8.2 Guidelines for Queensland Parliamentary Committees
These guidelines apply to public officials required to prepare written evidence for Parliamentary Committees (Committees) and those required to appear in person before Committees. They set out legal requirements and the principles and policy the government requires officials to observe in dealing with Committees.
8.2.1 Powers of the Parliament
Certain standing committees of the Parliament have statutory powers to summon witnesses, demand answers to questions and order the production of documents. Other standing or select Committees may be equipped by resolution of the Legislative Assembly with similar powers. Officials should acquaint themselves with the powers available to Committees before which they may be invited or summoned to appear.
The Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly (Standing Orders) provide a number of processes to be followed by Committees which are designed to safeguard the rights of witnesses. A copy of the relevant Standing Orders is required to be provided to a witness appearing before a Committee.
8.2.2 Protocols for dealings between public entities and Parliamentary Committees
On 16 March 2000, the House agreed to adopt the Protocols for dealings between public entities and Parliamentary Committees. The Protocols were developed as a result of recommendations made by the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee in Report No. 39.
For the purposes of these Protocols, public entities include departments, statutory authorities and Government Owned Corporations. The Protocols cover procedures for contact, methods for dealing with requests and procedures for dealing with confidential information. The Protocols have been reproduced in full below.
The Protocols do not apply to dealings with Estimates Committees.
The Protocols
1. For the purposes of these protocols:
- "public entities" include all government entities as defined by the Public Service Act 1996 and all portfolio bodies and Government Owned Corporations but does not include the Auditor-General, Chairperson of the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Queensland Ombudsman;
- "Chief Executive Officer" includes the Director-General of a department and Chief Executive of other public entities as defined above;
- "Parliamentary Committee" and "committee" does not include estimates committees; and
- when there is more than one Minister the term "responsible Minister" will mean the more senior Minister, except in the case of Government Owned Corporations, in which case the "responsible Minister" will mean the Treasurer in agreement with the other shareholding Minister.
2. After a Parliamentary Committee decides to commence an inquiry concerning a public entity, the committee should write to the responsible Minister or Chief Executive Officer advising of the nature and scope of the inquiry and other details the committee deems appropriate. The Minister or Chief Executive Officer should immediately notify the committee in writing if they consider that the subject matter of the inquiry does not fall within the public entity's responsibility.
3. As soon as practicable after receiving notice from a committee of an inquiry, the responsible Minister or Chief Executive Officer should nominate a contact officer from the public entity to coordinate requests from the committee for information.
4. The Minister or Chief Executive Officer is to notify the committee of the contact officer as soon as practicable after the officer's nomination. In choosing the contact officer the Minister or Chief Executive officer should have regard to the nature of the committee's inquiry. The contact officer should be a senior officer, with detailed knowledge of the subject matter of the inquiry.
5. All requests from the committee to the public entity for information or material are to be in writing and directed to the Minister or Chief Executive Officer with a copy sent to the contact officer. Requests for information should be as specific as possible. The date by which the information or material is required should also be specified.
6. It is the Minister or Chief Executive Officer's responsibility to ensure that requests by the committee are dealt with expeditiously within the public entity.
7. All information and material supplied by the public entity should be accompanied by a covering letter, signed by the Minister, Chief Executive Officer or person nominated by the Minister or Chief Executive Officer. The covering letter should identify the request by the committee and the relevant information or material being supplied in response. This paragraph does not relate to submissions.
8. If the public entity is unable or unwilling, for any reason, to supply the information or material requested, the Minister or Chief Executive Officer should write and inform the committee of the inability to answer the request and the reasons for being unable or unwilling to comply. The committee may then nominate a further period in which to supply the information or material and the granting of the extension should be confirmed in writing by the committee.
9. If a request for information or material is not met within the required time and the public entity has not notified the committee in accordance with paragraph 8 or if the public entity is simply unwilling to supply the information or documents, the committee should either order the production of the material or information or inform the responsible Minister. If the material or information is still not supplied, the committee should report the matter to the House.
