Senate Estimates QoNs and Briefs

Question

1. Does the Department/Agency adjust the quality of their responses to Questions on Notice based on the number of Questions on Notice received? 2. Is the department/agency aware that questions asked at Senate Estimates and questions asked in writing following the Senate Estimates hearing are to be treated in the same manner? 3. Please provide a copy of the index of Senate Estimates briefs that were prepared for the Department/Agency for the Senate Estimates hearings held 25 May to 5 June 2026. 4. Please provide a list of the questions on notice from the previous Senate Estimates hearings outlining the following: a. the number of the Question on Notice; b. the Senator who asked the Question on Notice; c. the date the draft response to the Question on Notice was provided to the Minister's office; d. the date the Minister's office provided approval for the Question on Notice to be tabled; e. the date the Question on Notice was provided to the Committee; and f. whether the draft response was different to the tabled response. 5. Noting that the Clerk of the Senate has advised the Senate that preventing information bring provided to the Senate or its committees, or dissuading the provision of information from witnesses that has been sought and is available may be a contempt of the Senate, since 1 January 2026, on what dates has the department/agency received any guidance from the Prime Minister's Office or the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in relation to answering questions on notice? a. Who made the contact with the department/agency? b. How was the communication made? c. Did the department/agency provide a copy to the department/agency's Ministerial office? d Did the department/agency receive a copy from the department/agency's Ministerial office? e. Did the department/agency use the document in order to respond to questions asked at Senate Estimates? 6. Noting that the Clerk of the Senate has advised the Senate that preventing information bring provided to the Senate or its committees, or dissuading the provision of information from witnesses that has been sought and is available may be a contempt of the Senate, has the department/agency sought advice from the Australian Public Service Commission in relation to the use of centralised guidance for answering questions from the Parliament, in particular where the department/agency could provide the information? 7. As at 1 April 2026, how many staff in the department/agency are responsible for the management of the responses to Senate Estimates Questions on Notice? Please provide a breakdown of the number by APS level.

Answer

Please see the attached answer.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000944.pdf (opens in a new tab)