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House of Representatives                                Ch 18                                                 p 664

Submissions and exhibits

The provision of written material to committees is a basic feature of modern practice. There is no fixed form or format for submissions, although it assists if they are in typewritten or printed form, and if an electronic version is also provided. A single page letter and a large elaborately presented document can each be accepted as a submission. Distinguishing features of a submission are that it is:

There is no obligation on the author of a submission to address the full terms of reference of an inquiry. Comments or information may be provided on one or some aspects only. Submissions may be received electronically, but the submitter must provide a contact postal address.

The protection of parliamentary privilege (for example, in conferring immunity from action for defamation) applies to the preparation of a document for the purposes of or incidental to the transacting of the business of a committee and the presentation or submission of a document to a committee. ¹ In addition, committees may authorise the publication of submissions, thus conferring privilege on their wider publication. In the absence of such motions submissions remain confidential and any wider publication would not be protected and may give rise to a matter of contempt. In addition, if a committee directs that a submission be treated as evidence taken in private ( see p. 677 ) the provisions of section 13 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act in respect of unauthorised publication are available.

In addition to the protection witnesses enjoy under the House’s penal jurisdiction, witnesses are protected by section 12 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act from penalty or injury on account of evidence given or to be given to a House or a committee. For the purposes of the Act the submission of a written statement by a person is, if so ordered, deemed to be the giving of evidence. Because of this, committees may choose at the first available opportunity to resolve to receive submissions they wish to receive. Committees may order that submissions or other documents be returned if they are not considered relevant. ²

Exhibits are items (most commonly documents) presented to committees or obtained by them during an inquiry—either by being sent in or by presentation during a hearing. While a submission is a document prepared solely for the purposes of an inquiry, an exhibit is not. An exhibit is a document or item created or existing for another purpose but presented to a committee or obtained by it because of its perceived relevance to an inquiry or to a matter under consideration. Typically, an exhibit would be a copy of a document or record—perhaps held by a person, organisation or department for other purposes but seen as relevant to the inquiry. Sometimes persons may seek to tender as exhibits copies of material published elsewhere. When such material is readily available, there is less point in receiving and retaining it as an exhibit. The act of presenting an exhibit to a committee would normally be protected by parliamentary privilege, although it would not be expected that committees would authorise the publication of exhibits, so any wider publication would not be protected. ³ Sometimes committees have, however, authorised the publication of exhibits. ⁴ Committees have sometimes received exhibits as confidential exhibits. ⁵ A submission to another committee has been received as an exhibit—a course which may be seen as minimising the burden on the authors of the document. ⁶

Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 , s. 16.

E.g. Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration, minutes 14.11.92.

Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 , s. 16.

E.g. Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure, minutes 17.11.94.

E.g. Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration, minutes 10.10.91.

E.g. Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration, minutes 25.9.91.