10. Submissions to committees from the public entities should be approved within the public entities, and normally by the Minister or Chief Executive Officer, in accordance with arrangements approved by the Minister or the Chief Executive Officer concerned.
11. If the committee desires a public officer to appear before a hearing of the committee, it should first write to the Minister or Chief Executive Officer and request their attendance. Normally, the committee should not ask for a particular officer. Rather, the committee should ask for an officer with knowledge of the subject matter of the hearing. The selection of actual witnesses should be left to the discretion of the Minister in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer. However, the committee is always able to nominate particular officers or office holders to attend if it believes their attendance is essential to the committee's inquiry.
12. In their dealings with witnesses, and subject to the specific terms under which any committee is established (particularly any power to summons witnesses or documents) all Parliamentary Committees should observe the Rules Relating to Witnesses.
13. Departmental officers are not to be asked to provide an opinion on government policy. Similarly, departmental submissions should not provide opinions on government policy. It is for the responsible Minister to defend or advocate government policy.
14. Claims that any information or material sought by the committee should be withheld on grounds such as public interest immunity, legal professional privilege or commercial-in-confidence should be made by the responsible Minister. The precise ground for the claim should be provided by the Minister. The appropriateness of the claim or special procedures for handling the information and material is then a matter for the committee, and ultimately Parliament, to determine.
15. Parliamentary committees must observe Standing Order 197 of the Standing Rules and Orders 1998.
8.2.3 Selection and preparation of officials appearing as witnesses
Where a Committee wishes to question officials about administration of a department or agency, normal procedure is for a request to be made through the relevant Minister or Chief Executive Officer, nominating the subject matter. Selection of actual witnesses is left to the discretion of the Minister in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer. Financial considerations and operational priorities may have some bearing on the number and categories of officials selected to appear. Witnesses should be neither too far removed from the subject matter nor too inexperienced to provide an authoritative answer.
Where a particular official is named in the letter of invitation (or summons), the official concerned should immediately notify the relevant Chief Executive Officer. This applies only to officials so invited in their official capacity. Where a person is invited to give evidence in some private capacity, the Chief Executive Officer should be informed as a matter of courtesy.
Officials appearing before Committees are there to provide specialist and background knowledge including the factual basis of government policy and administration. However, Ministers have sole responsibility for advocating and defending government policy. Where the Minister is present during Committee hearings, the Minister at his or her discretion may refer questions to officials present.
Questioning of officials by a Committee may be based on a written submission or document cleared by the Minister and presented to the Committee in advance of the hearing where oral evidence is required. Extra time should be sought from the Committee Chairperson to prepare such a submission if required.
Chief Executive Officers should ensure that the Policy Division in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet is briefed and consulted where necessary during submission drafting and witness preparation. This is to provide a whole of government perspective, where appropriate, and to coordinate evidence on issues concerning more than one department or agency. Officials appearing as witnesses should be familiar with the contents of, and background to, the preparation of any submission provided by the official's agency to the Committee, and should ensure they possess any supporting documentation or data on which claims of fact are made in the document.
8.2.4 Estimates Committees
Estimates Committees examine departmental appropriations and administration and may canvass the background to policy issues affecting expenditure. Estimates Committee hearings are normally based on the relevant Appropriation Bills before Parliament and on a Ministerial Program Statement prepared for the Committee.
Procedures for the Estimates Committee process are governed by the Sessional Orders moved by the Leader of the House each year prior to the release of the Budget to Parliament. Ministers must be present for all Estimates Committee hearings concerning their portfolio responsibilities.
Ministers may attend hearings with advisors, and may opt to provide an answer to a question or a part of a question later in writing. Officials invited or selected to appear with Ministers should include those familiar with programs of interest to the Committee and with the preparation of the financial briefing statement.
