The work in this program component is primarily performed by the Committee Office. The office supports House committees and certain joint committees in fulfilling their roles in parliamentary consideration of policy and legislation and scrutiny of the executive government. The support provided to committees in the conduct of inquiries and in other activities includes:

• providing procedural and inquiry-related advice to committee chairs and members

• undertaking research and analysing evidence received by committees

• arranging, and providing secretariat support to, committee meetings and public hearings

• assisting witnesses and the general public to participate in committee inquiries

• promoting the work of committees

• drafting committee reports.

Expenditure on these services in 2014–15 was $7.546 million, which was $0.747 million below the budget allocation of $8.293 million. Progress against the deliverable and key performance indicator for the component is summarised in Appendix 1. Staff levels, by location, are shown in Appendix 2.

Performance summary

Performance is measured through the department’s annual survey of members and through statistical information on committee activity.

A key indicator for the Committee Office is the level of satisfaction with committee advice and services reported by members in the annual survey. In 2014–15, 100 per cent of members stated that they were extremely satisfied, highly satisfied or satisfied with the provision of procedural advice, research, analytical, report drafting and administrative support. The level of member satisfaction has been consistently high over the years. (See Appendix 3 for more detail on the survey results.)

During 2014-15, committee activity returned to a level that is typical for a non-election year (see Table 7). The number of committees supported by the Committee Office increased from 18 at the start of the year to 20 at year end. The increase reflected the establishment of an additional joint select committee (the Joint Select Committee on Trade and Investment Growth) and the transfer of the secretariat for the Standing Committee on Petitions from the Chamber Research Office to the Committee Office in October 2014. The Chamber Research Office continued to provide some administrative support to the committee during the year.

The number of reports in 2014–15 is consistent with trend levels. The higher level of reporting in 2011–12 and 2012–13 reflected the unusually large number of bills inquiries conducted in the Forty-third Parliament.

Table 7 Performance summary, Committee Office, 2010–11 to 2014–15

a 2010–11 was an election year. Committees ceased to exist upon dissolution of the House (July to September 2010).
b 2013–14 was an election year. Committees ceased to exist upon dissolution of the House (August to November 2013).
c Members’ satisfaction rates represent the proportion of members who stated they were ‘satisfied’, ‘highly satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with committee services.
d Oral reports (shown in parentheses) may be given in discharge of a reference from the Selection Committee.
e Staff numbers as at 30 June each year.

The Clerk Assistant (Committees) met individually with all committee chairs during the final quarter of 2014, and received positive feedback on the performance of committee secretaries and other secretariat staff. The Committee Office consistently met support standards for providing briefing material and draft reports to committees. Secretariats generally provided timely, accurate and clear advice to chairs and committee members, and arranged public hearings and supported meetings of committees effectively and efficiently.

Comments from members acknowledging the work of secretariats in 2014–15

Comments made in the House by members when bills are being debated, or when committee reports are tabled, regularly acknowledge the work of secretariats. Following are some examples of the comments made during the reporting year.

• I also thank the secretariat for their outstanding organisational ability and excellent efforts through this inquiry.
• I thank the secretariat for their great support, whether it be in the hot desert near Woomera, or in the challenging environment of Bangkok or Djakarta.
• I thank the secretariat for their very professional advice and the manner in which they helped the committee in its consideration of this important legislation.
• Like the previous speakers, I want to acknowledge the work of the Chair and thank the secretariat, who, as we all know in this place, do an extraordinary amount of work.
• I also thank our secretariat, who are sitting here in the advisers’ gallery, for their wonderful work. They showed a great appreciation of the issues which were of concern to us and were of great assistance to us in coming to our deliberations.

Members of the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia during a visit to a Broome pearl farm as part of the inquiry into opportunities to expand the aquaculture industry in Northern Australia.

Committee activity

At 30 June 2015, nine Committee Office secretariats were supporting nine House general-purpose standing committees; 10 joint statutory, standing or select committees; and one domestic committee.

