Overview
Committee Office secretariats supported 16 legislation and references standing committees, nine Senate select committees, two joint select committees and four other joint committees (see figure 12). The office of the Clerk Assistant (Committees) also provides the secretariat to the Chairs' Committee which is chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate.
Secretariats supporting these committees continued to experience a high workload, with large numbers of inquiries and hearings taking place, including by way of video and teleconference. The cost of the office in 2023–24 was $12.3m ($10.7m in 2022–23), with staff salaries comprising approximately 91 per cent of the office's total expenses.
The remaining costs were administrative (for example, printing, venue hire and transport and accommodation for secretariat staff attending hearings that were not held in Australian Parliament House). Committee secretariats provided administrative support to committees to allow them to undertake their inquiries in accordance with the rules of the Senate, and in a way that was consistent with decisions made by the committees themselves. Secretariat staff processed submissions, correspondence and answers to questions on notice, published a range of material to committee websites, arranged private meetings and briefings, liaised with witnesses and stakeholders, and arranged public hearings and site inspections around Australia, including by video and teleconference. Committee Office staff analysed and collated the evidence committees received, drafted briefing material and reports, arranged for the tabling and publication of reports, and assisted witnesses and others to participate in inquiries. In addition, secretariats provided timely and practical procedural advice to chairs, committee members and other stakeholders, and responded to requests for information from members of the public about the operation and activities of committees, and about committee practice and procedure.
Committees continued to make effective use of video and teleconference facilities to hold public hearings and private meetings and briefings. This ensured that committees could receive the evidence they required in order to meet their inquiry and reporting obligations, and enabled them to hear from a wide range of witnesses from around Australia, and internationally in some circumstances.
Feedback from members of committees when reports are tabled or debated in the Senate, and in the House of Representatives in relation to certain joint committees, and provided informally during the year, indicates that committee members are generally satisfied with the quality of the advice and support that is provided by secretariats. As reported in previous financial years, senators have provided ongoing feedback about service development and improvements, which includes the ability for committees to visually broadcast their interstate public hearings, and for targeted training for committee chairs. Training for committee chairs and their staff has been offered to all chairs, and all new senators.
The department's collaborative work with the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Department of the House of Representatives resulted in a trial of the visual broadcast of some public hearings held outside of Canberra during the 2023–24 financial year. Feedback from committee members indicates that they were very satisfied with the trial and consider that the ability to visually broadcast hearings that are held outside of Australian Parliament House in Canberra is an important way to improve access to the work of committees. The department will continue to work with colleagues in the Department of Parliamentary Services to explore options for this trial to become an ongoing service.
Feedback from committee chairs, other senators and senators' staff is a valuable source of information for the department to undertake continuous improvement of our services. In this financial year we consolidated the use of a consistent file sharing system across secretariats to make accessing information more efficient for committee members and their staff, developed and published new digital resources to assist committee chairs, their staff and other senators, and implemented electronic tabling of certain information received by committees to improve administrative efficiency.
Activity levels and workload
The workload of the Committee Office is determined by decisions of the Senate and of the committees themselves. During this reporting period, the Committee Office continued to deliver secretariat, research and drafting services and administrative support to committees to enable them to conduct inquiries and table reports consistent with the timeframes set by the Senate and decisions made by committees. The highest number of inquiries managed at one time was 66.
Submissions, public hearings and witnesses
The volume of work undertaken by committee secretariats during 2023–24 is demonstrated by the increased level of administrative support provided to committees. This included processing 8,831 submissions, which is more than double the number of submissions published in the previous reporting period. In addition to publishing and processing this high level of submissions, secretariats arranged 252 public hearings (including 82 estimates hearings) at which 7,184 witnesses appeared. Secretariats supported committees by arranging 538 private meetings (up from 508 in the previous year) and 16 site inspections.
Figure 13 – Number of committee hearings, 2020–21 to 2023–24
To manage this volume of work, the office continued to operate flexibly with staff regularly working across secretariats, supporting different committees, and joining staff in other programs within the department on cross-program project teams when their workload permitted. Demonstrating professional flexibility and being able to pivot quickly to meet the changing demands of the Senate and its committees is a key capability of Committee Office staff, and supports the department's ongoing ability to deliver high quality services. In addition, it allows staff to expand their professional skills and develop relationships across teams and the parliamentary departments. Informal feedback from senators and their staff and from Senate officers indicates that this flexibility is highly valued, and assists the department to effectively manage risk across service delivery and workforce capability.
Estimates hearings
The 2023–24 supplementary Budget estimates hearings took place in October 2023. Additional Budget estimates were then held in February 2024, followed by the 2024–25 Budget hearings in May and June 2024. As shown in figure 13, there were 82 estimates hearings, down from 91 hearings in the previous period. During these estimates hearings, 2,923 witnesses appeared.
Committees continued to make use of video and teleconference facilities to allow for remote participation when agreed by the committee.