8.2.5 Contents of written submissions
Submissions to Committees
The Protocols for dealings between public entities (ie departments, statutory authorities and Government Owned Corporations) and Parliamentary Committees (refer to Chapter 8.2.2) require that the responsible Minister or Chief Executive Officer approve any written submissions to Parliamentary Committees. All individual agency submissions should describe and offer factual analysis of policies and programs or the manner in which relevant issues have been dealt with.
All individual agency submissions must be approved by the relevant Minister/s. Where a submission deals with a politically sensitive matter or significant policy issues it may be necessary to seek Cabinet approval prior to forwarding to the Committee.
If the policy issues cross agencies, ie more than one agency would wish to make a submission on the same policy matter, a whole-of-Government submission must be prepared in consultation with affected agencies.
Policy Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet must be consulted in relation to all submissions to Parliamentary Committees.
Responses to Reports of Committees
All Ministerial responses to reports of Queensland Parliamentary Committees must receive Cabinet approval prior to their being tabled in the Legislative Assembly. Responses to reports of Parliamentary Committees on matters that cross agency responsibilities require whole-of-Government development and coordination. Policy Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet must be consulted in relation to all responses to reports of Parliamentary Committees.
8.2.6 Conduct of officials before committees
Officials appearing as witnesses should, subject to these guidelines, be open and candid as far as possible in response to questions. Committee members are elected representatives of the public and should be treated with appropriate courtesy.
Officials should confine their answers to known facts, avoiding hearsay, rumour or matters outside their direct experience.
If an official is unable to answer a question, the official should provide the answer within a time agreed by the Committee. In the case of Estimates Committees, by virtue of the limited time available for Committees to take evidence, answers should normally be provided within 24 hours.
If officials appearing as witnesses are unwilling to answer a question for whatever reason, this should be stated clearly and again a full explanation given. Refer also to Chapter 8.2.7 "Restriction on evidence given by officials as witnesses"
8.2.7 Restriction on evidence given by officials as witnesses
An official appearing as a witness may be excused from having to answer a question.
In general, reasonable grounds for an official appearing as a witness to ask to be excused from having to answer a question may be:
- the official does not know the answer;
- the official is unable to answer, because
- the question invites the witness to discuss the merits of policy issues which are properly the province of Ministers; or
- the question involves matters which are the responsibility of another agency;
- the public interest requires confidentiality; or
- the question seeks an answer the giving of which would require the official to make a self-incriminating statement.
Where a question is asked requiring the official to pass a value judgement on policy goals or to debate the merits of alternative options, the official should ask that the question be referred to the Minister. If the Committee directs the witness to answer the question, the witness should seek to give the answer in writing so that it can be cleared by the Minister.
8.2.8 Matters involving other agencies
Where a question is asked about matters properly within another agency's responsibility, an official appearing as a witness should ask that the question be referred to the relevant Minister or agency. If the Committee directs that the question be answered, the witness should ask that the answer be given in writing so that the relevant agency or Minister can be consulted.
8.2.9 Public interest immunity
Claims of immunity from producing documents or answering questions on public interest grounds generally should only be made by Ministers. As far as is possible, decisions to claim public interest immunity should be made before a hearing commences.
Officials giving evidence before Committees should be aware of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act). The FOI Act provides a general right of public access to information held by public sector agencies, subject to certain exemptions. These exemptions may be used for guidance on public interest considerations that may be applicable in disclosure of information. Exemptions where a claim of public interest immunity might need to be made include:
- Cabinet matter;
- Executive Council matter;
- matters where disclosure could reasonably be expected to damage relations with other governments;
- working documents involved in deliberative process, where disclosure would on balance be contrary to the public interest;
- matters where disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice criminal investigations, endanger public safety or an individual, prejudice a fair trial or compromise lawful police methods; and
- matters that would, if sought in a court process, be protected by a claim of legal professional privilege.
Any claim that information or material should be withheld on grounds such as public interest immunity, legal professional privilege or commercial-in-confidence should be made by the Minister (refer to the Protocols in Section 8.2.2). The precise grounds for the claim should be provided by the Minister. An official appearing as a witness with a Minister should confer with the Minister if public interest considerations exist that may bear upon the matter in question but about which the Minister may be unaware.
