Other powers
In relation to powers other than legislative powers, the Constitution provides that the “powers, privileges and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House, shall be such as are declared by the Parliament, and until declared shall be those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and of its members and committees, at the establishment of the Commonwealth” (s. 49).
In 1987 the Parliamentary Privileges Act was enacted by the Parliament under this section. The powers conferred by section 49 and the statute are dealt with in Chapter 2, Parliamentary Privilege.