Australian House of Representatives committees

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

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 internal committees – 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. This committee comprised Roger Dean (Chairman); Charles Barnes; Kim Beazley Sr.; Gordon Bryant; Don Chipp; Bert Kelly; and Jock Nelson.

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. 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.

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). 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).

List of House and Joint committees

List of former committees

Notes

References

References

1. "Infosheet – Committees – Parliament of Australia".
2. "Infosheet – The Federation Chamber – Parliament of Australia".
3. (31 January 2023). "Näku Dhäruk – Yirrkala bark petitions". National Museum of Australia; c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=National Museum of Australia.
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.
5. Wright, Clare. (2023). "1963 - The Yirrkala Bark Petitions".
6. (1963). "Report from the Select Committee on Grievances of Yirrkala Aborigines, Arnhem Land Reserve. Pt. 1, Report & minutes of preceedings.". Commonwealth Govt. Printer.
7. (18 June 2020). "Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia".
8. (18 June 2020). "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia".
9. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Amendment Determination (No. 2) 2025".
10. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Amendment Determination (No. 2) 2025 Reasons for Determination".
11. "Remuneration Tribunal (Members of Parliament) Determination 2024".
12. "Chapter 16. Standing, select and joint committees".
13. (22 July 2025). "Notices".
14. "Report of the House Select Committee on Televising of the House of Representatives".
15. "Report of the House Select Committee on the Print Media".
16. "House Select Committee on the recent Australian bushfires".
17. "House Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation".
18. "House Select Committee on Intergenerational Welfare Dependence".
19. "House Select Committee on Regional Australia".
20. "House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety".
21. "House Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention".
22. "House Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services".
23. "Former Joint Committees".