Overview

The Procedure Office is led by the Clerk Assistant (Procedure) and has three functional areas, as shown in figure 9.

Figure 9 – Elements and responsibilities of the Procedure Office

The Procedure Office provides advisory, legislative drafting, training, research and public information services to support the work of senators and the Senate, as well as providing secretariat support for the Parliament’s three legislative scrutiny committees.

The demand for procedural and legislative drafting services is driven by the requirements of senators and the Senate, particularly in response to the government’s legislative program. The work of the secretariats of the legislative scrutiny committees is similarly driven by the volume of legislation coming before the Senate and additional inquiries undertaken by the committees.

The office monitors levels of satisfaction with its performance by formal and informal methods, including evaluation forms, surveys and direct feedback from senators, their staff and members of the public.

The full-time equivalent staffing level for the Procedure Office in 2022–23 was 23.4 (24.7 in 2021–22). The cost of providing the services of the Procedure Office in 2022–23 was $4.8m ($4.4m in 2021–22).

Procedural support

The Procedure Office Executive and the Procedure and Research Section assists non-government senators and their staff by providing advice relating to the role and work of the Senate and its committees. The section also provides procedural drafting services to assist senators conduct business in the Senate. In 2022–23, as usual, there was strong demand for such advice and drafting, particularly during sitting periods. Advice was provided on a range of procedural issues, including the constitutional powers of the Senate, the legislative process, the disallowance of delegated legislation, orders for production of documents and opportunities for debate. The section also provided research support to the Clerk and Deputy Clerk and senators on matters relating to Senate practice and procedure. Staff ensured the accuracy of procedural advice, drafting and research by drawing on appropriate resources and precedents and consulting with other departmental officers as required. Services were provided on a confidential, non-partisan and consistent basis and in a timely fashion, often within extremely short deadlines.

In 2022–23, the section prepared an average of seven procedural scripts each sitting day for use by senators in the chamber, with a total of 368 scripts for the year. These scripts assist senators to conduct business in the Senate through, for example, the introduction of bills, pursuing outstanding orders for the production of documents and proposing variations to the Senate’s routine of business. The total number of scripts drafted reflects an increase from the previous reporting period where 275 scripts were produced, possibly because there were fewer sitting weeks in the previous period due to the election in May 2022. The section also frequently responded to requests to draft procedural motions for senators or review motions prepared by senators’ staff. These included motions for orders for the production of documents or to refer matters to committees for inquiry.

Legislative drafting

The Procedure Office Executive and the Procedure and Research Section provide support to senators in relation to the legislative process by drafting private senators’ bills and amendments to government bills. Procedural amendments to the motions that mark the key stages of the passage of bills are also prepared. This drafting support is provided primarily to non-government senators, but also to government senators who are not part of the ministry (i.e. non-executive government senators).

In 2022–23, 63 second reading amendments – amendments to the procedural motion that a bill be read a second time – were prepared and circulated (a significant increase on the previous period, when 31 such amendments were circulated). The section also drafted and circulated 228 ‘sheets’ of committee of the whole amendments, comprising 747 individual amendments (compared to 668 amendments circulated on 151 sheets in the previous period). These are referred to as ‘committee of the whole’ amendments as they propose amendments to the text of bills and are debated and voted on during the stage of a bill’s passage when the Senate resolves itself into the ‘committee of the whole’ to consider the details of a bill and any amendments proposed. Committee of the whole amendments vary in complexity and can be resource intensive to prepare.

A further 86 sheets of amendments were requested and drafted, but not circulated. The decision to circulate amendments is purely a matter for the instructing senators. Reasons that amendment sheets may not be circulated include the sponsoring senator deciding not to proceed with the amendments, or amendments being drafted to inform negotiations between parties or as an alternative position to circulated amendments.

In accordance with section 53 of the Constitution, six sets of amendments were framed as ‘requests’ to the House of Representatives. For each of these requests, the section also produced a ‘statement of reasons’ to explain why the amendments were framed as requests, as required by the Senate’s procedures.

