Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee (part 1 of 2)
3 June 2026
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Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Australian Parliament
00:00 - 02:30
Speaker 45
Questions taken on notice, and the committee would ask senators to provide any written questions on notice to the secretary by Friday, June 12. The committee's proceedings today will begin with the Department of Social Services, whole of portfolio, and corporate matters. The committee will be conducting today's hearing in person via video conference. Understanding order 26, the committee must take all evidence in public session, and this includes answers to questions on notice. I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege.
It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be treated by the senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. The senate has endorsed the following test of relevance for questions at estimates hearings. Any questions going to the operations or financial positions of the departments and agencies which are seeking funds in estimates are relevant questions for the purpose of estimates hearings. I remind officers that the senate has resolved there are no areas in connection with the expenditure of public funds where any person has a discretion to withhold details or explanations from the parliament or its committees unless the parliament has expressly provided otherwise.
The senate has resolved that, an officer of a department of the commonwealth should not be asked to give opinions on matters of policy and shall be given reasonable opportunity to refer questions asked of the officer to superior officers or to a minister. This resolution does not preclude questions asking for explanations of policy or factual questions about when and how policies were adopted. Witnesses are reminded of the senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity should be raised, and I incorporate the public interest immunity statement into the Hansard. I remind senators their obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians to treat witnesses with dignity, courtesy, fairness, and respect. An officer called to answer a question for the first time should state their full name and the capacity in which they are appearing.
I remind committee members and witnesses who are appearing via video conference and who are not speaking to mute their microphones. Live captions have been enabled for the entire duration of today's hearings, and the feed would be displayed on selected video conferencing monitors at the witness bench, the back of the room, and also in the waiting room. We ask witnesses to please inform the secretary if any time during the hearing you're experiencing any issues, they will endeavor to troubleshoot them as quickly as possible. And apologies for, the challenges yesterday with, some of the feed. I would now like to welcome senator the honorable Anthony Chisholm, assistant minister for regional development, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry, representing the minister for social services.
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