Milton Dick (Speaker) | Link to this | Hansard source

For the information of honourable members, I present a schedule of the status of government responses to committee reports as of 30 June 2026. The schedule will be incorporated in Hansard.

The schedule read as follows—

Speaker's Schedule of the Status of Government Responses to Committee Reports a s at 30 June 2026

The Speaker's schedule to the House of Representatives on the status of government responses to committee reports is generally presented at six monthly intervals. It is usually presented in the last sitting weeks of the winter and spring sittings. The last schedule was current as at 21 November 2025 and was presented in the House on 27 November 2025. The schedule presents a list of committee reports that contain recommendations requiring a government response. Government responses received during the period are included in the schedule and the report it relates to is then removed from subsequent schedules.

The timeframe for government responses to committee reports in this schedule is determined by the resolution adopted by the House on 29 September 2010. The timeframe is not inclusive of any period where the House was dissolved. This resolution requires government responses to House and Joint committee reports within six months of the report's presentation in the House.[1] The Senate resolution requires government responses to Senate and Joint committee reports within three months of tabling the report.[2]

This schedule does not list reports that do not require a government response. In the past, the practice was to include all reports tabled in the Speaker's schedule. However, the current intent of this schedule is to provide an update to the House solely on the status of government responses to committee reports containing recommendations to government.[3]

The schedule does not include advisory reports on bills introduced into the House of Representatives unless the reports make recommendations that are wider than the provision of the bill and would therefore be the subject of a government response. A government response to a bill inquiry report is reflected when the relevant legislation returns for consideration in the House.

The schedule does not include reports on treaties referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (Treaties Committee) unless a report makes recommendations that are broader than the ratification of the treaty in question. This may include recommendations relating to additional consultation or requesting changes to the treaty. The ratification, or non-ratification, of a treaty is considered to constitute a government response and the government should communicate this outcome to the Treaties Committee.

The schedule does not include reports from the House of Representatives Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests, and the Publications Committee (other than reports on inquiries).

Further, as of the last schedule (dated 21 November 2025, tabled 27 November 2025), reports from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works (Public Works Committee) are included for formal tracking when the relevant expediency statement does not address recommendations. The

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights' regular scrutiny reports on the human rights compatibility of bills and legislative instruments are not listed, as the timeframe for a response is specified in correspondence to the relevant minister.

Reports of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit primarily make administrative recommendations but may also include policy recommendations, which require a formal government response. Responses to administrative recommendations are made in the form of an Executive Minute provided to, and subsequently tabled by, the committee. Agencies responding to administrative recommendations are required to provide an Executive Minute within six months of the tabling of a report. Executive Minutes are included in this schedule and are listed as (Partial response) and are not considered complete or removed from the schedule until all recommendations have been responded to.

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1 The resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on 29 September 2010 details the requirements for government to provide responses to committee reports within specified time periods, and processes to be followed should a response not be forthcoming.

2 This practice has arisen from a Senate resolution of 14 March 1973, in which the Senate declared its opinion that the government should provide a response to committee reports within three months of tabling. Successive governments have affirmed their commitment to providing such responses.

3 The Liaison Committee of Chairs and Deputy Chairs agreed at its meeting of June 2023 to recommend removal of all outstanding government responses for House or Joint committee reports presented prior to the commencement of the 46th Parliament (2 July 2019), unless the relevant committee's successor resolved to retain those reports on the schedule. This schedule is reflective of those removals or resolutions to retain the relevant reports.

The following table lists responses received since 21 November 2025 (the reporting date of the last schedule) and outstanding as at 30 June 2026:

[ i ] The date of tabling is the date the report was presented to the House of Representatives or to the Speaker, whichever is earlier. In the case of joint committees, the date shown is the date of first presentation to either the House or the Senate or to the President or Speaker (if presented earlier out of session). Reports published when the House (or Houses) are not sitting are tabled at a later date.

[ii] If the source for the government response date is not the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives or the Journals of the Senate, the source is shown in an endnote.

[iii] The Government has undertaken to respond to committee reports within a six-month period—see House of Representatives Standing Orders, resolution of the House of Representatives of 29 September 2010. This resolution also puts in place additional steps for reports not responded to within that six-month period. The period from when the 44th Parliament was prorogued on 9 May 2016 to the commencement of the 45th Parliament on 30 August 2016 is not included in the response period. The period from when the 45th Parliament was prorogued on 11 April 2019 to the commencement of the 46th Parliament on 2 July 2019 is not included in the response period. The period from when the 46th Parliament was prorogued on 11 April 2022 to the commencement of the 47th Parliament on 26 July 2022 is not included in the response period. The period from when the 47th Parliament was prorogued on 28 March 2025 to the commencement of the 48th Parliament on 22 July 2025 is not included in the response period.

[iv] On 1 July 2023, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) transitioned into the new National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). Accordingly, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity ceased to exist. The oversight of the NACC is undertaken as of that date by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

[v] This date was previously reported in this schedule as 26/3/25 however, the report was received by the Speaker out of sitting on 6/3/25, then in the Senate on 25/5/25, then in the House on 26/3/25. Per endnote i, the date of presentation to the Speaker is the correct date to report.

[vi] Public Works Committee recommendations are typically addressed through the expediency statement when the House approves the public work. In instances where the expediency statement does not address these recommendations, the Public Works Committee reports will be included in the Speaker's schedule for formal tracking and response.