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House of Representatives                                Ch 7                                                 p 233

Days and hours of meeting

The House has a four weekly cycle of meetings. It m eets on Mondays to Thursdays for two weeks followed by two weeks without sittings. When the House is sitting its scheduled hours of meeting are: ¹

When the House is sitting its meeting times can be changed by a motion moved by a Minister without notice, ² or by a Member after notice. ³ When the House is not sitting the Speaker may set an alternative day or hour for the next meeting, and must notify each Member of any change. ⁴

A motion for the alteration of the day of next meeting may provide that the House not meet on a day laid down in the standing orders, ⁵ or meet on a day other than those laid down in the standing orders. It is not uncommon for the days and hours of meeting to be changed, especially towards the end of a sitting period when the business in hand may require an extra sitting day (or two). Such additional sittings have occurred on a Saturday, although this is infrequent. ⁶ The House has varied its hour of meeting to enable Members to attend luncheons for visiting dignitaries, ⁷ or public functions such as Remembrance Day , ⁸ and to take account of the running of the Melbourne Cup. ⁹ In the past the House has frequently changed its hours of meeting by means of sessional order.

On one occasion when a sitting continued beyond the hour of meeting set down for the following sitting, it was considered that a motion for fixing the next meeting of the House for later the same day could not be moved unless by leave of the House or by the suspension of standing (or sessional) orders, ¹⁰ but it is not clear whether this view would be taken if the situation arose again.

An amendment to a motion to alter the day or hour of next meeting may be moved ¹¹ but the terms of the amendment must be confined to the next sitting day, ¹² (that is, be relevant to the motion). An amendment proposing to substitute the normal day and hour of next meeting for the one proposed would be inadmissible as the same end may be achieved by voting against the motion.

Debate on a motion to alter the next sitting day must be confined to that question, ¹³ although in 1940 the Speaker allowed discussion to encompass the possible closing of Parliament as Members, in giving reasons for opposing the motion, feared that it presaged such an event. ¹⁴

Two motions altering the hour of next meeting have been agreed to on the one day, the second superseding the first. ¹⁵ A motion to alter the hour of next meeting must be moved during the sitting prior to the sitting day in respect of which the hour of meeting is to be changed. However, such a motion in respect of a day not being the next sitting day has been moved by leave. ¹⁶

S.O. 29 (subject to S.O. 30, changes to meeting times, and S.O. 31, which enables the time of adjournment to be altered).

S.O. 30(a).

H.R. Deb. (31.1.02) 9559.

S.O. 30(b). See also comment on actions by the Speaker under this provision under ‘Discretionary powers’ in the Ch. on ‘The Speaker, Deputy Speaker and officers’.

E.g. VP 1978-80/1418.

The additional sitting day on Saturday 18 December 1993 was the first Saturday sitting since 1929 (VP 1993-95/651). Since then the House has met on Saturday 6 December 1997 (VP 1996-98/2682) and Saturday 26 June 2004 (VP 2002-04/1758)—both of these were resumptions of the previous day’s sitting.

E.g. VP 2002-04/623.

VP 1976-77/454.

VP 1978-80/1140; H.R. Deb. (25.10.79) 2490-1.

VP 1914/42; H.R. Deb. (13.5.14) 983-7. The Prime Minister submitted that at any time during Wednesday’s sitting (which had continued beyond the hour of meeting for Thursday) the House may otherwise order as to the next day’s sitting. The Chair took the view that this was so only if done before the appointed time of assembling for the next sitting arrives. See also May , 23rd edn, pp. 295.

VP 1974-75/540.

H.R. Deb. (31.1.02) 9559.

H.R. Deb. (15.11.18) 7929.

H.R. Deb. (24.5.40) 1261-73.

VP 1945-46/345, 351.

VP 1901-02/265.