No. 23 Provisions governing the conduct of senators in debate (PDF 80KB)

This guide considers procedural rules and conventions which govern the conduct of senators in the chamber and underpin the courtesies of debate. Also see Guide No. 2—Rules of debate.

Role of the Chair

The role of the President and, by implication, any senator chairing the Senate, is to maintain order (standing order 184(1)).

When chairing the Senate, the Deputy President or a temporary chair of committees has all the powers of the President to maintain order, which includes the power to make rulings. They may also refer matters to the President.

If the President rises during a debate, any senator speaking or seeking the call must sit down and the Senate must be silent so that the President may be heard without interruption (standing order 184(2)). When the President is putting a question, senators must not leave or otherwise move around the chamber (standing order 184(3)). These rules reinforce the authority of the chair.

Addressing the Chair

The occupants of the Chair are addressed by their title—the President, Deputy President and Acting Deputy President. In committee of the whole, the form of address is "Chair".

Moving around the chamber

On entering or leaving the chamber, a senator is required to acknowledge the Chair with a brief bow or nod (standing  order 185(1)). Senators are required to take their places and not linger in the passageways. Nor must they move between the Chair and the senator who is speaking, or between the Chair and the Table. The purpose of these rules is to reinforce the primacy of the Chair, to ensure physical orderliness and to preserve the line of sight between the Chair and the senator speaking.

Other standing orders reinforce the need for senators generally to be in their seats when in the chamber.

Courtesies of debate

Standing orders facilitate orderly and rational discussion on all matters, including matters on which opinions may be deeply and passionately divided. There are certain protections to avoid inflammatory and argumentative discourse and to observe courtesies that are fundamental to respect for the institutions of government in its different manifestations.

Standing order 193 therefore prohibits:

• disrespectful references to the King, the Governor-General or a State Governor, or references designed to influence the Senate in its deliberations;
• reflections on votes of the Senate; and
• offensive words, imputations of improper motives or personal reflections against other Houses of Parliaments or their members, or judicial officers.

It is for the Chair to determine what constitutes offensive words, imputations of improper motives or personal reflections, taking into account the connotations and context of the words used. When a senator is asked by the Chair to withdraw unparliamentary remarks, they must do so without qualification. It is not in order to quote unparliamentary language from a document.

The Senate was the first parliamentary body to provide persons aggrieved by references to them in proceedings with a right of reply. "Ordinary" people therefore have access to a remedy which provides for their response to be published in the same written medium as the offending remarks.

In addition to these specific rules, various conventions have been traditionally observed but not recorded in standing orders, probably because they were regarded as so fundamental to civilised debate that they were taken as given. They include:

• senators remaining in the chamber to listen to responses to their own speeches and to other contributors to the debate; and
• senators informing the senator concerned if they intend to make an adverse reference to them in debate.

Interruption of speaker

Once a senator has been given the call, they may be interrupted only by another senator taking a point of order, or drawing attention to the lack of a quorum (standing order 197(1)). In these cases, the Chair must attend to the point of order immediately or have the bells rung to form a quorum (standing orders 197(3) and 52(3)). The time taken to deal with a point of order or form a quorum does not come out of the speaking time of the interrupted senator or (unless the Senate is operating under a limitation of debate under standing order 142 with a fixed concluding time) out of the total time available for the debate (standing orders 197(6) and 52(7)).

The rules protecting senators against interruption except in specified circumstances are also the basis for the protection against interjections. While Chairs exercise discretion and may allow interjections which enhance the debate, the Chair must protect senators against interjections if they so request. A senator with the call has the right to be heard. Hansard does not record interjections unless they are replied to or acknowledged by the senator speaking.

When debate is interrupted by the operation of a standing or other order (for example, at 2 pm for questions without notice), the business before the Chair automatically becomes an order of the day for a later hour or the next day of sitting and, where debate continues, the senator speaking is taken to have leave to continue when the debate resumes (standing order 68(2)). Where there is no right of continuation for an individual speaker (for example, on a motion to take note of a document or report), the matter is automatically adjourned without a question being put (standing orders 61(3)(c) and 62(4)(c)).

Broadcasting and photography

The Senate has authorised the broadcasting of its proceedings (including the broadcasting and rebroadcasting of excerpts) subject to certain conditions. Radio broadcasting by the ABC alternates between the Houses but the proceedings of both are available through the House Monitoring Service and online.

Photography in the chamber is subject to the Presiding Officers' rules for media related activity in Parliament House and its precincts. Neither senators nor advisers may take photographs or record proceedings on mobile phones or other electronic devices.

Electronic devices

Electronic devices are permitted in the chamber subject to rules issued by the President. The guiding principle is that the device must not disturb proceedings. Thus laptop or tablet computers, mobile phones and similar devices may be used in silent mode.

Advisers

It is up to senators who they admit into the relevant areas of the chamber reserved for advisers, but advisers are required to behave appropriately, to not move further into the chamber than the seating reserved for advisers and not disturb proceedings.

Dress

There are no formal dress rules in the standing orders and the matter of dress is left to the judgment of senators, subject to any ruling by the President. Advisers are also expected to maintain appropriate standards of dress, but a resolution of the Senate indicates that advisers and media representatives are no longer required to wear coats.

Need assistance?

For further assistance on any of the matters covered by this guide, contact the Clerk of the Senate on extension 3350 or clerk.sen@aph.gov.au.

Last reviewed: June 2025