On 2 December 2014, the Senate referred the following matter to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 18 June 2015:

The Commonwealth’s treaty-making process, particularly in light of the growing number of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements Australian governments have entered into or are currently negotiating.

The closing date for submissions is 27 February 2015.

On 15 June 2015, the Senate agreed to extend the reporting date to 25 June 2015.