Writing a submission for an inquiry

A submission is your written evidence to a parliamentary committee’s inquiry. Write it to the inquiry’s terms of reference, keep it to a few pages, and say what you want the committee to recommend. Lodge it through the inquiry’s page on the Parliament of Australia website before submissions close.

The committee then decides whether to accept and publish it. A published submission becomes part of the inquiry’s formal record. The committee may quote it in its report, or invite you to give evidence at a public hearing.

This guide follows the guidance for federal committees from the House of Representatives and the Senate. State and territory committees have their own, covered at the end.

Why make a submission

• It puts your position on the record. A published submission is part of the inquiry’s formal evidence, alongside everyone else’s.
• It can shape the recommendations. Committees look to submissions for ideas on what to recommend, so the solutions you propose matter as much as the problem.
• It can be cited in the report. A committee may refer to your submission in its report, which is published and searchable online.
• It can lead to a hearing. Committees decide whom to invite to public hearings, and they often invite people who made submissions.
• You can point people to it. Once it’s published, you can send members, stakeholders and journalists to it on the committee’s website.

Before you write

Check the inquiry is taking submissions. The Parliament lists current inquiries, and every committee’s submissions closing in the next two weeks. GovConnex Tracker follows the inquiries you work on, with their submission deadlines and hearing dates, in one calendar.

Read the terms of reference. They set out what the inquiry covers, and you can address some or all of them. A bill inquiry has no terms of reference: the committee wants comments on the bill itself.

Know who will read it. Committees are made up of members, senators or both, and each committee’s page lists them. Our guide to parliamentary committees explains how the different kinds work.

Read what’s already published. Submissions appear on the inquiry’s page as the committee publishes them. They show who else is making a case, and what the committee has already heard.

Ask the secretariat. Each committee has a secretariat, with contact details on its page. Staff can answer questions about the process before you send anything.

What every submission must do

Committee inquiries are part of the formal work of Parliament, and the House of Representatives’ guidance sets strict rules. A submission must:

• be prepared only for this inquiry
• not have been published anywhere else
• be relevant to the terms of reference
• reach the committee before the closing date
• include the name, postal or email address and phone number of the person or organisation making it.

It shouldn’t contain discriminatory content or offensive language, or refer to matters before a court. A committee may decline a submission that doesn’t address the terms of reference.

How to structure it

There is no set format. Most submissions are written documents, but a submission can also be pictures or a short video. For an organisation, this structure works well:

• A cover letter. Who you are, why your view matters to this inquiry, your key recommendation and a contact, with an offer to give evidence at a hearing. Keep personal details here, not in the body.
• A summary. If the submission runs to more than a few pages, put a summary at the front, add a table of contents and number the pages.
• A short introduction to your organisation and its stake in the issue.
• The body. Your argument, set against the terms of reference you’re addressing, with evidence and numbered recommendations.
• Attachments, only where they bear directly on your key points. A document that’s already been published, such as a report or article, may be treated as an exhibit or correspondence.

The committee removes personal details such as email addresses before publishing. If the submission comes from an organisation, the organisation is published as its author.

Writing it well

Keep it short. The Senate’s guidance says the best submissions are generally no longer than four to five pages. Put supporting material in attachments.

Lead with what should change. Committees look to submissions for ideas to recommend. Explain the problem briefly, then set out what should be done and how.

Use what only you know. Draw on your organisation’s own experience, data and members. That is evidence the committee can’t get from anyone else.

Source every claim, with full web addresses. Hyperlinks may be removed before publication, so write each address out in full.

Leave out other people’s identifying details. This matters especially where children are involved.

Think before you criticise. A submission that makes allegations about a person or organisation takes longer to consider. The committee may give them your submission and a chance to reply, and publish both.

Check anything AI helped write. Both Houses’ guidance says you are responsible for the accuracy of your submission, including where AI tools were used.

Write only what you’d be happy to see online. Most submissions are published on the committee’s website with the submitter’s name.

Lodging it

Online is preferred. Lodge through the link on the inquiry’s page, using the Parliament’s online submission system. It is secure and suitable for sensitive and confidential material.

