were widely reported, and the transcripts of the inquiry formed the basis of a play, ''A Certain Maritime Incident''. Other high-profile inquiries included the Community Affairs committee's inquiry into Children in Institutional Care, which brought to wide public notice the experiences of children who had been placed in care in sometimes inhumane circumstances and was directly responsible for state governments and churches making public apologies to the victims of abuse or neglect; the Select Committee on Mental Health, which contributed to widespread discussion of mental health issues and to a major funding boost for services in 2006; and the 2006 inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill,Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs CommitteeSee also
* Australian House of Representatives committeesReferences
Further reading
*Bach, S., (2003), ''Platypus and Parliament: The Australian Senate in Theory and Practice'', Department of the Senate, Canberra. *Department of the Senate: Senate briefs number 4,External links