12 Indexed lists of departmental and agency files

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each department or agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than the tenth day of the spring and autumn sittings, a letter of advice that an indexed list of the titles of all relevant files, including new parts of existing files, created in the preceding six months commencing on 1 January and on 1 July, respectively, has been placed on the Internet.
2. Each department and agency shall provide, on its Internet home page, access to an indexed list of the titles of all relevant files, including new parts of existing files, created from 1 January 1998 in the central office of that department or agency (departments and agencies may choose to maintain online an indexed list of all new files created from that date or to maintain online an indexed list of, as a minimum, the most recent year's file creations).
3. For the purposes of this resolution:

   "autumn sittings" means the period of sittings of the Senate first commencing on a day after 1 January in any year;

   "indexed list" means a list in which file titles may be grouped by classifications used internally within departments or agencies, such as "policy", "legislation", "advisings", etc.

   "relevant files" includes files relating to the policy advising functions of the department or agency, including any relating to the development of legislation and other matters of public administration, but need not include:

   1. files transferred to the Australian Archives;
   2. case related files (e.g., personal representations or dealing with the personal affairs of departmental or agency clients or taxpayers); and
   3. files essentially related to the internal administration of the department or agency (e.g., staff or personnel matters);

   "spring sittings" means the period of sittings of the Senate first commencing on a day after 31 July in any year; and

   "title" means the name or title of the file, excluding any part of that name or title which would necessarily disclose commercially confidential, identifiably personal or national security matters.

4. This order is of continuing effect.

(30 May 1996 J.279, amended 3 December 1998 J.265)

13 Entity contracts

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each entity administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than 2 calendar months after the last day of the financial and calendar year, a letter of advice that:
   1. a list of contracts in accordance with paragraph (2) has been placed on the Internet, with access to the list through the entity's home page; and
   2. includes an assurance by the entity head that the listed contracts do not contain any inappropriate confidentiality provisions.
2. Order 1(b) takes effect from 1 July 2017.
3. The list of contracts referred to in paragraph (1) indicate:
   1. each contract entered into by the entity which has not been fully performed or which has been entered into during the previous 12 months, and which provides for a consideration to the value of $100 000 or more;
   2. the contractor, the amount of the consideration and the subject matter of each such contract, the commencement date of the contract, the duration of the contract, the relevant reporting period and the twelve-month period relating to the contract listings;
   3. whether each such contract contains provisions requiring the parties to maintain confidentiality of any of its provisions, or whether there are any other requirements of confidentiality, and a statement of the reasons for the confidentiality; and
   4. an estimate of the cost of complying with this order and a statement of the method used to make the estimate.
4. For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) as it applies to procurement contracts only, access from an entity's home page may include a link to a complying report on AusTender. If an entity has contracts to report other than procurement contracts, there must be a dedicated link to a list of such contracts from an entity's home page in addition to any link to AusTender.
5. If a list under paragraph (1) does not fully comply with the requirements of paragraph (2), the letter under paragraph (1) indicate the extent of, and reasons for, non-compliance, and when full compliance is expected to be achieved. Examples of non-compliance may include:
   1. the list is not up to date;
   2. not all relevant entities are included; and
   3. contracts all of which are confidential are not included.
6. Where no contracts have been entered into by an entity, the letter under paragraph (1) is to advise accordingly.
7. In respect of contracts identified as containing provisions of the kind referred to in paragraph (2)(c), the Auditor-General be requested to provide to the Senate, by not later than 30 September 2016 and 30 September 2018, a report indicating that the Auditor-General has examined a number of such contracts selected by the Auditor-General, and indicating whether any inappropriate use of such provisions was detected in that examination.
8. In respect of letters including matter under paragraph (3), the Auditor-General be requested to indicate in a report under paragraph (5) that the Auditor-General has examined a number of contracts, selected by the Auditor-General, which have not been included in a list, and to indicate whether the contracts should be listed.
9. The Finance and Public Administration References Committee consider the ongoing operation of the order and report on relevant developments from time to time.
10. This order has effect on and after 1 July 2001.
11. In this order:

    "complying report on AusTender" means a report in respect of an individual entity that meets the requirements of this order in respect of procurement contracts;

    "entity" means a Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, but does not include a trading Public Non-financial Corporation as classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics;

    "inappropriate confidentiality provision" means a confidentiality provision that is not in accordance with guidance issued by the Department of Finance on compliance with this order and approved by the Finance and Public Administration References Committee; and

    "previous 12 months" means the period of 12 months ending on either 31 December or 30 June in any year, as the case may be.

