# Standing Committee on Petitions

The Standing Committee on Petitions is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives responsible for the processing of petitions addressed to the House of Representatives. The committee is governed by Standing Order 220 and consists of eight members, five government members and three non-government members. The chair is appointed by the Prime Minister and the deputy chair by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 232.

## History

The Procedure Committee undertook a study tour of other parliaments in 2006, resulting in a report which, among other things noted the potential value in the establishment of a Petitions Committee modelled on the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament. This was followed by a further report of the Procedure Committee in September 2007 formally recommending the creation of a Petitions Committee. in 2008 the Rudd Government amended standing orders establishing a Standing Committee on Petitions for the first time.

## Membership
### 47th Parliament

In the 47th parliament (July 2022 – present), the membership of the committee is the following:
| Member | Party | Electorate |
| Susan Templeman Chair | Labor | Division of Macquarie, Queensland |
| Ross Vasta Deputy Chair | Liberal National | Division of Bonner, Queensland |
| Sam Birrell | Nationals | Division of Nicholls, Victoria |
| Alison Byrnes | Labor | Division of Cunningham, New South Wales |
| Lisa Chesters | Labor | Division of Bendigo, Victoria |
| Garth Hamilton | Liberal National | Division of Groom, Queensland |
| Tracey Roberts | Labor | Division of Pearce, Western Australia |
| Meryl Swanson | Labor | Division of Paterson, New South Wales |

### 46th Parliament

In the 46th parliament (July 2019 – April 2022), the membership of the committee was as follows:
| Member | Member | Party | Electorate |
| | Llew O'Brien Chair | Liberal National | Division of Wide Bay, Queensland |

## List of Inquiries

| Parliament | Reference date | Report title | Tabled date |
| 42nd | 4 June 2008 | Electronic petitioning to the House of Representatives | 16 November 2009 |
| 42nd | 12 February 2008 | The work of the first Petitions Committee: 2008-2010 | 21 June 2010 |
| 43rd | 25 October 2010 | The work of the Petitions Committee: 2010-2013 - An established part of the democratic process | 24 June 2013 |
| 44th | 4 December 2013 | The work of the Petitions Committee: 2013-2016 | 5 May 2016 |
| 45th | 24 May 2017 | Making voices heard: Inquiry into the e-petitioning system of the House of Representatives Petitions Committee | 29 May 2018 |
| 45th | 15 August 2018 | Your voice can change our future: Inquiry into the future of petitioning in the House | 21 February 2019 |
| 46th | 9 December 2020 | Report on the inquiry into aspects of petitioning security and accessibility | 24 June 2021 |
| 47th | No current inquiries | No current inquiries | No current inquiries |

## List of Chairs

| No. | Parliament | Chair | Term | Deputy |
| 1 | 42nd | Julia Irwin | 12 February 2008 – 19 July 2010 | Russell Broadbent |
| 2 | 43rd | John Murphy | 25 October 2010 – 5 August 2013 | Dennis Jensen |
| 3 | 44th | Dennis Jensen | 4 December 2013 – 9 May 2016 | Justine Elliot |
| 4 | 45th | Ross Vasta | 14 September 2016 – 21 June 2017 | Justine Elliot |
| 5 | 45th | Lucy Wicks | 21 June 2017 – 11 April 2019 | Justine Elliot |
| 6 | 46th | Llew O'Brien | 24 July 2019 – 24 February 2020 | Justine Elliot |
| 7 | 46th | Ken O'Dowd | 6 March 2020 – 11 April 2022 | Justine Elliot |
| 8 | 47th | Susan Templeman | 26 July 2022 – Incumbent | Ross Vasta |