Committees supported by the Committee Office in 2014–15 are shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Committees of the Forty-fourth Parliament supported by the Committee Office, 2014–15

a In October 2014, the Petitions Committee secretariat was moved to the Committee Office, although the Chamber Research Office continued to provide some administrative support during the reporting period.

Note: Five other House committees, mainly those concerned with the domestic operations of the House, and the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings are supported by other areas of the department, and are discussed on pages 17–19. The Petitions Committee is also reported on there.

On 1 July 2014, the committees supported by the Committee Office had 32 ongoing inquiries. During 2014–15, the committees commenced 76 new inquiries and tabled 70 reports relating to 66 inquiries. At 30 June 2015, the committees had 42 ongoing inquiries. The inquiry-related activities of committees are summarised in Appendixes 5 and 6.

During the year the Committee Office supported a diverse range of inquiries and activities, as the following examples illustrate. The examples highlight the contribution that committees make to policy development and legislation, and the significant support role played by the department.

Scrutiny of legislation

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security completed 14 inquiries in 2014–15, including inquiries on four bills that formed part of the government’s national security measures. These bill inquiries attracted significant media focus and public scrutiny. Specialist secondee resources were utilised for two of the bill inquiries. Their technical expertise greatly assisted secretariat staff, given the complex nature of the bills and the tight inquiry timeframes. Across the four bill inquiries, the committee made 109 recommendations, all of which were supported by the government (one was supported in principle) and the bills were amended accordingly. In the second-reading debate in the House on one of the bills—the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014—28 of the 29 members participating in the debate referred specifically to the committee’s work.

The Committee Office supported the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) in scrutinising the operation of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which establishes a single resource management framework for all Commonwealth entities. The JCPAA played a significant role in the development of the framework, in particular focusing on managing risk, improving performance and accountability to the parliament and the public, and encouraging collaboration between agencies. In 2015–16, the JCPAA will continue its inquiry into the development of the Commonwealth performance framework to ensure an effective, integrated performance management and reporting system.

Complex logistics

The Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia presented its final report, titled Pivot north, during the year. The department supported the committee through 27 public hearings and 15 days of inspections across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The inquiry was wide-ranging and received 352 submissions and 99 exhibits, all of which were used in conjunction with the final report. The report served as a platform for development of the government’s policy on northern Australia.

The travel between remote locations combined with the short inquiry timeframe required secretariat staff to arrange extensive logistical support, including charter vehicles of all types. As a result of this work, the Committee Office developed a revised departmental charter policy.

The House Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs completed an inquiry into the harmful use of alcohol in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The committee consulted widely across Australia, visiting capital cities, rural areas and remote communities. The secretariat, in addition to providing research and procedural advice, provided highly effective logistical support to the committee to enable it to fulfil its challenging public hearing program.

Diverse inquiries

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties completed inquiries into the Korea–Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Japan–Australia Free Trade Agreement, which generated considerable public interest, particularly the Korea–Australia Free Trade Agreement. The committee recommended the passage of both treaties.

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters completed its inquiry into the 2013 federal election and presented a second interim report and final report. In these and the earlier first interim report on Senate voting practices, the committee presented a wide-ranging set of recommendations for consideration in future electoral processes. In supporting the inquiry, secretariat staff received valuable assistance from a specialist secondee from the Australian Electoral Commission.

In October 2014, the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Industry tabled the report of its inquiry into country-of-origin labelling for food. Titled A clearer message for consumers, the report sought to identify solutions to a policy issue that had been investigated several times in the previous decade with varying degrees of success. In early 2015, public health concerns about imported frozen berries brought food labelling to prominence. The government’s response included the announcement of significant reforms of food labelling policy.

The Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee undertook an inquiry into the government’s response to the committee’s 2013 report Troubled waters: inquiry into the arrangements surrounding crimes at sea. The inquiry is believed to be the first time a committee has inquired into a government response and was a result of the committee’s concern that the response was 10 months late and agreed with only two of the 11 recommendations. The inquiry provided an opportunity for the committee to reinforce the importance of its earlier report and the recommendations, and to ensure that a more detailed response was provided. Following the inquiry, the committee made three new recommendations.

Non-inquiry activity

The Auditor-General is a significant stakeholder in and contributor to the work of the committees, and the Committee Office maintains a productive working relationship with Australian National Audit Office staff. As an independent officer of the parliament, the Auditor-General is responsible for ensuring accountability and transparency in the delivery of government programs and services. The JCPAA has a statutory duty under the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 to approve or reject a proposed recommendation for appointment to the office of Auditor-General.

On 14 May 2015, the JCPAA approved the appointment of Mr Grant Hehir as the new Auditor-General. The Auditor-General is appointed by the Governor-General, under the Auditor-General Act 1997, for a term of 10 years, and Mr Hehir commenced office on 11 June 2015. Prior to his appointment, Mr Hehir was the New South Wales Auditor-General. The JCPAA acknowledged the significant achievements of Mr Ian McPhee AO PSM, who served as Auditor-General for the past 10 years.

The Defence Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade conducts an annual program of briefings on and inspections of Defence units and facilities. The 2014–15 program was structured around the themes of Defence strategy, policy and budget; current operations; emerging threats and capabilities; and personnel, preparedness and sustainment. Secretariat staff—and in particular the Defence Advisor, who is a Defence officer on secondment—arrange the program, in conjunction with the Department of Defence. During the year, the sub-committee:

• inspected NUSHIP Canberra, the Navy’s new amphibious assault ship, which was nearing completion at Williamstown shipyard in Victoria

• spent a day at sea with the crew of HMAS Canberra undergoing work-up training off Jervis Bay

• visited the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and ASC Pty Ltd’s submarine facilities in Adelaide

• inspected Navy Base HMAS Stirling and the Special Air Service Regiment in Western Australia

• visited the Avalon International Airshow, and observed C-130 Hercules capability while in transit to inspect units at RAAF Base Amberley.

Inspections provide members with a unique insight into the Defence organisation and its operation that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. They also allow members to interact with Defence personnel and hear, firsthand, about the delivery of Australia’s vital defence capabilities.

Members of the Defence Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade inspecting a C-17A Globemaster aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley.

Government responses to committee reports

The government is obliged, by resolution of the House, to respond to recommendations contained in a report by a House or joint committee within six months of the report’s presentation.

Under the terms of the resolution, committees may bring an outstanding response to the attention of the Auditor-General or the Speaker. During the year, for the first time, a committee sought the assistance of the Speaker in resolving an outstanding response. The Speaker then wrote to all ministers informing them of the approach she would follow when receiving such requests. At the request of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker informed members of the Liaison Committee of Chairs and Deputy Chairs of the approach. The report in question was responded to.

The Speaker presented three schedules during the year listing government responses to House and joint committee reports and responses outstanding. At the start of the year, 51 reports of committees supported by the Committee Office that required a government response had not yet received one. Of these, 43 responses had been outstanding for more than six months. In 2014–15 the government tabled 28 responses to reports of committees supported by the Committee Office (13 in 2013–14), and committees presented 31 reports requiring a response (7 in 2013–14). At year end, 41 reports were yet to receive a response, and of these, 25 had been outstanding for more than six months.

The government responses presented during the year included responses to some important reports from previous parliaments:

• a report by the House Standing Committee on Regional Australia, Cancer of the bush or salvation for our cities? Fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out workforce practices in regional Australia

• a report by the House Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Resources, Netting the benefits—inquiry into the role of science for the future of fisheries and aquaculture

• two reports by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Trading lives: modern day human trafficking and Australia’s trade and investment relationship with Japan and the Republic of Korea

• a discussion paper that followed a roundtable held by the House Standing Committee on Health and Ageing in March 2012 on the late effects of polio/post-polio syndrome.

