The Senate at Work

Note: This page contains links to PDF files. For more information, see the web page on Accessing files.

Page Menu:| Senate Chamber Seating Plan | Sitting schedule | Senate Business Documents | Senate Tabled Papers | Senate Committees | For Senators | Seminars for Public Servants | Further Information |

Related links: | Broadcasting Parliament Live |

Senate Chamber Seating Plan

• by Office Holder
• by Senator and Party (PDF 110KB)

Sitting schedules

• Sitting pattern for 2010 (issued 22 October 2009)
• Sitting pattern for 2009 (revised 5 February 2009)
• Previous sitting schedules
• Weekly Routine of Business [PDF 152KB] [HTML format]

Presentation of documents when the Senate is not sitting

• Summary of procedures (PDF 141KB)
• Documents presented out of sitting (after the Senate adjourned on 19 November 2009)

Senate Business Documents

• Notice Paper - Official list of business (agenda) [A guide to the Notice Paper] [PDF format] [HTML format]

• Order of Business ('Senate Red') - business proposed for each sitting day [Full description] [PDF 75KB] [HTML format]

• Dynamic Red - results of proceedings as they happen (updated continuously during the sitting day) [Full description] [Current issue]

• Journals - official record (minutes) of proceedings [Full description] [PDF format] [HTML format]

• Senate Daily Summary - convenient summary of each day's proceedings with links to official Senate records [Full description] [PDF 213KB] [Previous Issues]

• Hansard - official daily transcript [PDF format] [HTML format]

• StatsNet - detailed statistics of business

• Questions on Notice Summary - [42nd Parliament] [41st Parliament]
  

Senate Tabled Papers

• Senate Tabled Papers Digital images of documents tabled in the Senate—All documents tabled in the Senate during the 2002-04 parliament (12 February 2002 to 30 August 2004) are accessible through the database. As other documents are processed they will become available online. [Full description] [Tips on searching the database]

Senate Committees

• Committees at Work

• Business of Committees [Full description]
  Lists the time, place and business of forthcoming committee meetings and hearings, the names of committee chairs and secretaries, and a list of persons scheduled to appear as witnesses (when known).

• Senate Committee Transcripts/Hansard (PDF format) (HTML format)
  

For Senators: procedural proformas

• How to lodge a petition
• How to lodge a Question on Notice
• Matters of Public Importance (PDF 34KB) (Word 21KB)
• Matters of Urgency (PDF 35KB) (Word 20KB)
• Postponement of notices of motion (PDF 23KB) (Word 29KB)
• Proposal to refer a bill to a committee (PDF 34KB) (Word 24KB)
• Alteration of notices - standing order 77 letter (PDF 75KB) (Word 24KB)

Seminars for Public Servants

• The Department of the Senate conducts seminars for Public Servants and others who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of the workings of the Senate.

Further Information

• Parliamentary Papers series printing standards
• Parliamentary Privilege

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