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House of Representatives                                Ch 10                                                 p 376

Printing and distribution

Once a government bill has been drafted and approved for presentation to Parliament the Office of Parliamentary Counsel orders the printing of copies of the bill which are forwarded to the appropriate parliamentary staff. A bill is kept under embargo until it is introduced, when the custody of copies and the authority to print passes to the Clerk of the House while the bill is before the House and to the Clerk of the Senate while the bill is before the Senate.

The role of staff of the House in the distribution of bills was rec ognised early in the history of the House. In 1901 Speaker Holder drew the attention of Members to the fact that copies of a circulated bill had not passed through the hands of officers of the House, and expressed the view that it would be well in the future if the distribution of bills took place through the recognised channel. Prime Minister Barton stated that he would take particular care that in future all necessary distribution was done through the officers of the House. A few days later the Speaker repeated that the distribution of bills was a matter for the officers of the House, and one for which they accepted full responsibility. ¹

H.R. Deb. (19.6.01) 1247; H.R. Deb. (26.6.01) 1618.