Committees have the power to move from place to place, and regularly do so, gathering information around the country and observing problems close to hand. Senate committees provide a valuable input to the legislative process and could not do this without the knowledge and expertise of witnesses from the community and from government. The Senate has recognised that the rights of witnesses giving evidence before its committees should be protected, and accordingly has adopted a range of practices to safeguard those rights. This Brief addresses the powers of Senate committees, and gives an outline of the rights and responsibilities of witnesses before Senate committees. It also looks at the relationship between Senate committees and the executive government, in the context of evidence given and documents presented to Senate committees.
Committees usually invite witnesses to attend, and witnesses usually attend voluntarily.
However, committees may order witnesses to appear before them. The power to require the giving of evidence. The power to require the production of documents. Senate committees derive these powers from the Senate itself, which in turn derives its powers from the Constitution. Since 1987, certain powers, privileges and immunities of both Houses of the Australian parliament have been spelt out in the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 .