Parliamentary Committees undertake inquiries from time to time on various issues. The following is a brief summary of Parliamentary Committees.
 
What is a Parliamentary Committee?
 
Parliamentary committees are comprised of MPs appointed to inquire into and report on a particular matter or subject. These committees conduct investigations and give detailed consideration to particular matters. Committees have a wide range of powers, including the ability to summon and question witnesses and to call for papers. Parliamentary committees are an extension of the Parliament and therefore parliamentary privilege attaches to their operations. Parliamentary committees can either be composed of Legislative Assembly (LA) Members; or Legislative Council (LC) Members; or both.
 
What is a committee’s function? Parliamentary committees:
 
Give detailed consideration to issues of concern to the House, including proposed new laws and policies;
 
Help keep Government and public service accountable to the Parliament by scrutinising their activities;
 
Provide opportunities for the public to have direct input into the Parliament and for the Parliament to be better informed of community views;
 
Give the Parliament access to expert advice and the views of community, professional, business, academic, government and other organisations;
 
Provide a forum for public debate on current issues;
 
Provide a link of accountability between the Parliament and the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman, the ICAC, the Police Integrity Commission, the Health Care Complaints Commission, and the Commission for Children and Young People.
 
Every committee set up has a term of reference which addresses a specific issue (e.g. consideration of a particular policy or bill), or is of a more generalised nature (e.g. Parliamentary oversight of the Ombudsman’s Office).

Terms of reference for a committee may be set by legislation, a resolution of one or both Houses of Parliament, or under a particular House’s Standing Orders.

What types of Parliamentary committees are there?

Standing Committees: run for the life of the Parliament and inquire, as required, into matters within specific subject area.
 
Select Committees: inquire into a particular matter (including bills) and cease to exist after they have reported.
 
Statutory Committees: are established by an Act of the Parliament rather than by a resolution of a House. These committees are appointed at the commencement of a Parliament and exist for the life of the Parliament.

Legislation Committees: are established solely for the purpose of considering a bill in detail. LA only.
 
Domestic Committees: for internal parliamentary matters.
 
Estimates Committees: examine the proposed budget allocations for public sector agencies and the Parliament and their previous year’s expenditure. The LA has not appointed these type of committees in recent years, and the LC has recently referred the estimates to General Purpose Standing Committees.
 
General Purpose Standing Committees: these Standing Committees of the LC examine the appropriations of Consolidated Funds as well as the expenditure or income of statutory bodies. GPSCs can now self reference and the Government does not have control of the agenda. GPSCs can be used by the Opposition and the Crossbench to embarrass the Government.
 
Joint Committees: these committees can be many of the above types and are comprised of LA and LC Members.
 
How do I make a submission to a Parliamentary committee?
 
A committee often starts its inquiry by calling for submissions from the public and relevant organisations. It advertises in newspapers and writes to persons and organisations with specialist knowledge or interest. Any person may make a submission to a committee seeking submissions. There is no set form for submissions to a Parliamentary committee. They may take the form of a letter, paper or report. They may contain facts, opinions, arguments and recommendations. They can be from private citizens or organisations. If in doubt, contact the relevant Committee’s Secretariat.
 
Where do I get a copy of a Committee’s report?
 
Normally persons/groups who make a submission to a committee inquiry are forwarded a copy of the inquiry report. Otherwise, copies of reports are available direct from the relevant committee’s secretariat on request. Current committee reports can be accessed through the Parliament’s website.
 
Can I access the transcripts (record of what occurred)?
 
Generally speaking they’re only available to the Members of the committee and aren’t available for general perusal unless authorised expressly by the committee. Witnesses are given copies of their testimony so that they may check it to ensure no errors have occurred in compiling the transcript. Unauthorised disclosure and/or publication of Committee transcripts may constitute a contempt of Parliament.
 
How can I find out when a hearing is on?
 
Unless you have made a submission to a committee inquiry, or been called to appear before it, information on when a committee will be having hearings can be ascertained by examining the Committees section of the Parliament’s website or by contacting the relevant committee’s secretariat.
 
What Parliamentary Committees is Ian West on? (click heading to view web page)
 
Standing Committee on Social Issues
 
Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety (STAYSAFE)
 
General Purpose Standing Committee No. 1
- Premier
- Arts
- Citizenship
- Education and Training
- Aboriginal Affairs
- Treasury
- State Development
- Special Minister of State
- Commerce
- Industrial Relations
- Central Coast
- The Legislature
 
General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3
- Police
- Attorney General
- Juvenile Justice
- Western Sydney
- Fair Trading
- Justice
 
Link to all Committees pages
 
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