12. Until 1 July 2017, entity is taken to mean a non-corporate Commonwealth entity within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

(20 June 2001 J.4358, amended 27 September 2001 J.4994, 18 June 2003 J.1881, 26 June 2003 J.2011, 4 December 2003 J.2851, 1 March 2007 J.3527, 14 May 2015 J.2601)

14 Agency advertising and public information projects

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, a statement in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this order.
2. A statement be tabled in respect of each advertising or public information project undertaken by each agency where the cost of the project is estimated or contracted to be $100 000 or more.
3. A statement be tabled within 5 sitting days of the Senate after the project is approved. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement be presented to the President under standing order 166.
4. A statement indicate:
   1. the purpose and nature of the project;
   2. the intended recipients of the information to be communicated by the project;
   3. who authorised the project;
   4. the manner in which the project is to be carried out;
   5. who is to carry out the project;
   6. whether the project is to be carried out under a contract;
   7. whether such contract was let by tender;
   8. the estimated or contracted cost of the project;
   9. whether every part of the project conforms with the Audit and JCPAA guidelines; and
   10. if the project in any part does not conform with those guidelines, the extent of, and reasons for, the nonconformity.
5. In this order, "Audit and JCPAA guidelines" means the guidelines set out in Report No. 12 of 1998-99 of the Auditor-General, entitled Taxation Reform: community education and information programme, and Report No. 377 of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, entitled Guidelines for Government Advertising, respectively.

(29 October 2003 J.2641)

15 Departmental and agency appointments and vacancies

That—

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each department or agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than 7 days before the commencement of the budget estimates, supplementary budget estimates and additional estimates hearings:
   1. a list of all appointments made by the Government (through Executive Council, Cabinet and ministers) to statutory authorities, executive agencies, advisory boards, government business enterprises and all other Commonwealth bodies including the term of the appointment and remuneration for the position and the place of permanent residence by state or territory of the appointee; and
   2. a list of existing vacancies to be filled by government appointment to statutory authorities, executive agencies, advisory boards, government business enterprises and all other Commonwealth bodies.
2. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
3. This order is of continuing effect.

(24 June 2008 J.589, amended 12 May 2009 J.1880)

16 Departmental and agency grants

That—

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each department or agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than 7 days before the commencement of the budget estimates, supplementary budget estimates and additional estimates hearings:

   A list of all grants approved in each portfolio or agency, including the value of the grant, recipient of the grant and the program from which the grant was made.

2. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
3. This order is of continuing effect.

(24 June 2008 J.590)

17 Shipping Grants Legislation Bill 1996

There be laid on the table of the Senate, on or before the final sitting day of each calendar year, a report setting out developments and progress in relation to the matters raised in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the resolution of the Senate of 29 November 1996.

Paragraphs (a) and (b) of the resolution are as follows:

The Senate:

1. calls on the government to pursue multilateral agreements in all possible international fora to:
   1. ensure that there are international standards for conditions, treatment, receipt of pay, and occupational safety adequate to protect the human rights of seafarers,
   2. ensure that there are international standards for safety, including minimum levels of crew actively present and attentive on the deck or bridge, and
   3. actively support, propose and lobby for agreements by other nations that nations have a duty to inspect ships and enforce compliance with such international standards;
2. calls on the government to pursue multilateral agreements in all possible international fora to include in an international comprehensive liability regime:
   1. compensation for environmental harm, and non-economic loss from marine-based pollution, and
   2. compensation for any efforts that need to be taken in defence of the rights of seafarers, including legal costs and the costs of repatriation.

(Agreed to 29 November 1996 J.1161)

Note: Agreed to by means of an amendment to the motion that the Shipping Grants Legislation Bill 1996 be read a second time.

18 Health – Assessment reports by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

There be laid on the table as soon as practicable after the end of each period of 12 months ending on or after 30 June 2003, a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission containing an assessment of any anti-competitive or other practices by health funds or providers which reduce the extent of health cover for consumers and increase their out-of-pocket medical and other expenses.

