Information about the Inquiry

Information about the Inquiry

On 14 May 2008, the Senate referred the matter of the Lobbying Code of Conduct to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Standing Committee for inquiry. The committee will report by 3 September 2008. The code was tabled in the Senate on 13 May 2008 by the Special Minister of State, Senator the Hon. John Faulkner and is available from http://lobbyists.pmc.gov.au/lobbyistsregister/index.cfm?event=contactWithLobbyistsCode.

The code is intended to apply to lobbying activities carried out on behalf of third party clients with a range of Government representatives, and in doing so ensure that contact between lobbyists and Government representatives is conducted transparently.

The Committee will examine whether:

  • the code is adequate to achieve its aims;
  • the code should apply to members of both Houses of Parliament and their staff;
  • the code should be extended to organisations which lobby on their own behalf; and
  • whether the proposed exemptions are justified.

The full terms of reference can be found here.

The Committee invites written submissions from interested individuals and organisations, preferably in electronic form sent by email, to fpa.sen@aph.gov.au. The email must include full postal address and contact details. The closing date for submissions is Tuesday, 10 June 2008.

Alternatively, submissions may be sent to The Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration, PO Box 6100 Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600, or faxed to 02 6277 5809.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3439
Fax: +61 2 6277 5809
Email: fpa.sen@aph.gov.au