Outputs
Advice on, and support for, proceedings of the Senate and its committees. Leadership and strategic direction for the department. Secretariat and advisory support to the Procedure and Privileges Committees. Procedural information and related resources for senators and the department.
Performance information	Performance results
Advice and support are sound and timely, and provided to the satisfaction of the President, other officeholders, Senate committees and senators so that they are able to fulfil their roles.	Senators and other recipients of advice on powers, privileges and proceedings continued to acknowledge its accuracy and value. Advice and support was invariably provided in time to meet procedural and operational requirements.
The capacity of the department and its employees to provide advice and support meets operational requirements.	Activities under the learning and development framework underpinned the department’s advisory and support capacities.
Governance structures advance the department’s accountability and the achievement of its outcome.	Governance forums achieved all significant targets for the year, including managing budgeting and staffing targets. Contributions to interdepartmental forums advanced the strategic aims of parliamentary administration.
Advice, documentation, publications and draft reports are accurate, of a high standard and produced to meet the required timeframes.	All advice, documents and draft reports produced in support of committees supported by the office were of a high standard and met required timeframes; none were shown to be inaccurate.
Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice is updated to reflect significant changes in the Senate. The Procedural Information Bulletin is produced after each sitting period and other procedural resources are updated and augmented as required.	The Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice, Second supplement to the 14th edition – Updates to 31 July 2020, was published (tabled 24 August 2020). The Procedural Information Bulletin was produced promptly after sitting periods and estimates hearings. Procedural and administrative information for senators was published to intranet site, Senate Connect.

Overview

The Clerk of the Senate, Richard Pye, manages the department in accordance with the Parliamentary Service Act. The Clerk is also the principal adviser to the President of the Senate and senators on proceedings in the Senate, parliamentary privilege, and committee proceedings and their outcomes in the Senate. The Deputy Clerk of the Senate supports the Clerk in these roles and, with the Clerk Assistant (Procedure), provides procedural and legislative advice and support to non-executive senators. The Deputy Clerk also has particular corporate governance roles, including as the department’s senior representative on the Audit Committee and as chair of the Program Managers’ Group. The cost of the office for 2020–21 was $0.9m ($1.0m in 2019–20).

Advice and information

The provision of advice, particularly to the President, senators and parliamentary committees, is a core function of the department and a priority for the Clerk’s Office. Much advice is provided orally and instantaneously, particularly in the Senate chamber, in private meetings of committees, and to senators who seek advice in person. Such advice is impossible to quantify in any meaningful way, but the number and kinds of written advices provide some indication of work undertaken.

Written advice

The number of requests for written advice was very similar to the previous financial year. There were more requests related to committee matters than in the previous year including requests related to the powers of committees, the rules governing questions at estimates hearings and claims of public interest immunity by the executive. Advice was also provided on various aspects of Senate procedure, most significantly, on options for adapting the procedures of the Senate to allow for remote participation in its proceedings. Figure 4 shows the number of written advices provided by topic, while figure 5 shows demand over recent years. The Clerk’s Office maintained the approach of providing succinct, less formal advice that was closely targeted at the needs of the senator requesting the advice.

Performance indicators for provision of advice focus on timeliness and accuracy. Senators and other recipients of advice continued to acknowledge its accuracy and its value. All advice was provided in time to meet the purposes for which it was sought. Most advice is provided on a confidential basis and it is for the recipient to decide whether to release it, and if so, on what basis. On several occasions during the year, recipients of advice published it as a contribution to public debate, at the same time subjecting it to public scrutiny. As this advice can inform the actions of senators, the Senate and its committees, as well as public debate, all advice is prepared to the highest standards and on the soundest possible basis.

Procedural information

The Clerk produced issues of the Procedural Information Bulletin after each sitting period and the three rounds of estimates hearings, covering all the major procedural developments and matters of procedural interest which arose. Updates on procedural and administrative matters affecting senators were also published to an intranet site for senators and their staff, Senate Connect.

The second supplement to the 14th edition of Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice was published in August 2020. Most notably, this updated supplement recorded the procedural changes adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Clerk and Deputy Clerk prepared and presented sessions in the department’s learning and development program, and in other forums for parliamentary staff. They also provided seven introductory briefing sessions to senators whose terms commenced during the year and nine training sessions to senators who took on the role of Chair of the Senate.