(Agreed to 25 March 1999 J.626, amended 18 September 2002 J.761)

Note: Agreed to by means of an amendment to the motion that the report of the committee on the Health Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 1999 be adopted.

19 Defence – Review of materiel acquisition projects – Report by the Auditor-General

That the Senate request the Auditor-General:

1. to produce, on an annual basis, a report on progress in major defence projects, detailing cost, time and technical performance data for each project;
2. to model the report on that ordered by the British House of Commons and produced by the United Kingdom Comptroller and Auditor General; and
3. to include in the report such analysis of performance and emerging trends as will enable the Parliament to have high visibility of all current and pending major projects.

(14 May 2003 J.1799)

Note: Part of a longer resolution adopting recommendations of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee report on materiel acquisition and management in Defence.

20 Trade – Free trade agreements

That the Senate—

1. notes that the United States Trade Representative has undertaken to publish the full text of all free trade agreements negotiated on behalf of the United States of America (US) 'well before' signing to invite further comments from the US Congress and the US people;
2. resolves that the Australian Senate and the people of Australia are entitled to scrutinise proposed agreements before signing; and
3. orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Trade, the full text of the proposed Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and other bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements at least 14 days before signing.

(11 December 2013 J.342)

21 Estimates hearings – Unanswered questions on notice

That—

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each department or agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than 10 days before the commencement of the budget estimates, supplementary budget estimates and additional estimates hearings, a statement showing:
   1. the number of questions taken on notice at the previous round of estimates hearings;
   2. the number of answers provided to the committee by the date set by the committee for answers; and
   3. of those answers not provided to the committee by the due date, the dates on which answers were provided to the approving minister's office.
2. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
3. This order is of continuing effect.

(25 June 2014 J.1003)

22 Former ministers – Meetings

That—

1. There be laid on the table, by each minister in the Senate, in respect of each Commonwealth Department or Agency administered by that minister, or by a minister in the House of Representatives represented by that minister, by not later than 7 days before the commencement of the budget estimates, supplementary budget estimates and additional estimates hearings, a statement in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this order:
   A statement, covering the period since the previous statement was tabled, in respect of each former minister, listing:
   1. all meetings, including teleconferences, at which lobbying, advocacy or the consideration of business took place, including date, location and duration, between current ministers, secretaries or deputy secretaries (or equivalent), of any Commonwealth Department or Agency and former ministers;
   2. how many people attended or participated and the capacities in which people attended or participated; and
   3. what topics were considered at each of the meetings.
2. This order has immediate effect with the first statement for 2016-17 additional estimates covering all meetings from the date of commencement of this order to 7 days prior to additional estimates.
3. In this order:
   1. “Commonwealth Department or Agency” means a Commonwealth entity, other than the Parliamentary Departments and the Office of the Official Secretary of the Governor-General, within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; and
   2. “former minister” means a person who is no longer a member of the Australian Parliament and who has been a minister in the 18 months prior to the estimates hearing at which the statement is due.
4. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
5. This order is of continuing effect.

(23 November 2016 J.580)

23 Report on outstanding orders for documents

1. That there be laid on the table by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, not later than 2 calendar months after the last day of each financial year and calendar year, a list showing details of all orders for the production of documents made during the current Parliament which have not been complied with in full, together with a statement indicating whether resistance to them is maintained and why, and detailing any changing circumstances that might allow reconsideration of earlier refusals.
2. This order is of continuing effect.

(7 December 2017 J.2534)

23A Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory – Quarterly updates

1. That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, by not later than 5 calendar months after each:
   1. 31 March;
   2. 30 June;
   3. 30 September; and
   4. 31 December
   the quarterly update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
2. If the Senate is not sitting when a quarterly update is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
3. This order is of continuing effect.

