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.

January 2024

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

Senate
House of Representatives
Both
Public Holiday
Other

Date	Title
28/01/24	Inquiry Submission Closing DoD ADFA LIA
28/01/24	Inquiry Submission Closing DoD RAAF Learmonth
28/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
29/01/24	House Committee Public Hearing
29/01/24	House Committee Public Hearing
30/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
30/01/24	House Committee Public Hearing
30/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
31/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
31/01/24	Inquiry Submission Closing ASIO Act CQP 2023
31/01/24	Inquiry Report Tabling Miscellaneous Measures 23
31/01/24	Inquiry Report Tabling Closing Loopholes
31/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
31/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
31/01/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
31/01/24	House Committee Public Hearing
01/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/02/24	Inquiry Submission Closing NSLAB CROM 3
01/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing
01/02/24	House Committee Public Hearing
02/02/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
04/02/24	Inquiry Report Tabling GovAmend TLAB MultiTax24
04/02/24	Inquiry Report Tabling Paid Parental Leave
04/02/24	Inquiry Submission Closing Defence AR 2022-23
04/02/24	Inquiry Report Tabling ARC Review Response 47
04/02/24	Inquiry Report Tabling PrimaryIndustriesBills23
04/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing
04/02/24	House Committee Public Hearing
04/02/24	House Committee Public Hearing
04/02/24	Senate Committee Public Hearing
04/02/24	Joint Committee Public Hearing

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