8.2.10 Secrecy provisions and sub judice
Further factors that may affect advice to provide or withhold information sought by a Committee include:
- secrecy provisions of legislation; and
- matters covered by court orders or where disclosure may prejudice proceedings before a court.
Advice should be sought from the Crown Solicitor when information in either of these categories is requested by a Committee.
8.2.11 In camera proceedings
For a Committee pursuing a line of questioning in camera, Ministers may determine that the public interest would best be served if that matter were to remain confidential. In such a case, the public and media would be excluded from the hearing, and no Hansard report published of proceedings. Decisions to request leave from a Committee to move proceedings in camera generally should be made by Ministers. Witnesses should seek to defer answering questions until the Minister has been consulted where an issue unexpectedly arises that may require proceedings to move in camera.
Some exemption provisions of the FOI Act can be used as a guide by Ministers to determine those matters where a request for in camera proceedings, rather than a claim of public interest immunity, might be made. These are matters:
- where disclosure would reasonably be expected to prejudice investigations by the Ombudsman or Auditor-General;
- where disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm internal agency procedures, examination results or industrial relations;
- that would disclose someone's personal affairs;
- where disclosure would reveal trade secrets or commercially valuable information or where disclosure would prejudice the future supply of such information to government;
- where disclosure would found an action for breach of confidence or prejudice the future supply of such information to government;
- where disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm economic management or confer an unreasonable advantage or disadvantage on an individual or group by premature disclosure;
- to which secrecy provisions of Acts apply;
- where disclosure could reasonably be expected to harm the financial interests of the State or of an agency; and
- the disclosure of which would be in contempt of an Australian Parliament or a court or infringe the privileges of an Australian Parliament.
Where a Committee wishes to publish documents or evidence obtained in camera the Committee will normally extend the courtesy of asking the witness' permission, although there is no formal requirement that the Committee do so. In such a case the official appearing as a witness should withhold permission until the Minister has been consulted.
8.2.12 "Off the Record" briefings
Requests for "off the record" briefings of Committees should be referred to Ministers, however, it should be noted that any such briefings may not be protected by Parliamentary privilege.
8.2.13 Parliamentary privilege and protections
Evidence given before Committees is protected by Parliamentary privilege. This means that no legal proceedings, such as action for defamation or breach of confidence, can be founded against an agency or individual based on disclosures made to a Committee and published by order of the Committee.
The Whistleblowers Protection Act 1994 may also offer protection to public officials making disclosures to a relevant Committee.
Unauthorised disclosure of evidence or documents tendered in evidence (such as in camera evidence) would be a contempt of Parliament where it contravened an order of the Committee.
Witnesses, including officials appearing as witnesses, are required by the Standing Orders to be offered the opportunity to correct Hansard proofs of evidence to remove transcription errors. A witness also has the right under the Standing Orders to provide supplementary material in addition to the evidence given to a Committee.
8.2.14 Statutory office holders
Certain statutory office holders, notably the Auditor-General, the Chairperson of the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Queensland Ombudsman have defined functions independent of Ministers. Submissions to Parliamentary Committees by such office holders dealing with matters arising from their independent functions need not be cleared with the Minister.
8.2.15 Self-incrimination
In general, Committees are not bound by rules of evidence and legal principles concerning the protection of witnesses.
Witnesses are, in general, protected from self-incrimination by the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001. The refusal of a witness to answer questions or produce documents on this ground may, however, be reported by the Committee to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly may then order that the witness appear and answer any or particular questions or produce any or particular documents, having regard to the public interest in having the questions answered or the documents produced and the public interest in providing protection from self-incrimination.
8.2.16 Access to legal counsel
A witness may apply to a Committee for leave to have legal counsel present during the giving of evidence. Where legal counsel is permitted, counsel may only advise the witness and may not address the Committee.
Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009
Last updated: 22 July, 2009
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