Australian House of Representatives committees

Parliamentary committees of the Australian House of Representatives are groups of Members of Parliament, appointed by the House of Representatives, to undertake certain specified tasks. They comprise government and non-government Members and have considerable powers to undertake work on behalf of the Parliament. ^[1]

Federation Chamber

Main article: Australian House of Representatives § Federation Chamber

The Federation Chamber, established in 1994 as the Main Committee and renamed in February 2012, functions as a secondary debating venue within the Australian House of Representatives, allowing for parallel proceedings alongside the main Chamber to enhance parliamentary efficiency. This arrangement originated from recommendations in the 1993 Procedure Committee report About Time, which proposed creating a parallel stream for debating legislation and other matters to alleviate time pressures in the House. The renaming to Federation Chamber addressed potential confusion with the physical main committee room in parliament house which is used for joint and standing committees and served to emphasise parliament's role in Australia's federal system.

Purpose and Role

The primary purpose of the Federation Chamber is to provide an additional forum for debating a restricted range of business, thereby optimising the use of parliamentary time, increasing opportunities for Members to speak on bills and reports, and facilitating more intimate and interactive discussions due to its smaller scale. It handles non-contentious matters that do not require formal divisions or votes, focusing on enhancing scrutiny of government legislation, private Members' business, and committee-related activities ^[2]

Standing committees

Under the Standing Orders of the House, standing committees are appointed for the life of the Parliament and they are usually re-established in some form in successive Parliaments (that is, after each election).

The House has two types of standing committees:

• general purpose committees – established to inquire into and report upon any matters referred to them, including legislation. These committees specialise by subject area, between them covering most areas of policy and government administration.
• domestic or internalcommittees – concerned with the powers and procedures of the House or the administration of Parliament.

Select committees

Select committees are appointed as the need arises for a specific purpose, and have a limited life.

One notable example was the 1963 House of Representatives Select Committee on Grievances of the Yirrkala Aborigines, Arnhem Land Reserve, which was created to address the concerns of the Yolngu people living on Yirrkala mission, after mining leases had been granted to several areas of the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land without consulting the people who had lived there for thousands of years. The committee was established as a result of the Yirrkala bark petitions being presented to Parliament in August 1963. ^{[3] [4] [5]} This committee comprised Roger Dean (Chairman); Charles Barnes; Kim Beazley Sr.; Gordon Bryant; Don Chipp; Bert Kelly; and Jock Nelson. ^[6]

Joint committees

Joint committees are established by both Houses of the Australian parliament and include both Members and Senators. An example of this is the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia, appointed by resolution by the House of Representatives on 4 July 2019 and the Senate on 22 July 2019. ^[7] The Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was referred to this Committee in June 2020. ^[8]

Pay and benefits

Members receive no additional pay for their service as ordinary members on committees. Committee Chairs and Deputy Chairs receive additional pay depending on the committee on which they serve, which is specified as a percentage of the base pay of an MP and Senator ($239,270 as of July 2025 ^{[9] [10]} ). Additional pay for committee chairs is up to 16% of the base pay ($38,283.20), depending on the committee. Deputy Chairs receive up to an additional 8% ($19,141.60). ^[11]

