The Scrutiny of Bills Committee was established in 1981. Its functions, which are set out in Senate standing order 24, are to assess bills against a set of accountability standards that focus on the effect of proposed legislation on individual rights, liberties and obligations, the rule of law and on parliamentary scrutiny.

It is expected that the committee’s Scrutiny Digest will be tabled on the following dates in 2018: 7 and 14 February; 21 and 28 March; 9 May; 20 and 27 June; 15 and 22 August; 12 and 19 September; 17 October; 14 and 28 November; and 5 December (subject to variation if required).

Scrutiny of Bills mailing list

To subscribe to the committee's mailing list, please send an email to scrutiny.sen@aph.gov.au with 'Subscribe Scrutiny Mailing List' as the subject line.