Assembly committees are small groups of MLAs who look into issues in detail. These are called inquiries. You can participate in their inquiries by making a submission.
What is a submission?
A submission is a written comment about a committee inquiry that can be used by a committee to increase the committee’s understanding of an issue and be used as evidence to support recommendations for changes.
Any person or organisation can make a submission, but it is up to the committee to decide whether they accept the submission and whether it is published. You should not share your submission with anyone else prior to this. Committees don’t accept anonymous submissions, but you can ask for your name to be withheld or for the submission to be kept confidential.
Submissions help committees consider different views from experts, organisations, and everyday Canberrans. By making a submission, you are providing important input into democracy in the ACT.
What needs to be in a submission?
Your submission should cover some or all the inquiry’s terms of reference. Terms of reference are a list explaining exactly what the committee wants to know about. You can find them on the first tab of any inquiry page on the Assembly website.
There is no set format for a submission. You could write it as a letter, an email, or a short document. Your submission may include facts, opinions, recommendations, or suggested solutions to the issues the committee is considering.
Your submission must include your name and contact details (preferably your phone number, postal and email address).
Please contact the committee secretariat if you need any help, especially if there are any accessibility concerns you may have.
Your submission must include your name, phone number, postal and email addresses.
Tips for making a great submission
- Make it relevant to the terms of reference of the inquiry.
- Use plain language and explain any technical terms you use.
- Submissions should be to-the-point and clear.
- Use headings and dot points to make it easy to read.
- Include links to the sources of any facts or figures you share.
- Write a new document, rather than sending copies of published articles.
- Tell us whether you want to talk to the committee at a hearing.
- Submit it by the due date – late submissions may not be accepted.
How do I send in my submission
Digital submissions are preferred. Use the relevant committee’s email address to email in your submission. Individual committee email addresses can be found on the website. Hardcopy submissions can be sent to the committee at:
[Committee name] ACT Legislative Assembly, GPO Box 1020, Canberra ACT 2601
What happens next?
The committee will confirm it has received your submission. They will check its content to decide whether it is relevant to the inquiry. Offensive, irrelevant submissions or submissions that have been published elsewhere may not be accepted.
Accepted submissions are public documents and are published on the Assembly website. Your name will be published, but not your contact details. If you want your name left out or would like the submission to be confidential mention this in your submission so this can be considered by the committee.
If the committee accepts your submission and authorises it for publication, it will be protected by parliamentary privilege. This means legal action cannot be taken against you in relation to something you have said in your submission. If you make your submission public somewhere else, at any time, you may not be covered by parliamentary privilege. You can, however, refer others to your submission on the committee’s website.