Introduction
The Committee of Senators' Interests, established under standing order 22A, provides this report on its operations for the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. The report also provides background information on the requirements for the registration of interests and qualifications, and the role of the committee.
Registration of interests
On 17 March 1994, the Senate adopted the Senators' Interests Resolutions. The resolutions act as a safeguard against conflicts of interest and the perception of such conflicts, and enhance transparency in relation to the exercise of their public duties, by requiring senators to lodge statements of registrable interests which are then publically disclosed on the Register of Senators' Interests.
Registrable interests range from assets and liabilities, interests in trusts and partnerships, directorships, gifts, sponsored travel and hospitality, and certain relationships with organisations. Senators may also choose to declare interests that would not, on their face, appear to engage any of the listed registrable interests.1 This is a matter for the judgement of individual senators.
From its inception, the committee has stressed that it is the responsibility of individual senators to interpret the resolutions and determine which of their interests fall within its terms, rather than relying on external advice about what 'should' or 'should not' be declared. This reflects the unique status of members of Parliament as elected officials, responsible primarily to the electors and to the House to which they have been elected.
The committee has adopted Explanatory Notes to guide senators in meeting the requirements of the regime. It is to the resolutions, forms and explanatory notes, and to any other commentary by the committee, that senators should turn for assistance in determining how the disclosure regime applies to their own particular circumstances. Any senator may request from the committee clarification of any aspect or raise any matter relating to the form and content of the Register. The committee may respond to such requests by providing individual guidance, by amending the Explanatory Notes or by proposing amendments to the Senators' Interests Resolutions.
During the reporting period, the committee did not receive any submissions from senators or directions from the Senate in relation to the senators' interests requirements.
Requirements
A senator's statement of registrable interests includes a public statement of their personal interests and a confidential statement of the interests (of which they are aware) of their spouses or partners and dependent children.
Each senator must provide their statement within 28 days of making and subscribing an oath or affirmation of allegiance, and within 28 days after the first meeting of the Senate after 1 July first occurring after a general election. Senators must also notify any alteration in these interests within 35 days of the alteration occurring.
Statements of registrable interests must accord with the Senators' Interests Resolutions and should be in the form determined by the committee.
The statements are kept on the public Register of Senators' Interests which since 2011 has been available online on the committee's web pages.
Statements of the registrable interests of a senator's spouse or partner and of any dependent children are confidential, except where the committee considers that a conflict of interest arises, at which time the committee may table the declaration. To date the committee has not had cause to consider taking this action.
The forms, explanatory notes and other relevant documents have been compiled into a handbook for senators. All of these documents are published on the committee's web pages.
Register of Senatorsʼ Interests
Senators' statements of registrable interests are published to the Register of Senators' Interests, in accordance with the following procedures:
- statements are published under each senator's name
- statements are published without any watermarking or redaction
- notifications of alterations are added to the relevant senator's published statement, and
- the Register is updated at least weekly with any alteration forms received.
Six-monthly compilation volumes of statements and alterations are also tabled in the Senate and published online. In 2019, two volumes were tabled and published:
- 1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018, published in January, and
- 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019 – published in July.
The committee requires the Registrar of Senators' Interests to write to senators, at least twice a year, to remind them of their obligations under the resolutions. This occurred in June and December 2019.
This 2019 reporting period included the opening of the 46th Parliament and as required, following the receipt of statements from all senators, the Register of Senators Interests for the 46th Parliament was tabled in the Senate (as well as published online).
Register of Senators' Qualifications
In February 2019, the Parliament amended the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to require all candidates for election to provide the Australian Electoral Commission
(AEC) with information regarding their eligibility under section 44 of the Constitution to stand as a candidate. The AEC is required to provide the information that was lodged by the successful candidates for tabling in the Senate.
Subsequently, on 3 April 2019, the Senate agreed to a resolution establishing a Register of Senators' Qualifications relating to sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution. The resolution is published on the committee webpages and also set out in Appendix 1 of this report.
Requirements
The requirements for the registration of senators' qualifications under sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution are set out in the resolution referred to above. For the 46th Parliament there are three 'categories' of senators and related requirements:
- Continuing senators: For senators continuing a current six year term, their entry on the Register is comprised of their Citizenship Statement made during the 45th Parliament.2
- Senators elected in 2019: These senators are required to provide, within 28 days of the commencement of the 46th Parliament, a statement attesting to the accuracy of the material they provided to the AEC, along with any supplementary material they may wish to provide.
- Senators appointed to fill casual vacancies: Senators' appointed to fill casual vacancies are required, within 28 days of being sworn-in, to complete a Qualifications Form (which is similar to the form which candidates are required to provide to the AEC).
The Register of Senators' Qualifications comprises all of the statements set out above. Senators in all categories are required to update their information if they become aware of any inaccuracies.
Register of Senators' Qualifications
The Register of Senators' Qualifications is published online and maintained in the same manner as the Register of Senators' Interests.
The qualifications checklists provided by the AEC were tabled in the Senate on 2 July 2019. The Register of Senators' Qualifications for the 46th Parliament was published on 1 August 2019. No supplementary material has been received in this reporting period.
Activities
During the reporting period, the committee received no requests in relation to the form and content of the Register of Senators' Interests, or the Register of Gifts to the Senate or the Parliament which is also administered by the committee. Similarly, no requests or submissions were made to the committee in relation to the Register of Senators' Qualifications.
Assistance was provided to senators by the Registrar in response to a range of routine inquiries, particularly from new senators as is expected at the start of a new parliament.
Online forms
As noted in previous reports, the committee had approved the development of an online system for senators to submit their statements of registrable interests and alterations. The system was implemented in June 2019 in time for the commencement of the 46th Parliament. The overwhelming majority of senators completed their statements using the new system and continue to use the system to submit their alteration forms. A small number of senators submitted their statements directly with the Registrar, a method which remained available as an option while senators became familiar with the new system.
Enhancement of the Register of Senators Interests
During the reporting period the committee agreed to a proposal to enhance the transparency of the Register of Senators Interests, by developing a searchable database component to the Register that will enable the Register as a whole to be searched and results reviewed and compiled. In its Report 2 of 2019, the committee recommended that the Senate endorse the enhancement of the Register to create this facility. The Senate adopted the recommendation of this report on 13 November 2019. The database will be developed by the Department of Parliamentary Services in 2020, in consultation with the committee and the Registrar.
Catryna Bilyk
Chair
February 2020
1 The final item on the list of registrable interests is "any other interests where a conflict with a senator's public duty could foreseeably arise or be seen to arise".
2 The Register of Senators' Qualifications for subsequent parliaments will not contain any Citizenship Statements, as senators currently serving a six year term who stand for re-election will be required to submit the qualifications form to the AEC at that next election.