(17 October 2018 J.3977)

23B Protection visas

1. The Senate notes that the Australian public has a right to know vital information that is held within the Department of Home Affairs, and that regular and timely information should be reported to the Senate and the Australian people to provide oversight and transparency on activities of the Department.
2. That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, by not later than 14 days after each:
   1. 31 January;
   2. 28 February;
   3. 31 March;
   4. 30 April;
   5. 31 May;
   6. 30 June;
   7. 31 July;
   8. 31 August;
   9. 30 September;
   10. 31 October;
   11. 30 November; and
   12. 31 December;
       a monthly update of onshore protection visa lodgements.
3. Each monthly update must include:
   1. the total number of protection visa lodgements made onshore during the period;
   2. the total number of protection visa lodgements made onshore at airports, by airport and state, during the period;
   3. the total number of individuals, by country of origin, that made a lodgement for a protection visa onshore during the period;
   4. the total number of individuals, by age and gender, that made a lodgement for a protection visa onshore during the period;
   5. the total number of refugee status determinations made during the period;
   6. the total number of individuals granted a Final Protection Visa during the period;
   7. the total number of individuals, by country of origin, granted a Final Protection Visa during the period, and the grant rate;
   8. the total number of individuals, by age and gender, granted a Final Protection Visa during the period, and the grant rate;
   9. the total number of individuals that were not granted a Final Protection Visa during the period, and the grant rate;
   10. the total number of individuals, by country of origin, that were not granted a Final Protection Visa during the period, and the grant rate;
   11. the total number of individuals, by age and gender, that were not granted a Final Protection Visa during the period, and the grant rate;
   12. the total number of individuals that were not granted a Final Protection Visa that were deported during the period, and the deportation rate;
   13. the total number of refugee status determinations awaiting a decision at the end of the period; and
   14. the total number of individuals that were not granted a Final Protection Visa that have yet to be deported at the end of the period.
4. If the Senate is not sitting when a monthly update is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
5. This order is of continuing effect.

(14 November 2019 J.852)

23C Emissions projections

1. That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, by not later than the last sitting day of each year, the report detailing Australia’s estimated future greenhouse gas emissions, Australia’s Emissions Projections.
2. This order is of continuing effect.

(25 November 2019 J.894)

23D Australian Research Council - grant recommendations

1. That there be laid on the table, by the Minister responsible for the Australian Research Council, or when that minister is in the House of Representatives, the minister in the Senate representing that minister, by not later than 15 days after the end of each calendar month, a letter of advice that a list, meeting the requirements of paragraph (2), of all Australian Research Council grant recommendations received by the responsible minister each month, has been published on the internet.
2. The list of grant recommendations must be published in a machine readable format and specify the following information for each recommendation:
   1. identification or application number;
   2. title of application;
   3. scheme or stream;
   4. date received by the responsible minister;
   5. whether the grant was approved or not approved by the responsible minister;
   6. date of the responsible minister’s decision;
   7. date the applicant was informed of the grant outcome;
   8. the amount of funding granted (if any); and
   9. whether the grant was publicly announced and, if so, the date of the announcement.
3. If the Senate is not sitting when the letter is ready for presentation, the letter is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
4. This order is of continuing effect.

(27 February 2020 J.1511)

23E Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines

1. That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Finance, by no later than 30 April of each calendar year:
   1. all reports and correspondence received by the Minister for Finance under paragraph 4.12 of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017 during the preceding calendar year (noting that the Guidelines do not apply to all grant administrators, including not applying to the allocation of funding by Sports Australia under the Community Sport Infrastructure Grants program (‘Sports Rorts’)); and
   2. a summary of the decisions reported under paragraph 4.12 of the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines 2017, including the Central Budget Management System program title, sub-program, grant activity, grantee, total grant value, grant funding location, postcode, and a brief statement of reason for the decision.
2. If the Senate is not sitting when the documents are ready for presentation, the documents are to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
3. This order is of continuing effect.

(12 May 2020 J.1644)

23F COVID-19 vaccination certificates

1. That there be laid on the table, by the Minister representing the Minister for Government Services, by not later than the third business day of each month, a report, setting out, for the previous calendar month:
   1. the number of COVID-19 vaccination certificates issued;
   2. the total number of COVID-19 vaccination certificates issued to date;
   3. the number of COVID-19 vaccination certificates uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register;
   4. the number of COVID-19 vaccination certificates made available on the myGov app;
   5. the number of COVID-19 vaccination certificates made available on the Medicare Express Plus app; and
   6. the average number of days between an individual receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and a COVID-19 vaccination certificate being made available to them.
2. The first report is due on the third business day of April 2021 covering the period 1 March to 31 March 2021.
3. If the Senate is not sitting when an update is ready for presentation, the report is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
4. This order is of continuing effect until 31 December 2022.

(18 March 2021 J.3367, amended 31 August 2021 J.4030)