House of Representatives Committees

Selection Committee

Committee establishment, role and history

The Selection Committee is established under standing order 222 (PDF 219KB, page 89) to:

arrange the timetable and order of committee and delegation business and private Members’ business for each sitting Monday (in accordance with standing orders 39 to 41, PDF 369KB, pages 28-31);
recommend items of private Members’ business to be voted on;
select bills that the committee regards as controversial or as requiring further consultation or debate for referral to the relevant standing or joint committee (in accordance with standing order 143, PDF 313KB, page 63). One member of the committee is sufficient to select a bill for referral; and
set speaking times for second reading debates subject to standing order 1 (PDF 549KB, page 1).

In relation to private Members' bills, the Committee may determine speaking times for debate on the second reading and, if the motion for the second reading is agreed to, further consideration of the bill is accorded priority over other private Members’ business and the Committee may determine times for consideration of the remaining stages (standing order 41(e), PDF 369KB, page 30).

Previous committees

In the Forty-second Parliament, a meeting of whips undertook the selection of committee and delegation business and private Members' business, while in the Forty-first Parliament, a Selection Committee performed this function. Neither the meeting of whips, nor the earlier Selection Committee had the roles of recommending items of private Members' business to be voted on, selecting bills for referral to committees or setting speaking times for second reading debates; these roles are new features of how business is to be conducted in the Forty-third Parliament. A full list of reports tabled by the Committee and its predecessors is available online together with reports completed since 2004.