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.

April 2019

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
31	1 Both	2 Both	3 Both	4 Senate	5	6
7 Senate	8 Senate	9 Senate	10	11 Both	12	13
14 Senate	15	16 Other	17	18 Public holiday	19 Public holiday	20 Public holiday
21 Public holiday	22	23	24 Public holiday	25	26	27
28	29	30	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
04/03/19	Imprint: A Survey of the Print Council of Australia exhibition
31/03/19	Inquiry Report Tabling TLAB Petroleum Resource
31/03/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Income Management Cashles
31/03/19	Senate Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	Senate Committee Public Hearing
01/04/19	House of Representatives sitting
01/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Lower Tax Bill 2018
01/04/19	Senate Sitting
02/04/19	Senate 2/3 cut-off
02/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling PJC Australia Fund Bill
02/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Delegated Legislation
03/04/19	Senate Budget Estimates
04/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling NI No 2
04/04/19	Inquiry Submission Closing National Horse Register46
04/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling National Integrity Comm
04/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling NI Parliamentary Standard
04/04/19	Inquiry Submission Closing National Horse Register
07/04/19	Inquiry Report Tabling Financial Abuse
07/04/19	Senate Budget Estimates

Parliamentary sitting calendar

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