About Hansard
Hansard is the written record of proceedings and debates in Parliament, similar to a transcript. It is not a strictly verbatim record, but rather a verified and accurate record. Repetitions and redundancies may be omitted and obvious mistakes corrected. Interjections not responded to by the principal speaker are omitted. Hansard has no editorial policy other than the pursuit of accuracy and consistency.
A draft copy is published online progressively throughout the day with a full draft transcript usually available within 3 hours of the last House rising. Members may make suggestions for corrections to their speeches but these should only relate to inaccuracies and new matters cannot be introduced.
About Legislative Assembly House Papers
There are a number of documents relating to the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly which can be found on this website. The following list gives a short description of each House paper.
A Daily Business Program is prepared by the Leader of the House for each sitting day and provides a listing of business to be dealt with on that day. The program is indicative only and the order may be varied without notice.
The Business Paper lists notices of motion and orders of the day. A notice of motion is a statement of intention to move a motion on a particular day. A member may not move a motion unless notice of the member’s intention to move the motion appears in the business paper, except as otherwise provided by leave, standing or sessional orders or resolutions of the House. This means that in most cases notice must be given at least one day before the motion is moved. A notice of motion sets out the words of the motion. Members give notices of motions for bills, government business, and for business accorded precedence (motions of no confidence or censure and other motions for business with precedence).
Notices of motion given in the Legislative Assembly by a particular member can also be accessed via the Notice Tracking function.
The Votes and Proceedings or "Votes" document is the official record of the proceedings in the Legislative Assembly. They are the formal minutes of proceedings of the House, i.e. they record the resolutions of the House and other events rather than giving a transcript of proceedings. The Votes include a record of the proceedings when a bill or other matter is considered in detail.
Scanned copies of indexes and records of the NSW Legislative Assembly from the 1st (1856) to the 49th (1988-91) Parliament.can now be viewed. These records have been created in a searchable PDF format as part of a wider digitalisation project.
Questions and Answers Paper - Questions which Members of the Legislative Assembly wish to put to Ministers in writing (as opposed to oral questions asked at Question Time), together with the answers when they are received, are recorded in the official publication titled “Questions and Answers”. Members’ questions are published in full when the question is first asked and once again when the answer is received. The Questions and Answers Paper is published each sitting day, and during any adjournment of the House for two weeks or more a paper is published from time to time containing answers received. In addition, a final edition (containing all the unanswered questions) is published after the House is prorogued.
Questions can also be accessed via the Questions and Answers tracking function by:
- Asking Member
- Questions asked by Portfolio
- Answers due by portfolio
Tabled Papers & Reports
The Legislative Assembly Tabled Papers Register is an electronic database which is used to record all papers tabled in the House. This database only displays the reports and other Papers which are tabled in the Legislative Assembly. Documents such as messages between the Houses or the Governor, statutory instruments, petitions, and Bills are not included unless they become Parliamentary Papers. The aim is to register documents on this database within 24 hours of their tabling in the Legislative Assembly.
Statutory Rules & Instruments
The Statutory Rules and Instruments paper is published by the Legislative Assembly Table Office for the information of Members on Tuesdays during sitting weeks and on the first Tuesday of every month when the House is not sitting. The document lists the title and date of gazettal of the rule or instrument, information on the tabling date, and the last sitting day for the notice of disallowance to be given by the House.
Procedural Statistics
This document provides procedural statistics for the sessions of the Legislative Assembly and the year to date, including: the number of bills introduced; the number of sitting days and the hours of sitting (with a breakdown of the business conducted); the number of questions lodged or asked orally; the number of divisions; the number of petitions presented; and the number of committee reports tabled.
Legislative Assembly business papers contact details
Phone: 9230 2135
About Legislative Council House Papers
Types of House papers
The records of the Legislative Council include a range of publications including the Minutes of Proceedings, the Notice Paper and the Questions and Answers Paper. A short description of each paper follows, and all papers are available on this website.
Minutes of Proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the votes and deliberations in the Legislative Council. Amongst other things, the Minutes record papers tabled in the House, messages received from the Governor or Legislative Assembly, important rulings of the Chair, details of bills and motions considered and decision made by the House.
The draft Minutes are published on the Parliament's website at the conclusion of each sitting day.
Notice Paper
The Notice Paper lists all business before the House, including notices of motion and orders of the day. A notice of motion is a statement of intention to move a motion on a particular day. A member may not move a motion unless notice of the member’s intention to move the motion appears in the Notice Paper, except as otherwise provided by leave, standing or sessional orders or resolutions of the House.
Daily Program
The Daily Program provides a list of business to be dealt with on the next sitting day. The program is indicative only and the order may be varied without notice.
Questions and Answers Paper
The Questions and Answers Paper lists questions members wish to put to Ministers in writing (as opposed to oral questions asked at Question Time), together with the answers when they are received. Members’ questions are published in full when the question is first asked and once again when the answer is received. The Questions and Answers Paper is published each sitting day. On the first sitting day each week, the paper includes all outstanding questions and answers received. On each other sitting day only new questions and answers received are published.
Statutory Rules & Instruments
The Statutory Rules and Instruments paper is published on Tuesdays during sitting weeks and on the first Tuesday of every month when the House is not sitting. The document lists the title and date of gazettal of the rule or instrument, information on the tabling date, and the last sitting day on which the notice of disallowance may be given in the House.
Running Record
The Running Record is a real time record of proceedings of the Legislative Council. It is updated during the course of the sitting day and shows the progress of legislation, results of motions and other business conducted. The Running Record also contains useful links to bills, the tabled papers database and notices of motions given that day. The Running Record is a guide only and is not an official record of proceedings.
Legislative Council business papers contact details
Phone: 9230 2431
