Chapter 3Work of the committee in 2022
1.1This chapter provides information about the work of the committee for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2022, including statistical information and the impact of the committee's work on legislation, explanatory materials and parliamentary consideration of bills.
Trends
1.2Each year the committee usually analyses around 200 to 250 bills. The table below sets out the bills scrutinised by the committee from 2019 to 2022.
1.3The table also outlines statistics in relation to the number of bills and amendments for which the committee had comments. The number of amendments commented on in 2021 was significantly higher than in 2022.
Table 3.1Bills and Amendments Between 2019 and 2022
| | | | |
2019 | 255 | 102 | 39 | 3 |
2020 | 210 | 101 | 52 | 15 |
2021 | 223 | 107 | 81 | 36 |
2022 | 146 | 64 | 41 | 8 |
1.4During 2022, the number of bills considered and commented on by the committee decreased significantly from the previous years. Possible factors that led to this outcome are:
the Governor-General issued a proclamation on 10 April 2022 proroguing Parliament;
the dissolving the House of Representatives, ahead of a federal election on 21 May; and
a low number of sitting weeks (12 sitting weeks in 2022; 18 sitting weeks in 2021; 15 sitting weeks in 2020; 12 sitting weeks in 2019).
1.5The chart below provides a breakdown of the committee's comments on concerns within bills by the five principles set out in standing order 24(1)(a). The chart shows that the principle which the committee raised most frequently in 2022 was principle (iv), relating to the inappropriate delegation of legislative power (which was raised in 31 per cent of the bills the committee commented on in 2022). Principle (v) relating to insufficient parliamentary scrutiny was the next principle mostly frequently raised by the committee (in 25 per cent of bills commented on in 2022).
Figure 3.1Scrutiny comments on bills by principle under standing order 24(1)(a) January to December 2022
Impact of the committee's work in 2022
1.6The work of the committee in scrutinising bills against the five principles outlined above assists and improves parliamentary consideration of legislation in a number of important ways, including:
more informed consideration of issues in legislation committee reports;
more informed debate in the Senate and committees; and
more comprehensive Parliamentary Library Bills Digests.
1.7One of the more significant outcomes of the committee's scrutiny of bills are amendments being made to legislation and explanatory materials in order to address the committee's scrutiny concerns. As noted in Chapter 1, when the committee identifies potential scrutiny concerns with a bill, the committee's typical process is to write to the relevant minister and request a response in relation to those concerns. If ministerial responses are not provided within the requested timeframe this can significantly impact the committee's ability to report on its scrutiny concerns while a bill is still before the Parliament.
1.8In the 45th and 46th Parliaments the committee noted a significant improvement in the responsiveness of ministers to its requests for information. Possible factors that led to this improved outcome are:
amendments to standing order 24 in 2017 allowing any senator to question a minister about why the minister had not provided a timely response to the committee's request for information and to move a motion relating to the consideration of the bill; and
the then Deputy Chair's proactive engagement with ministers to request timely responses during the course of the 46th Parliament.
1.9Table 3.2 below shows a marked decrease in the number of late responses received by the committee in the course of the last two Parliaments.
Table 3.2Statistics on late responses during the 46th Parliament
| | | |
2015 | 62 | 50 | 81% |
2016 | 56 | 26 | 46% |
2017 | 101 | 63 | 62% |
2018 | 89 | 35 | 40% |
2019 | 33 | 22 | 52% |
2020 | 76 | 27 | 36% |
2021 | 112 | 30 | 27% |
2022 | 36 | 7 | 19% |
1.10In 2022, the work of the committee resulted in improved explanatory materials being tabled. Explanatory memoranda explain the purpose and effect of the associated bill and the operation of its individual provisions. As such, an explanatory memorandum should demonstrate that the bill's proposed approach is appropriately justified.
1.11The committee regularly requests that additional information be included in explanatory memoranda to ensure that provisions of bills on which the committee has commented are adequately explained. The committee's intention in making such requests is to ensure that such information is readily accessible in a primary resource to aid in the understanding and interpretation of a bill.
1.12For example:
on 21 November 2022, an addendum to the explanatory memorandum to the High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022 was tabled in the Senate to clarify matters relating to the exemption from disallowance provisions in the bill; and
on 23 November 2022, a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the Biosecurity Amendment (Strengthening Biosecurity) Bill 2022 was tabled in the Senate to clarify matters requested from the committee in relation to the exemption from disallowance provisions and the no-invalidity clauses in the bill.