You need a My Parliament account. It takes a name and a valid email address. The same account lets you track committees, inquiries and bills.

Upload Word, PDF or plain text. You can upload several documents: a cover letter, the public submission and a confidential attachment, for example. You’ll receive an email acknowledging it.

Email and post also work. Each committee lists its email and postal addresses. An emailed submission may take longer to be acknowledged.

If you’ll miss the deadline, ask early. A short extension is sometimes possible. Contact the committee secretariat before submissions close.

After you lodge it

The committee decides whether to accept it. The secretariat assesses it first, then the committee decides whether to accept and publish it, in whole or in part. This can take several weeks, and you’ll be told the outcome.

Don’t share it until it’s published. You can’t publish or show your submission to anyone until the committee authorises its publication. If the committee removed or redacted anything, share only the published version.

You can’t change it once it’s lodged without the committee’s permission. To add something or update it, send a supplementary submission.

Prepare for a hearing. If you’re invited to give evidence, our guide to appearing before a parliamentary committee covers how to prepare and what happens on the day.

Confidential and anonymous submissions

Committees prefer evidence to be public, but you can ask for all or part of a submission to be kept confidential. Write “confidential” clearly on the front and give your reasons. Talk to the secretariat before you lodge it.

A confidential submission isn’t published or quoted in the report, and only committee members and the secretariat read it. You can also ask for your name to be withheld, so the submission is published as “Name withheld”.

Often the better option is to put the sensitive material in a confidential attachment, so the rest can be published and quoted. Mark clearly which attachments are confidential.

The committee considers each request, but it keeps the power to publish any submission. Even confidential material may be released later, by the committee or by Parliament.

Parliamentary privilege

Submitting a document to a committee is protected by parliamentary privilege, under the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. You can’t face legal action for lodging a submission or for what it says. If the committee publishes it, distributing that version is protected too.

Your own publication may not be protected. If you publish your submission without the committee’s agreement, privilege may not apply, so link to the committee’s copy rather than reposting it.

Privilege protects submitters in other ways. It is an offence to improperly influence someone not to make a submission, or to threaten anyone for making one. People and organisations overseas can make submissions, but privilege can’t be enforced outside Australia.

It also comes with a duty. Knowingly giving a committee false evidence can be a contempt of Parliament (Senate guide to parliamentary privilege).

State and territory inquiries

State and territory parliaments’ committees also run inquiries and take submissions, under their own guidance. Read the committee’s page, and its guidance for submitters, before you write.

In Victoria, for example, committees prefer submissions through their e-submission pages. Privilege doesn’t cover your own republication, such as on your website, and confidential evidence may be released after 30 years (Parliament of Victoria inquiries).

Submission checklist

• Is the inquiry still taking submissions, and when do they close?
• Does the submission address some or all of the terms of reference?
• Was it written for this inquiry, and not published anywhere else?
• Does it make clear, specific recommendations?
• If it’s long, does it have a summary at the front, a table of contents and page numbers?
• Are your contact details in the cover letter, not the body?
• Have you left out other people’s identifying details?
• Have you checked every fact, figure and source, including anything AI drafted?
• If you want anything kept confidential, have you marked it on the front, given reasons and spoken to the secretariat?
• Who will speak for your organisation if the committee invites you to a hearing?

Common questions

How long should a submission to a parliamentary inquiry be? The Senate’s guidance says the best submissions are generally no longer than four to five pages. If yours is longer, put a summary at the front and number the pages.

Can I make a confidential submission? Yes. Write “confidential” on the front with your reasons, and talk to the committee secretariat first. The committee decides, and keeps the power to publish any submission.

Is a submission protected by parliamentary privilege? Yes. Lodging a submission with a federal committee, and what it says, are protected under the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. So is the committee’s publication of it, but publishing it yourself may not be.

Can I publish my submission on my own website? Not until the committee has published it, and then share only the published version. Linking to the committee’s copy is safer than reposting it, since your own publication may not be privileged.

What happens if I miss the closing date? Contact the committee secretariat as soon as you can. A short extension is sometimes possible, but it isn’t guaranteed.