In 2022–23, the section received requests for 63 private senators’ bills (compared to 26 requests in 2021–22), which were progressed in accordance with senators’ instructions. 26 private senators’ bills were introduced in this reporting period (compared to 23 in the previous period). This demand reflects a strong interest among non-government senators for a legislative response to policy matters of concern to them and the use of private senators’ bills as a means of furthering debate on policy issues and in some cases influencing the government to pursue legislative action. Depending on their complexity, private senators’ bills can take between a week to many months to prepare. The level of demand has required careful management of workload and resources, and discussion with senators’ offices regarding timeframes.

Figure 10 summarises legislative drafting and procedural services provided to senators over the past four years.

Informal feedback received from senators and their staff over the reporting period confirmed the satisfaction of senators with the quality of the procedural advice and legislative drafting services provided by the office, including where support was provided within the tight time constraints common in sitting weeks. As noted above, there has been a high demand for private senators’ bills and not all requests have been met within the timeframes originally proposed by senators. The detail of each drafting request, including timeframes, is discussed with senators’ offices and managed within existing resources.

The next formal survey of senators and their staff will occur in the following reporting period.

Support for legislative scrutiny committees

The Legislative Scrutiny Unit provides secretariat, research and administrative support to the Parliament’s three legislative scrutiny committees:

• the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights,
• the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, and
• the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation.

These committees examine bills and legislative instruments according to their terms of reference which are set out in the Senate’s standing orders, or in the case of the Human Rights Committee its enabling Act (see below). The committees generally report each sitting week (and occasionally outside of sittings) on the bills and legislative instruments scrutinised. They also report annually on their work and the significant matters they have pursued during the year.

The work of the committees in scrutinising bills and instruments supports parliamentary consideration of legislation in a number of important ways, including influencing the drafting of bills and legislative instruments, informing debate in the houses, and resulting in amendments to bills and legislative instruments and associated explanatory materials.

In this reporting period, the three secretariats undertook all work required by the committees within timeframes set by the committees, examining a large number of bills and instruments, preparing reports for the consideration of the committees, finalising reports for tabling and preparing any necessary procedural advice or documentation.

The Human Rights Committee secretariat examined 198 bills (163 in 2021–22) and drafted 11 reports containing comments on 31 bills (43 in 2021–22) raising matters relating to the committee’s terms of reference as set out in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The secretariat also examined 2,038 disallowable and exempt legislative instruments (1,438 in 2021–22) and drafted comments on 19 instruments (18 in 2021–22). The secretariat also supported the committee in the initial stages of an inquiry referred by the Attorney-General in March 2023 into Australia’s Human Rights Framework, including processing submissions and organising a public hearing (with the inquiry to continue until 2024).

The Scrutiny of Bills Committee secretariat examined 217 bills (165 in 2021–22) and drafted 12 reports, containing comments on 99 bills (71 in 2021–22) raising matters relating to the committee’s terms of reference under Senate standing order 24.

The secretariat to the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation Committee (formerly the Regulations and Ordinances Committee) examined 2,236 legislative instruments (1,549 in 2021–22) against its terms of reference set out in Senate standing order 23, including 271 exempt instruments (165 in 2021–22). The secretariat prepared 12 reports, identifying 271 instruments as potentially raising scrutiny concerns (294 in 2021–22) and identifying 115 instruments for the attention of the Senate (100 in 2021–22).

During this period the unit also worked with the Department of Parliamentary Services’ Information Services Division on a project to develop a contemporary document management system for managing the work of the unit. This system will result in greater efficiencies in, and accessibility to, the work of the committees. This project will continue throughout 2023.

Parliamentary information and training

The Procedure and Research Section aims to increase knowledge of the role and work of the Senate by coordinating a range of training sessions, lectures and public information activities, as well as by producing parliamentary resources published both internally and externally.

Training and resources

The provision of training via videoconference, initially introduced in response to the impacts of the pandemic, continues to enable the section to deliver interactive and engaging training to participants regardless of their location. To ensure consistency and quality in the provision of training, in this period the section continued to develop its training curriculum and complementary presentation material, invest in its delivery capacity and provide ongoing support to presenters.