Liaison Committee of Chairs and Deputy Chairs

The department supports the Liaison Committee of Chairs and Deputy Chairs. While this committee has formal processes, and is chaired by the Deputy Speaker, it is not a formal committee of the parliament but a forum for chairs and deputy chairs of committees administered by the House to discuss aspects of committee administration and support. The Liaison Committee met three times during 2014–15, in October 2014 and March and June 2015.

A focus of the Liaison Committee during 2014–15 was to support committees in enhancing their effectiveness. The committee also focused on informing members of the avenues available to committees to require government responses to committee reports, under the terms of the relevant resolution of the House. The Auditor-General was invited to the committee’s meeting in March to brief the committee on actions he could take to resolve matters referred to in reports for which responses were outstanding.

International visits

The Australian Parliament’s outgoing delegations program includes annual visits to the Asia– Pacific region, New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China, assigned on rotation to House, Senate and joint committees.

In July 2014, the secretariat of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works supported committee members during their visit to Indonesia and Thailand. The aim of the delegation was two-fold. The first was to inspect existing Australian embassy facilities in Jakarta and Bangkok and examine progress on construction of new purpose-built facilities. The second was to develop an improved understanding of how the new purpose-built facilities will help to support Australia’s diplomatic presence and the full range of activities intended to strengthen bilateral relationships with Indonesia and Thailand. The visit afforded committee members a unique opportunity to develop an enhanced appreciation of the complexities associated with managing and delivering large capital works projects overseas and the crucial role played by the two embassies in strengthening Australia’s strategic and commercial presence in the region.

In July and August 2014, the secretariat of the House Standing Committee on Economics supported a visit to the People’s Republic of China. The main aims of the visit were to gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy; to learn about China’s economic reform agenda, its banking and non-bank lending sectors, and its trade and investment relationship with Australia; and to consider where opportunities might exist to strengthen ties between the two countries. From this visit, the committee gained a greater understanding of the economic situation in China and the ways in which Australia’s trade and investment relationship with China could be enhanced and consolidated.

In 2015–16, the JCPAA will travel to Fiji and New Zealand, and the House Standing Committee on the Environment will visit Malaysia and Singapore. Two additional committee visits are planned in July 2015. The Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will travel to the Middle East, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security will travel to the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

Capability development

The Committee Office is led and managed by the Clerk Assistant (Committees) in conjunction with committee secretaries and the Director of the Office of the Clerk Assistant (Committees). Weekly meetings were held throughout the year (except in recess periods) to discuss departmental and office management and secretariat staffing and resource issues.

The department undertook recruitment for the business-critical ongoing positions of committee secretary (two external officers were engaged and two internal officers promoted), inquiry secretary (process in train at year end) and Committee Office research and administrative staff (four external officers were engaged and three internal officers were promoted), and recruitment for several vacancies for non-ongoing positions.

Committee Office debriefs and ‘Inside Committee’ sessions were held approximately six-weekly during the year. The debrief sessions are led by different secretariats and provide an opportunity for informal discussion of experiences and issues relating to committee support, including procedural, administrative and cultural matters. The ‘Inside Committee’ sessions are one-hour presentations by senior staff on committee operations. Many staff also participated in the department’s leadership training and other training and development activities.

The Committee Office hosted three graduates from the department’s graduate program and two Department of Defence graduates. The office also hosted placements for committee staff members from the Legislative Assembly of Victoria and the National Assembly of Kenya, and presented to a visiting official parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and visiting international parliamentary staff from Pakistan and from the Bahrain National Assembly. The secretariat of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties met with a group from the Royal Government of Bhutan who were in Australia to study the Australian treaty-making process. Australia was identified as a country with a well-established system with features that may be useful in the development of Bhutan’s process.

Guides and manuals

Revised Committee Office brochures and revised Working with parliamentary committees guides were published at the start of the year (see Appendix 7 for a full list of the department’s publications). The brochures are available on the department’s website and on the members’ portal, and the guides are available on the members’ portal.

