Australian Senate Committees - History of The Committees

History of The Committees

The existence of parliamentary committees was anticipated in the Constitution of Australia, in which section 49 makes reference to 'The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House...' However, the Senate had few committees, engaged in limited activities, until 1970. A number of domestic committees have operated since the establishment of the parliament, however prior to 1970 the only significant committee to be established was the Regulations and Ordinances Committee in 1932, one of the legislative scrutiny committees (see below).

1970 saw the creation of what would be regarded as the modern committee system, with a series of standing (permanent) committees established that mirrored the portfolio activities of government. These reforms significantly enhanced the expertise and power of the upper house:

The Senate is now undergoing the most fundamental and dramatic changes witnessed in the Commonwealth Parliament since the States decided to federate 70 years ago. The introduction of a wide-ranging committee system will make the red-carpeted Upper House potentially the most powerful parliamentary chamber in Australia.

These reforms were also significant in that they gave to committees of the Senate the role of examining the budget (what is referred to as the estimates process or estimates hearings), which had hitherto been confined to the Senate and its committee of the whole. The role of the committees was enhanced by three subsequent developments. First, in 1982 the Scrutiny of Bills Committee was established, which, in examining all bills, played a role that complemented that of the examination of all delegated legislation by the Regulations and Ordinances committee. Second, in 1989 the Senate adopted procedures for the systematic referral of bills to committees, increasing the level of legislative scrutiny taking place within parliament. Third, in 1993, the committees adopted a more extensive procedure for consideration of the budget, creating a second opportunity each year for Senators to follow up issues identified during the initial budget estimates hearings. These second hearings are referred to as supplementary budget estimates. The committee system was restructured in 1994, 2006 and again in 2009, however the range of functions has remained essentially the same.