An orientation program for new senators, primarily those elected at the 2022 election, was held on 21 and 22 July 2022, with preparations for the program commencing in the 2021–22 reporting period. The program, for which the section provided organisational support, provided new senators with an introduction to the Senate, with a focus on practical guidance to assist them to settle into their new roles both within and outside the chamber.

In addition to supporting the orientation program and ad hoc training sessions for senators, the section delivered a comprehensive ongoing program of training for senators’ staff. Presented via videoconference and during non-sitting periods to enable staff located across the country to participate, this training program provides staff with a practical understanding of Senate procedure and the corresponding resources provided by the department to support senators to conduct business. The Procedure Hub, a resource on the senators’ intranet (Senate Connect), is a key focus of the training which aims to assist staff to understand and utilise the various templates, forms and guidance material available to support senators to engage with the whole range of Senate business.

As can be seen in figure 11, the section increased the number of training sessions provided to public service agencies in this reporting period, in part due to our focus on online and hybrid modes of delivery.

Following a successful pilot in 2021–22, an online training program for not-for-profit organisations was offered again in this reporting period. The three session series provides not-for-profit organisations with an understanding of the opportunities for public and community engagement with the Senate and its committees. The first session was held in this reporting period, with 22 attendees from 13 organisations.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the section was able to facilitate
in-person attendance for all lectures in the Senate Lecture Series delivered during the reporting period. A total of 191 people attended the three lectures in-person, with an additional 308 unique live online views. All lectures were Auslan interpreted in real time.

In addition to delivering the Senate Lecture Series, the section coordinated the drafting and publication of eight short-form public interest articles on Senate matters on the Australian Parliament House website. Written by Senate officers and promoted via the Senate’s social media accounts, the articles increase awareness of the work and role of the Parliament by providing insight into the Senate’s operations, traditions and practices.

Inter-parliamentary relations and capacity building

The Australian Parliament’s international program focuses on strengthening engagement and cooperation between parliaments internationally, with an emphasis on parliamentary relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The program’s activities and projects are coordinated by the International and Parliamentary Relations Office (IPRO). IPRO manages incoming and outgoing delegation programs, membership of inter-parliamentary organisations, and the international interests and travel of senators and members. IPRO is also responsible for the parliamentary strengthening and capacity building programs of the Australian Parliament, including study programs for visiting parliamentarians and staff of other parliaments.

IPRO is administered by the Department of the House of Representatives, and is funded jointly by the Department of the Senate and the Department of the House of Representatives. The Senate Department supports the program by providing secretariat support to various outgoing delegations, responding to requests for information, and providing presenters and support to incoming delegation visits. In this reporting period, the Department provided delegation secretaries to support three parliamentary delegations, to Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and the European Parliament.

The Senate Department also provides secretariat support to the Australian Delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) which in this period included attendance at the 145^th IPU Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022 and 146^th IPU Assembly in Manama, Bahrain in March 2023. Secretariat support also included assisting the head of the delegation, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and current Chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Group, the Hon. Milton Dick MP, to chair a meeting of the IPU geopolitical group at the 146^th IPU Assembly and to host a webinar for the group on engaging youth in the work of parliament in the Asia-Pacific region in June 2023.

A detailed description of the work of IPRO is provided in the annual report of the Department of the House of Representatives.

The Procedure Office also responded to various requests for information and research from other parliaments and international parliamentary bodies.

Performance outlook

A key focus for 2023–24 for the Procedure Office Executive and the team of staff in the Procedure and Research Section who provide legislative and procedural drafting and advice, will be to manage the high workload for legislative amendments and private senators’ bills which is expected to continue in the next reporting period.

Another focus of the Procedure and Research Section will be to update and diversify existing procedural training resources and delivery models. This will include expanding on-demand training offerings to incorporate e-learning modules and producing new video content for incorporation in the Procedure Hub and training programs.

The Legislative Scrutiny Unit, in addition to its usual work supporting the three parliamentary scrutiny committees in their important scrutiny work, will support the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to conduct its extensive inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework. Work will also continue on the development of the unit’s new document management system, creating a more efficient and effective tool for conducting and publishing the work of the committees.