Senate inquiries

There are multiple Inquiries being held at the same time by various Senate Committees. Any Senator can instigate an Inquiry into a topic or issue as long as it has majority support in the Senate.

As an independent Senator, this is a difficult task because I either require the support of the Government + the Greens, or the Coalition + the Greens + another independent.

Below is some information on some of those Inquiries, including submissions I have made. More information can be found on current Inquires on the Parliament of Australia website.

Submitting an inquiry

Anyone can make a submission on these Inquiries and if you have a particular interest or expertise, I encourage you to do so.

Make sure to indicate whether you want your submission:

  • Published with your name (or your organisation’s name),
  • Published, but with your name removed, or
  • Not published and instead taken confidentially by the committee.

If you want to make an anonymous or confidential submission, you should explain why. Reach out to my office if you would like to find out more.

  • Wage theft

    Following various motions and Senate Estimates questions, it was discovered that the Fair Work Ombudsman had failed to refer any Wage Theft cases for prosecution. I wanted to find out more and with the support of the Greens, the Coalition and most of the independents, on 24 March I was able to secure an Inquiry.

    Track inquiry
    Date referred
    Submissions closed

  • Graduate unemployment

    After graduates had raised with me that the failures of the jobseeking process was, I was keen to investigate why people were finding it so difficult to find work within their areas of study and asked the Government about any data they held on this cohort through Senate chamber and estimates processes. It was clear to me that this area deserved more scrutiny and the Senate agreed as the motion to hold an Inquiry was unopposed.

    Track inquiry
    Date referred
    Submissions closed