Advice, guidance or direction on answering Senate Estimate questions

Question

1. 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? 2. 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? 3. Has the Department/agency been provided with direction or instruction from the Minister's office on how to answer questions at Senate Estimates?

Answer

Please see PDF attachment.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000471.pdf (opens in a new tab)