Senate Select Committee on Women's Health
13 October 2026
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Senate Select Committee on Women?s Health Australian Parliament
19:18 - 21:33
Speaker 1
I declare open this hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Women's Health, and it's the first hearing of the committee, so a very exciting milestone.
I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we're meeting today and pay my respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are joining us today. The committee will be conducting today's hearing in person from Parliament House in Canberra. My name is Senator Marielle Smith, I'm the chair of this committee and I'm joined today by Senators Whitaker, Ruston, Bilyk and Payman. These are public proceedings being video streamed live via the Parliament's website and a Hansard transcript is being made. I remind all witnesses presenting 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. Witnesses have a right to request to be heard in camera. The Senate has resolved that an officer of a department of the Commonwealth or of a state shall 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 policies or factual questions about when and how policies were adopted.
If a witness objects to answering a question they should state the ground upon which the objection is made and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer having regard to the ground which is claimed. If the committee determines to insist on an answer a witness may request that the answer be given in camera. Commonwealth officers appearing today are also reminded of the Senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity should be raised and a copy of that order is available from the secretariat. I remind senators of their obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians to treat witnesses with dignity, courtesy, fairness and respect and I remind witnesses who are appearing via video conference and who are not speaking to please mute their microphones. I would now like to welcome representatives from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.
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