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House of Representatives                                Ch 17                                                 p 592

Parliamentary committee and delegation reports

The standing orders provide that the reports of committees or delegations may be presented at any time when other business is not before the House. In addition, a special set period is provided on Mondays for the presentation and consideration of committee and delegation reports. ¹ During this period Members can make statements in relation to reports presented (subject to Selection Committee determinations). When a report is presented at other times, leave is required to make a statement, and there can be no assurance that time will be made available.

In the case of committee reports, the Speaker (or Deputy Speaker if the Speaker is unavailable) is authorised to give directions for the printing and circulation of a report if the House is not sitting when the committee has completed its inquiry, and the committee must then present the report to the House as soon as possible. ² Committee reports must be presented by a member of the committee ³ and are normally presented by the committee chair or, in the case of a joint committee where the chair is a Senator and the deputy a Member of the House, by the deputy chair. ⁴ Another member of a committee may, when asked to do so, present a committee report on behalf of the chair. ⁵

S.O. 39. For a detailed discussion of committee reports see Ch. on ‘Parliamentary committees’.

S.O. 247(b), see Ch. on ‘Parliamentary committees’.

S.O. 247(a).

E.g. VP 1978-80/1584.

E.g. VP 1977/367-9; VP 1996-98/535; VP 1998-2001/1625.