fbpx

make a submission

inquiry into access to Australian parliament house by lobbyists

Lobbying – making representations directly to politicians and government representatives outside of a formal process – is a legitimate activity that can have a positive impact on our democracy.

However, in Australia, influential and well-funded business entities are using professional lobbying to exert disproportionate influence over policy decisions, pushing for them to align with their own goals rather than the broader public interest.

Stronger regulations on professional lobbying need to be introduced and enforced to make our democracy more transparent and fair.

A Senate inquiry is currently investigating access to Australian Parliament House by lobbyists and is accepting public submissions until February 9. Let’s demonstrate that the community cares about fixing our broken lobbying laws by making submissions that call for:

  • Transparency over who meets with decision makers – Expanding the lobbying register to capture all professional lobbyists and regular publishing of Ministerial diaries
  • Closing the revolving door – Enforcing a three-year waiting period so decision makers and their staff can’t walk straight into jobs as lobbyists

About the inquiry

In early December 2023, the Senate agreed to an inquiry into access to Australian Parliament House by lobbyists. You can find the terms of reference for the inquiry here.

The Finance and Public Administration References Committee, which is conducting the inquiry, is seeking submissions from the public on how the government could improve lobbying regulation. Submissions are open until the 9th of February. 

These submissions will be used to inform a report released by the committee, due on the 30 April 2024. Parliamentary submissions are an important democratic process and opportunity for community engagement on the issues we care about.

Writing your submission

Introduce yourself

Start by introducing yourself and explain why strengthening lobbying regulation is important to you.

It might be because you care deeply about a policy issue that industry lobbyists directly work to influence the government against, like gambling reform or divestment from fossil fuels. Or it might be because as an engaged member of your community, you recognise that you don’t have the same access to decision-makers as professional lobbyists, who are able to leverage the cosy networks and swathes of insider-information that they have been gathering behind closed doors.

Outline why and how you would like to make lobbying regulation better

Useful submissions make a clear argument, contain recommendations for action, and provide sources for any references. You can refer to research and data if you like, but equally, it’s valuable to make short submissions that just outline the changes you want to see recommended by the committee. We’ve included some resources below, and if you reference an online publication, please include full web addresses.

When it comes to lobbying regulation reform, there are two key areas we feel are most important to address in submissions. (Find more detail in this explainer)

1. The lack of transparency around professional lobbying 

The problem – The current public lobbying register tells us very little. It requires only professional lobbying firms to register, making up only 20% of professional lobbyists. The actual information they are required to disclose is also very light on detail – only the name of the clients they represent are logged on the register, not who they are meeting with, how often or what they are meeting about. 

Suggestions for reform – The Register’s requirements should be expanded to include all types of lobbyists, including in-house lobbyists. The level of detail lobbyists must provide about their activities should also be expanded so that the register shows who is meeting whom, when, how often and why.

Ministers should be required to publish their diaries so that the public know who they are meeting with, allowing for scrutiny and accountability.

2. The revolving door between parliamentarian’s offices, industry, and professional lobbying

The problem – In Australia, Ministers and parliamentary secretaries only have to wait 18 months before being able to move into the role of a third-party lobbyist. For government staff, the period is only 12 months.

Without proper checks in place, the revolving door between government and lobbying jobs can lead to a culture that places disproportionate value on the role of networking and incentivises politicians, public servants and ministerial advisors to act in the interest of their future job prospects, rather than making decisions in the public interest.

Suggestions for reform – The ‘cooling-off’ period should be extended from 18 months to three years for all Ministers, Ministerial advisers, and senior public servants who want to move from government to private companies to do professional lobbying. This requirement should be properly enforced by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Submission FAQs

Rules & guidelines

  • Do not include discriminatory content, foul or offensive language, or refer to matters currently before a court. A member of the public service or committee members staff will be the first to read your submission and will exclude anything that features discriminatory content, foul or offensive language.
  • Submissions that make allegations or comment negatively about another organisation or person will take longer to be considered by a committee. The organisation or person you refer to may be given your submission and the opportunity to respond.
  • Submissions will be published. Please ensure that the names and identifying details of other people, particularly children, are not included in your submission. If you would like your submission to be private, you can request it be accepted on a confidential basis. Please make this clear in your notes.
  • All submissions are required to include contact details – this is why we ask for your address in the form.

I don’t know anything about the topic/I’ve never written a submission before – does that matter?

No! This is an opportunity to engage in our democracy – everyone is encouraged to have their say. You can make a submission that just states what you believe should happen, but it’s more powerful if you speak about why. This can just be your personal opinion or can refer back to expert research and positions.

I want to include attachments or other information that I cannot enter on this webpage

No worries! You can make your submission directly to the inquiry by emailing seniorclerk.committees.sen@aph.gov.au – we’d love it if you could BCC us (info@australiandemocracy.org.au), or let us know in some other way that you took action! This helps us track our impact. Additionally, while submissions are usually written documents, they can be pictures, short videos or even voice notes – if you prefer to participate in this way, you should email your submission to the committee directly using that same email address.

Submission checklist

The committee inquiry is a legal process, please ensure you’ve checked this list off:

Has my submission been written for the purpose of the inquiry?

Have I checked that this is not material that has been published previously? (eg. you can’t paste an article you’ve previously written, or copy and paste from somewhere else).

Have I commented on some or all of the terms of reference?

Have I provided my return postal or email address and contact details with the submission? **our submissions form automatically includes this**

Have I ensured that my personal details are excluded from the body of the submission?

If I want to make a confidential submission, have I made this clear in the submission and included reasons for requesting confidentiality?

Further resources

If you have any further questions or would like any additional support please contact Ophelia Davenport at info@australiandemocracy.org.au

The date for making a submission to the inquiry into lobbying has passed.