House of Representatives Committees

Dealing with Parliamentary Committees

Note: This page contains links to files in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Adobe Acrobat® PDF Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe.®

Print Dealing with Parliamentary Committees (PDF 598KB)

To everyone interested in the work of parliamentary committees:

It is through parliamentary committees that much of the detailed work of the Commonwealth Parliament is conducted.

Parliamentary committees scrutinise the operation of government departments, examine policy issues and review some legislation before it is enacted.

They also provide an opportunity for the community to be directly involved in the work of the Parliament.

If you want to become involved in the work of committees, this document will help by explaining the type and standards of service you can expect from committee staff in the Department of the House of Representatives.

These standards represent a commitment from us to provide quality information and advice about the committees we support.

We intend to report annually on our performance and would welcome any comments you have on the services we provide.

Clerk Assistant (Committees)
Department of the House of Representatives
telephone: 02 6277 4397
facsimile: 02 6277 4034
e-mail: committee.reps@aph.gov.au

Our commitment

If you want to know more about the work of parliamentary committees, we will provide you with information and advice that matches your needs.

If you want to contribute to a particular committee inquiry or activity, we will help you by providing information and advice about:

the issues being considered by the committee;
the committee’s program of activities;
how to prepare a submission; and
appearing before the committee as a witness.

We are guided in our work by the Parliamentary Service Values and the Parliamentary Service Code of Conduct. In particular, we will:

demonstrate high ethical standards;
be professional, impartial and non-partisan;
be open, honest and helpful;
be responsive to your requests;
treat you with respect and fairness; and
treat any complaints seriously and respond to them.

Our service standards

If you telephone us, we will:

identify ourselves by name when answering the telephone; and
respond to your calls quickly.

If the information you request is not immediately available, we will tell you when you can expect it.

If you write, fax or e-mail us, we will:

act on your requests for printed information within five working days;
reply to other written correspondence within 20 working days, sending an interim reply where this is not possible; and
in our reply, give you the name and contact details of someone who can provide further help if needed.

We will ensure that up-to-date information about committees supported by the Department of the House of Representatives is maintained on the Parliament’s Internet site. The site will contain:

terms of reference for committee inquiries;
general advice on how to contribute to committee inquiries;
information about committee hearings and activities;
a list of public submissions made to committee inquiries and, where possible, copies of these submissions;
links to transcripts of committee hearings;
links to current and previous committee reports; and
where possible, copies of Government responses to committee reports.

Complaints

If you are dissatisfied with any of the information or advice we have given you, please raise this with the area concerned. We will try to resolve the problem immediately.

If this is not successful, please contact the Secretary of the committee you are dealing with or the Clerk Assistant (Committees), either of whom will respond to your concerns.

How to contact us

We can be contacted on the telephone numbers shown on the list of committees below.

We welcome feedback on our performance so we can improve our standards of service. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvement please let us know.

Contact details for current committees

The parliamentary committees supported by staff in the Department of the House of Representatives, along with contact details, are listed below.

The mailing address for all parliamentary committee is:

Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600.

House of Representatives Standing Committees

House Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Tel: (02) 6277 4559 | Fax: (02) 6277 4427
E-mail: atsia.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/atsia

House Committee on Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry
Tel: (02) 6277 4500 | Fax: (02) 6277 4516
E-mail: arff.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/arff

House Committee on Climate Change, Environment and the Arts
Tel: (02) 6277 4580 | Fax: (02) 6277 4424
E-mail: ccea.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ccea

House Committee on Economics
Tel: (02) 6277 4587 | Fax: (02) 6277 4774
E-mail: economics.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/economics

House Committee on Education and Employment
Tel: (02) 6277 4573 | Fax: (02) 6277 4773
E-mail: ee.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ee

House Committee on Health and Ageing
Tel: (02) 6277 4145 | Fax: (02) 6277 4844
E-mail: haa.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/haa

House Committee on Infrastructure and Communications
Tel: (02) 6277 2352 | Fax: (02) 6277 4424
E-mail: ic.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ic

House Committee on Regional Australia
Tel: (02) 6277 4162 | Fax: (02) 6277 4773
E-mail: ra.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ra

House Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs
Tel: (02) 6277 2358 | Fax: (02) 6277 4427
E-mail: spla.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/spla

Joint Committees

Joint Committee on Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings
Tel: (02) 6277 4888 | Fax: (02) 6277 4204
E-mail: jcbpp@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jcbpp

Joint Committee on Electoral Matters
Tel: (02) 6277 2374 | Fax: (02) 6277 4710
E-mail: jscem@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/em

Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Tel: (02) 6277 2313 | Fax: (02) 6277 2221
E-mail: jscfadt@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
Tel: (02) 6277 2360 | Fax: (02) 6277 2067
E-mail: pjcis.reps@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pjcis

Joint Committee on Migration
Tel: (02) 6277 4560 | Fax: (02) 6277 2219
E-mail: jscm@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig

Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network
Tel: (02) 6277 2232 | Fax: (02) 6277 8594
E-mail: jcnbn@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jcnbn

Joint Committee on the National Capital and External Territories
Tel: (02) 6277 4355 | Fax: (02) 6277 8478
E-mail: jscncet@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ncet

Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Tel: (02) 6277 4615 | Fax: (02) 6277 2220
E-mail: jcpaa@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jcpaa

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works
Tel: (02) 6277 4636 | Fax: (02) 6277 4844
E-mail: pwc@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pwc

Joint Committee on Treaties
Tel: (02) 6277 4002 | Fax: (02) 6277 2219
E-mail: jsct@aph.gov.au
Internet: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct

If you are seeking to contact a parliamentary committee that is not listed above contact the Clerk Assistant (Committees) for assistance. The committee you are interested in may have been recently appointed or may be supported by the Department of the Senate.

Contact information for Committees:

Clerk Assistant (Committees)
Department of the House of Representatives
PO Box 6021
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Phone: 61 2 6277 4397
Fax: 61 2 6277 2396
email: committee.reps@aph.gov.au