| The following
advice is offered to assist in the preparation of written submissions to
Committees.
There is no
prescribed form for a written submission to a parliamentary committee.
Submissions may be in the form of a letter, a substantial paper or a short
document. Appendices and other supporting documents may be appended to
submissions. Submissions may contain facts, opinions, arguments and recommendations
for action.
The submission
may cover all of the points raised in the Terms of Reference of the committee's
inquiry or a selection of them. The Terms of Reference usually provide
a good framework for structuring a submission.
Where possible,
submissions should be typed on A4 paper. This helps reproduction of the
submission for committees.
The preferred
format for documents provided on disc is Microsoft Word 6.0. Submissions
may also be E-mailed. Such documents should be forwarded in a 'hard copy'
form.
The submission
should be signed by the author either on his/her own behalf or on behalf
of an organisation. Those signing submissions on behalf of an organisation
should indicate what level the submission has been authorised (eg, sub-committee,
executive committee, president, chair, state branch, regional group etc).
There may be
submissions which an author would prefer not be made public. In this case
the author may request that the submission (or part of it) remain confidential.
This should be clearly indicated in the submission.
If it is desired
that part only of the submission remain confidential that part should be
submitted separately if possible. The committee will then consider the
request for confidentiality.
The protections
of 'Parliamentary Privilege' are drawn to your attention. Briefly, for
the purpose of a committee's inquiry, unless otherwise decided, a written
submission may be deemed by the committee to be the giving of evidence.
Its presentation to the committee and the committee's publication and the
circulation of it attracts the protection of parliamentary privilege. Thus,
no action of any kind may be taken against a person for making a submission
and no submission may be used in courts or tribunals to question the truth,
motives or credibility of any person.
Once a submission
has been received by a committee it must not be published or disclosed
to any other person in that form without the committee's authorisation.
If its publication is not authorised, not only is it not protected by parliamentary
privilege but publication may also be a contempt of Parliament.
A committee
may not accept a submission that is not relevant to the committee's inquiry.
The committee will inform you if it decides not to accept your submission.
Authors of submissions
are sometimes asked to give oral evidence before a committee at a public
hearing. Such questioning allows the committee to examine particular issues
in greater detail, and the author has an opportunity to amplify points
made, or provide additional information.
The committee
investigatory process falls into four distinct phases:
-
The Committee advertises
its Terms of Reference and calls for submissions.
-
The Committee gathers
information, including fact and opinion found in submissions and presented
in public hearings.
-
The Committee considers
the arguments, evidence and data it has gathered. Findings and recommendations
are agreed upon.
-
The Committee tables
a report, including its recommendations, in the Parliament.
Submissions become
Committee documents and are made public only after a decision by the Committee.
Persons making submissions must not release them without the approval of
the Committee. Submissions are protected by parliamentary privilege
but the unauthorised release of them is not. The Committee encourages
the lodgement of submissions in electronic form. Emailed submissions
must include name, phone number and postal address. Guidelines for
witnesses and the preparation of a submission are available on the Internet
at http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au or by phoning the Secretary.
Should you require
any further information concerning the preparation of submissions please
contact:
Contact Address:
Committees Secretariat
House of Assembly
Parliament
House
Hobart, Tas.
7000
Telephone: (03)
6233 2248 Fax: (03) 6223 3803
E-mail:
committees@parliament.tas.gov.au |