List of House and Joint committees

House of Representatives committee room, Parliament House, Canberra

A short video on Australian Parliamentary Committees

Committee	Chair		Deputy Chair
Federation Chamber [a]		Sharon Claydon		Terry Young
House General Purpose Standing Committees [12] [13]
Agriculture		Meryl Swanson		Rick Wilson
Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water		Anne Urquhart		Zali Steggall
Communications and the Arts		Brian Mitchell		Bridget Archer
Economics		Daniel Mulino		Garth Hamilton
Employment, Education and Training		Lisa Chesters		Terry Young
Health, Aged Care and Sport		Mike Freelander		Melissa McIntosh
Industry, Science and Resources		Rob Mitchell		Michelle Landry
Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport		Luke Gosling		Tony Pasin
Social Policy and Legal Affairs		Susan Templeman		Pat Conaghan
House Domestic Committees [12]
Appropriations and Administration		Milton Dick		Tony Pasin
Petitions		Jodie Belyea		Leon Rebello
Privileges and Members' Interests		Justine Elliot		Henry Pike
Procedure		Sharon Claydon		Ben Small
Publications		Mary Doyle		Henry Pike
Selection		Milton Dick		Sharon Claydon
House Select Committees
None currently appointed
Joint Statutory Committees
Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings		Milton Dick MP		Senator Sue Lines
Corporations and Financial Services		Senator Deborah O'Neill		Alex Hawke MP
Intelligence and Security		Peter Khalil MP		Andrew Wallace MP
Law Enforcement		Senator Helen Polley		Llew O'Brien MP
Human Rights		Josh Burns MP		Henry Pike MP
Public Accounts and Audit		Linda Burney MP		Senator Linda Reynolds
Public Works		Graham Perrett MP		Keith Pitt MP
Joint Standing Committees
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs		Senator Jana Stewart		Melissa Price MP
Electoral Matters		Kate Thwaites MP		Senator James McGrath
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade		Shayne Neumann MP		Senator David Fawcett
Implementation of the National Redress Scheme		Senator Catryna Bilyk		Senator Dean Smith
Migration		Maria Vamvakinou MP		Anne Webster MP
National Anti-Corruption Commission		Senator Karen Grogan		Helen Haines MP
National Capital and External Territories		Alicia Payne MP		Nola Marino MP
National Disability Insurance Scheme		Libby Coker MP		Senator Hollie Hughes
Northern Australia		Marion Scrymgour MP		Warren Entsch MP
Parliamentary Library		Anne Stanley MP (Joint Chair)
		Senator Slade Brockman (Joint Chair)
Publications		Fiona Phillips MP		Senator Fatima Payman
Trade and Investment Growth		Steve Georganas MP		Scott Buchholz MP
Treaties		Josh Wilson MP		Phillip Thompson MP

List of former committees

Committee	Chair		Deputy Chair		Established	Dissolved
House Domestic Committees
Library Committee	Various					13 September 2016 [b]
House Committee	Various					19 September 2019 [c]
House Select Committees
Televising of the House of Representatives [14]		Leo McLeay		David Jull		22 August 1991
Print Media [15]		Michael Lee		Warwick Smith	22 August 1991	25 March 1992
Recent Australian Bushfires [16]		Gary Nairn		Dick Adams	26 March 2003	15 September 2005
Regional Development and Decentralisation [17]		John McVeigh (1 June – 20 December 2017)		Meryl Swanson	1 June 2017	28 June 2018
		Darren Chester (8 February – 5 March 2018)
		Damien Drum (from 28 March 2018)
Intergenerational Welfare Dependence [18]		Russell Broadbent		Pat Conroy (30 May – 10 September 2018)	24 May 2018	2 April 2019
				Ged Kearney (from 12 September 2018)
Regional Australia [19]		Tony Pasin		Meryl Swanson (from 29 July 2019 - 7 December 2020)	25 July 2019	31 March 2022
				Joel Fitzgibbon (from 7 December 2020)
Social Media and Online Safety [20]		Lucy Wicks		Tim Watts	1 December 2021	15 March 2022
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention [21]		Fiona Martin		Emma McBride	2 August 2022	30 November 2023
Workforce Australia Employment Services [22]		Julian Hill		Russell Broadbent	10 December 2020	24 November 2021
Nuclear Energy		Dan Repacholi		Ted O'Brien	10 October 2024	28 March 2025
Joint Select Committees [23]
Intelligence Services
Republic Referendum
Parliamentary Budget Office
Government Procurement
Trade and Investment Growth		Ken O'Dowd MP		Jim Chalmers MP	4 September 2014	9 May 2016
				Pat Conroy MP
Australia's Family Law System		Kevin Andrews MP		Senator Pauline Hanson	18 September 2019	22 November 2021
Road Safety		Llew O'Brien MP		Senator Alex Gallacher	1 August 2019	30 October 2020
		Pat Conaghan MP		Matt Thistlethwaite MP
		Pat Conaghan MP		Matt Thistlethwaite MP	25 February 2021	25 March 2022
		Darren Chester MP
Implementation of the National Redress Scheme [d]		Senator Derryn Hinch		Sharon Claydon MP	20 June 2017	2 April 2019
		Senator Dean Smith		Sharon Claydon MP	10 September 2019	11 April 2022
National Anti-Corruption Commission Legislation		Senator Linda White		Helen Haines MP	28 September 2022	10 November 2022
Parliamentary Standards					10 February 2022	11 April 2022 [e]
		Sharon Claydon MP		Senator Marise Payne	26 July 2022	22 November 2022 [f]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum [g] [h]		Senator Trish Crossin		Senator George Brandis	28 November 2012	30 January 2013
		Ken Wyatt MP		Senator Nova Peris	2 December 2013	25 June 2015
		Senator Pat Dodson & Julian Leeser MP	no deputy chair		1 March 2018	29 November 2018.
		Senator Nita Green		Keith Wolahan MP	30 March 2023	12 May 2023
Social Media and Australian Society		Sharon Claydon MP		Senator Sarah Hanson-Young	15 May 2024	18 November 2024
Northern Australia		Marion Scrymgour MP		Warren Entsch MP	3 August 2022	28 March 2025 [i]