The Committee Office’s procedure and practice manual and administrative manual were comprehensively updated and revised and published on the department’s intranet during the year. A briefing session was held to inform staff of the major changes.

Information and communications technology projects

The Committee Office continued its involvement in several ICT projects aimed at improving operational efficiency and maintaining a high standard of service to committee members and other stakeholders.

Database development and consolidation

Collaboration with the Department of the Senate continued on the Shared Committee Information Database (SCID). This custom-built program enables members of the public to lodge submissions online. It doubles as a management tool for committee inquiry information and a tool for publishing submissions, public hearing information and other information on the Parliament of Australia website. It replaces a number of outdated database and publishing tools used in the Committee Office.

An important development during the year was the testing of a new report template, Report Builder, which draws on information from SCID and enables publication of reports in multiple formats (PDF, HTML and eBook). The office is planning to use the template to generate HTML and eBook versions of reports that have already been tabled in the Forty-fourth Parliament.

Following an internal audit review in the Department of the Senate, the SCID Board was re-established under revised terms of reference to provide governance of the project. The Clerk Assistant (Committees) is the initial chair of the committee. The new board held its first meeting in June 2015, and the aim is to finalise the project and transfer support functions to the Department of Parliamentary Services in 2015.

Content management

The capability of Committee Office staff in using Sitecore was further developed. Sitecore is a content management system that is used to author, publish and manage content on the Parliament of Australia website. It provides an easy-to-use interface for editing and authoring web content; a publishing approval workflow that prevents content from being inadvertently published to the website; and automatic updating of links when web content is moved or web pages are renamed.

Wherever possible, standard content drawn from SCID, such as committee contact details and membership, is automatically added to the website.

Electronic access to committee documents

The department worked with the Department of Parliamentary Services to roll out an enhanced means of accessing committee documents on CommDocs from iPads. The enhanced access is provided through a MobileIron Web@Work browser. The browser enables access to web resources internal to the parliament through a secure platform. It gives committee members ready access to committee papers on the secure CommDocs site from their iPads without having to use the Citrix interface. Committee secretariat staff can assist committee members with CommDocs via iPads.

Members have welcomed the benefits provided by electronic access to papers, especially when travelling.

Electronic petitioning

In February 2015, the government announced its decision to support the recommendation of the Petitions Committee for the introduction of electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives. The Committee Office then submitted a request to the Department of Parliamentary Services seeking updated costings for the development of electronic petitioning for the House. The response was under consideration at year end.

Improving performance

During the year, the Committee Office had a focus on capability development through limited recruitment, continued training and development, effective performance management and process improvement, particularly in the area of ICT. The ongoing aim is to achieve enhanced capability, and progress was made during the year.

The office contributed to a review of the department’s performance management system. An important change arising from the review was the requirement for new supervisors to be informed if any staff members had received a ‘needs development’ rating in the previous reporting cycle. The Committee Office work objectives for all staff levels were reviewed and updated to align with the revised system, streamlining the process of setting work objectives for the 2014–15 performance cycle.

The departmental planning day was held on 18 September 2014. Committee Office staff attended, and a number of committee-related matters were discussed during the sessions, including parliamentary staff as conduits for the community’s engagement with parliament and its committees and increased flexibility of allocating staff in the Committee Office based on operational needs.

Outlook

The activity of committees is expected to continue at a high level in 2015–16. With the House due to expire in November 2016, pressure to complete inquiries and reports is likely to increase during the year. The Committee Office will also need to plan for the election period and schedule the project work and other activity to be undertaken during the period.

In the coming year, committee members will continue to require highly professional services from the Committee Office. Developing the capability of staff, particularly in the use of committee-based ICT resources, will remain a priority for the office. This will include drawing more on the capability of existing ‘super users’ in the office. We will also continue to work with the Department of the Senate and the Department of Parliamentary Services on developing and consolidating ICT resources to facilitate the work of committees.