Committees

The office provided secretariat support to two Senate standing committees. Advice and support was acknowledged as meeting the needs and timeframes of the committees and their members.

Procedure Committee

The Clerk served as secretary to the Procedure Committee, which responds to references from the Senate or the President by evaluating, and recommending improvements to, Senate procedure.

During the year the committee met eight times and presented four reports. Three of these reports (tabled in August 2020, October 2020 and May 2021) addressed practical and procedural matters connected to ensuring scheduled sittings of the Senate and estimates hearings proceeded safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three reports introduced and refined the rules allowing senators to participate in Senate proceedings by video link. The Senate adopted the rules proposed by the committee at the beginning of several sitting periods between August 2020 and May 2021.

The other report (tabled in June 2021) recommended extending the operation of temporary orders limiting opportunities for senators to propose formal motions while alternatives were developed. However, on 24 June the Senate adopted new temporary orders further limiting formal business and introducing additional opportunities for senators to put their views on the record through short statements.

Committee of Privileges

The Deputy Clerk served as secretary to the Committee of Privileges, which met nine times in 2020–21 (17 in 2019–20) and presented one report. The committee protects the integrity of Senate and committee proceedings by inquiring into matters which may amount to contempt of the Senate. Those matters, which arise from concerns raised by other committees or individual senators, are referred to the committee by the Senate.

One matter was referred to the committee relating to allegations of improper interference with the Economics References Committee inquiry into Australia’s naval shipbuilding capability. The Committee of Privileges inquiry into these allegations was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

The committee also administers the right-of-reply mechanism for people seeking to respond to adverse comment made about them in the Senate. One request was received and reported on during the year in the 180th report. The Senate adopted the recommendation of the report that the reply be incorporated in Hansard.

Strategic direction and governance

A key responsibility of the office and the department’s senior executive is to set the strategic direction of the department. During the year, this included a necessary focus on the immediate issues related to the pandemic, supporting staff in the aftermath of allegations of a sexual assault in Parliament House and the department’s engagement with the Foster and Jenkins reviews regarding parliamentary workplaces. However, the department’s senior managers also ensured that longer term priorities related to workforce capability and the adoption of enhanced ICT capabilities were pursued.

In close consultation with departmental staff, the department updated its policy to prevent and address workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination, and delivered training to support awareness and implementation of that policy. In light of experience during the pandemic, the department also updated its working from home policy to provide more flexibility for staff to work from home both on an ad hoc or occasional basis, or to seek approval of an ongoing arrangement.

The Deputy Clerk was the department’s senior representative on its Audit Committee and chaired the Program Managers’ Group. A key area of work for Program Managers was ensuring the department operated consistently with the health and safety requirements necessitated by the pandemic while maintaining its support to the Senate and its committees. The group also refreshed the department’s learning and development framework in order to consolidate the department’s focus on the knowledge, skills and attributes staff require to perform their advisory, secretariat and support roles, and the most effective means of building those capabilities among staff.

During the financial year, the Clerk attended five meetings of the Heads of the Parliamentary Departments. This group provides a forum to support coordination across the parliamentary service on administrative matters and to set the strategic direction of the service.

More broadly, the Clerk and other senior officers collaborated with their counterparts in the other parliamentary departments on matters connected to parliamentary administration.

More information on governance is in the ‘Management and accountability’ chapter.

Performance outlook

It is clear that the next reporting period, the final year in an electoral cycle, will continue to be affected by the uncertainties introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is nevertheless likely to see an increase in committee and legislative activity in the period leading into the election. The number of requests for advice should be consistent with 2020–21.

The office will publish a third supplement to the 14th edition of Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice. The supplement will document the procedural changes and temporary orders agreed by the Senate in relation to formal motions and its routine of business, and the evolution of procedures allowing for remote participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once that supplement is complete, work will commence on the 15th edition, which will mainly be progressed during the election period. That work is likely to include the development of a privilege manual for the Senate.

Induction and training for newly elected senators, and those undertaking new roles, will be the highest priority of the office towards the end of the next reporting period.

The department will continue to refine its corporate governance processes and systems, placing particular focus on implementing and reporting on improvements to the efficiency of its operations. In many cases, these efficiencies are achieved through improved integration of information technology systems into the processes of the Senate and its committees, and will therefore require close collaboration with our ICT colleagues in the Department of Parliamentary Services.