See also

• Australian Senate committees
• Ministerial Committee

Notes

1. "The Federation Chamber was established in 1994 with the title ‘Main Committee’. Despite the change of name in 2012 it is still technically a committee of the House." - House of Representatives Practice, 7th Edn
2. replaced by the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library
3. replaced by the Appropriations and Administration Committee
4. In the 45th Parliament the Committee was named: Oversight of the implementation of redress related recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse"
5. Committee was re-established in the next Parliament
6. replaced by the Joint Standing Committee on Parliamentary Standards
7. in the 44th Parliament the Committee was called: Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
8. in the 45th Parliament the Committee was called: Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2018
9. Replaced by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia

References

1. "Infosheet – Committees – Parliament of Australia".
2. "Infosheet – The Federation Chamber – Parliament of Australia".
3. "Näku Dhäruk – Yirrkala bark petitions". National Museum of Australia; c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=National Museum of Australia. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
4. Wright, Clare (1 October 2024). Näku Dhäruk: The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the course of Australian democracy. Text Publishing Company. ISBN   978-1-922330-86-4.
5. Wright, Clare (2023). "1963 - The Yirrkala Bark Petitions". Australian Dictionary of Biography . The Quest for Indigenous Recognition. Archived from the original on 13 April 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
6. Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives. Select Committee on Grievances of Yirrkala Aborigines, Arnhem Land Reserve.; Dean, R. L. (1963), Report from the Select Committee on Grievances of Yirrkala Aborigines, Arnhem Land Reserve. Pt. 1, Report & minutes of preceedings., Parliamentary paper (Australia. Parliament) , PP no. 311 of 1963, Canberra: Commonwealth Govt. Printer, nla.obj-2796527017, retrieved 13 January 2026– via Trove
7. "Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia". Parliament of Australia. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
8. "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia". Parliament of Australia. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
9. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Amendment Determination (No. 2) 2025" (PDF). Retrieved 29 January 2026.
10. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Amendment Determination (No. 2) 2025 Reasons for Determination" (PDF). Retrieved 29 January 2026.
11. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Determination 2024" . Retrieved 30 January 2026.
12. "Chapter 16. Standing, select and joint committees" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
13. Tony Burke,  Leader of the House (22 July 2025). "Notices". House of Representatives Official Hansard. Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives. pp. 43–59. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
14. "Report of the House Select Committee on Televising of the House of Representatives" (PDF). Retrieved 28 January 2026.
15. "Report of the House Select Committee on the Print Media" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
16. "House Select Committee on the recent Australian bushfires" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
17. "House Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
18. "House Select Committee on Intergenerational Welfare Dependence" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
19. "House Select Committee on Regional Australia" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
20. "House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
21. "House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
22. "House Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services" . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
23. "Former Joint Committees" . Retrieved 30 January 2026.

External links

• Official website of the Australian House of Representatives