Petitions

A petition is basically a request for action. The right to petition Federal Parliament has been one of the rights of citizens since federation, and it is the only way an individual can directly place grievances before the Parliament.

Senate Petitions

The presentation of a petition to the Senate is a proceeding in Parliament and is protected by parliamentary privilege. The publication of a petition before presentation is not similarly protected. (See Chapter 2, Australian Senate Practice, Parliamentary Privilege, Circulation of petitions.)

House of Representatives petitions

A petition to the House of Representatives (the House) is a request for action on something that the House is responsible for.

The House Standing Committee on Petitions receives and processes petitions on behalf of the House.

Petitions to the House must follow the rules and can be presented by a Member of Parliament or the Committee Chair.

Learn more about petitioning the House

Related Resources and Links

Senate

House of Representatives

What is a Petition?

Individuals and organisations may seek to have petitions presented to the Parliament. A petition expresses a point of view, usually on matters of public policy, and contains a request for action, or in some cases, not to take action. The right to petition Parliament has been one of the rights of citizens since Federation.

Each house of the Parliament has its own rules that documents must follow in order to be accepted as petitions.

December 2019

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1 Both	2 Both	3 Both	4 Both	5 Other	6 Other	7 House of Representatives
8 House of Representatives	9 Other	10 Other	11 Other	12 Senate	13	14
15 Senate	16 Other	17	18	19 Senate	20	21
22	23	24 Public holiday	25 Public holiday	26	27	28
29	30 Senate	31	1	2	3	4

Senate
House of Representatives
Both
Public Holiday
Other

Date	Title
31/12/18	Welcome to Parliament House tour
21/02/19	Behind the Scenes tour
06/10/19	Alfred Deakin: Creating a Nation Exhibition
01/12/19	House of Representatives sitting
01/12/19	Senate Sitting
01/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Coal-Fired Prohibition
01/12/19	House Committee Public Hearing
02/12/19	Senate Committee Public Hearing
02/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
03/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Centrelinks compliance
03/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Jobs Regional Areas
03/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
03/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
03/12/19	House Committee Public Hearing
04/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling National Horse Register46
04/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Indig Cultural Expression
04/12/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Aviation rescue services
05/12/19	Senate Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	House Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	House Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	House Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	Senate Committee Public Hearing
05/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
06/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
07/12/19	Inquiry Submission Closing RBA Review 2019 & 2020
08/12/19	Inquiry Submission Closing RBA Review 2019
08/12/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing

Parliamentary sitting calendar

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