The Assembly produces a number of documents related to its proceedings. These documents are all available on the Assembly website.
Daily program
The Daily Program (or ‘blue’ as it is sometimes called) is an outline of the business that the Assembly is likely to consider during each sitting day. The Daily Program is a guide only—the business may change if requested by the Assembly
Notice paper
The Notice Paper is a complete list of outstanding items currently before the Assembly. Items can be classified as a ‘notice’ or an ‘order of the day’.
Notices of motions are new items that are yet to be considered, and orders of the day are items that have commenced debate in the Chamber, but then been adjourned until a later date.
The Notice Paper includes questions that have been asked on notice and are yet to be answered, committee reporting dates set by the Assembly, as well as all current and dissolved committees.
Question on Notice Paper
The Assembly produces a separate Questions on Notice Paper on the Friday of a sitting week. The new paper contains all of the questions lodged before 12:00 noon on a sitting Thursday.
Minutes of proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business that the Assembly undertakes each sitting day. The Minutes of Proceedings include details of bills presented and debated, motions considered and how the Assembly voted on particular items and issues. All original documents that have been tabled in the Assembly are kept as part of the Minutes of Proceedings.
The Clerk is responsible for the custody of the Minutes of Proceedings.
Hansard—Debates of the Legislative Assembly
The Debates of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, or Hansard, contain the full reports of speeches made in the Assembly.
There is a complete electronic record of Assembly debates since it first met in 1989.
Bills list
The Bills List allows the progress of each bill to be tracked easily. It records when bills are introduced, when they are passed (including the act number and the date they appear on the Legislation Register), and also if they are amended, negatived, discharged or referred to a committee.
Summary of bills
The Summary of Bills document provides a brief summary of each bill presented to the Assembly.
Bills Volume
The Bills Volume is a consolidated list of all bills presented during the term of each Assembly. It provides links to the bill, explanatory statement, scrutiny report, and final act when passed.
Standing orders and continuing resolutions
The standing orders and continuing resolutions are the formal rules which govern the conduct of business in the Legislative Assembly and its committees. The Legislative Assembly for the ACT currently has over 280 standing orders, with the Assembly able to amend, add or delete standing or temporary orders at its discretion. Standing order 275 provides that any question relating to the conduct of business or practice in the Assembly not provided for in the standing and temporary orders is decided by the practice prevailing in the House of Representatives in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Standing orders have ongoing effect for every term of the Assembly whereas temporary orders expire at the end of a particular term.
The Companion to the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly details how the standing orders have been developed and applied since the start of the Assembly in 1989. The current edition (2nd) was published in 2022, and supercedes the 1st edition (published 2009).