References and reports
In addition to the 66 legislation inquiries established during the year, committees inquired into and reported on diverse topics including supermarket prices, artificial intelligence (AI), integrity of consultancy services, cost of living pressures, shut down of 3G mobile network, bank closures in regional Australia, impact and mitigation of aircraft noise, issues relating to menopause and perimenopause, wrongful detention of Australia citizens overseas and Australia's retirement system.
Figure 14 – Number of references to committees, 2020–21 to 2023–24
The office supported committees to table a total of 189 reports. Figure 15 indicates how the election cycle impacts the number of reports tabled during the year.
Figure 15 – Reports presented by all committees supported by the Committee Office 2020–21 to 2023–24
Each committee report, while initially drafted by Committee Office staff, is, in the end, a committee document which reflects the views of members of the committee undertaking the inquiry.
Public information
Providing accurate, accessible and relevant public information about the work of Senate committees is an area of continuing focus.
The Committee Office continued to work with the Senate Public Information Office and the Department of Parliamentary Services on projects to improve the tools, systems and processes for drafting and publishing reports, and to manage the high volume of submissions and answers to questions on notice provided to committees during estimates and other hearings. Tools, systems and processes that enable prompt, accessible publication of committee evidence and reports are an essential part of the Committee Office's responsibility to ensure committee information is processed, analysed and published in a timely way. They also ensure that information is relevant and accessible, that senators are satisfied with services provided and that efficiencies can be realised.
To further develop these systems and processes, the Office of the Senior Clerk continued work to deliver a dedicated project team responsible for Committee Office-specific ICT, web publishing support and training, induction of new staff, and progressing ICT projects in collaboration with the Senate Public Information Office and the Department of Parliamentary Services. Notably, a redeveloped version of the Committee Office's bespoke drafting program, Report Builder, that was delivered in collaboration with the Department of the House of Representatives and the Department of Parliamentary Services in the previous financial year was operationalised, and training undertaken to ensure that efficiencies from the program could be realised, freeing up staff time to effectively manage a consistently high workload.
The Committee Office Executive, comprising the Office of the Senior Clerk and the Office of the Clerk Assistant (Committees), continued their focus on recording, analysing and publishing statistics and data generated by the Committee Office, including the twice- yearly publication Work of Committees and ensuring that information about committee membership and hearings was up to date and publicly accessible via the Senate website. Additional work was commenced to consider how the information published in Work of Committees could be collected, collated and then published digitally, including in a more timely way. This work will continue in the 2024–25 financial year.
Committee Office staff supported the department's seminar program by delivering training sessions to public servants and other members of the public about the operation of Senate committees, as well as delivering training offered by the Parliamentary Library for parliamentary staff.
International engagement
Committee Office staff presented information to international delegations visiting Australia and supported two outgoing parliamentary delegations.
Management and leadership
Committee secretaries met regularly throughout the year to discuss corporate and administrative issues, staff development and organisational capability, and procedural matters. Supporting staff wellbeing and building staff capability through learning and development activities was a focus during these meetings, as was how to best respond to feedback from committee members and their staff in order to improve our services and make sure they meet the needs of the Senate and its committees, and members of the public, well into the future.
All Committee Office staff met regularly with their at-level cohort as a way of sharing information, building effective relationships and capability, and undertaking peer learning and development. These meetings are an important way for Senate staff to identify learning and development needs and aspirations.
Projects during this reporting period included consolidation of a consistent file sharing program for use by all committees administered by the Department of the Senate, training for chairs of committees and their staff and new senators, and development and publication of new digital materials for chairs to support them in their role to effectively manage committee proceedings.
Staffing levels in the Committee Office were maintained to ensure that there was appropriate support for committees, and to maintain staff wellbeing by providing sufficient resources and allowing staff to take regular leave.
Performance outlook
The 2023–24 reporting period saw the Committee Office support a high level of committee activity and continue its focus on building a skilled and capable workforce able to adapt flexibly to meet this sustained demand. In 2024–25, staffing levels are expected to be maintained and the office will continue its focus on capability building, business improvement and staff wellbeing to ensure a sustainable capacity to meet the demands of the Senate and its committees.
Enhanced service delivery and business improvement will remain a key focus in 2024–25. The office will consolidate efforts to meet changing expectations of the level of support that should be available to witnesses, senators and their staff, and to our staff when participating in challenging and sensitive inquiries. The Committee Office will continue its focus on expanding and improving the ways in which committee members and members of the public are able to engage with the work of committees. The office will continue to enhance procedural and other information resources to support committees to undertake their important scrutiny and accountability functions and to meet the changing needs and expectations of witnesses, and senators and their staff.
The Committee Office will continue its collaboration with colleagues across the Senate, the Department of Parliamentary Services and the House of Representatives to ensure greater integration of ICT systems to support business improvement and to expand the accessibility and reach of public information about the work of committees.
At the same time, the office will continue to foster a supportive and rewarding work environment that values collaboration and learning, supports and values innovation by teams and work groups, and sees managers demonstrating an active commitment to the health and wellbeing of their staff, and to developing the capability of individuals and teams.