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]
The Federation Chamber, formerly the Main Committee, provides an additional forum for the second reading and consideration in detail stages of bills and debate of committee reports and papers presented to the House. All Members of the House are automatically members of the Federation Chamber and eligible to participate in its meetings.[2]
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:
Select committees are appointed as the need arises for a specific purpose, and have a limited life.
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.[3] 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.[4]
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 ($225,750 as of October 2023). Additional pay for committee chairs is 11-16% of the base pay ($24,832.5-$36,120). Deputy Chairs receive 5.5-8% ($12,416.25-$18,060).[5]
| Committee | Chair | Deputy Chair | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House General Purpose Standing Committees[6] [7] | ||||||
| Agriculture | Rick Wilson | |||||
| Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water | Tony Zappia | David Gillespie | ||||
| 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 | Michelle Landry | |||||
| Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport | Tony Pasin | |||||
| Social Policy and Legal Affairs | Pat Conaghan | |||||
| House Domestic Committees | ||||||
| Appropriations and Administration | Mark Coulton | |||||
| Petitions | Ross Vasta | |||||
| Privileges and Members' Interests | James Stevens | |||||
| Procedure | Ross Vasta | |||||
| Publications | Ross Vasta | |||||
| Selection | Sharon Claydon | |||||
| House Select committees | ||||||
| Workforce Australia Employment Services | Russell Broadbent | |||||
| 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 | Julian Hill 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 | ||||