Following an order of the Senate on 13 May 2009, the Senate's eight legislative and general purpose standing committees each now comprise a pair of committees: A Legislation Committee whose purpose is to deal with bills referred by the Senate, the Estimates process and oversee the performance of departments, including their annual reports, and a References Committee whose purpose is to deal with all other matters referred by the Senate.

This reverts to a system that was in place between 1994 and 2006 when the eight legislative and general purpose standing committees of the Senate each had a legislation and a references committee. The committees will be governed by Senate Standing Order 25 which can be accessed at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/pubs/standing_orders/index.htm