About House papers

The Business Paper lists notices of motion and orders of the day and is published on the preceding sitting day, shortly after the House rises. A notice of motion is a statement of intention to move a motion on a particular day. A member cannot move a motion unless they give notice of their intention to move the motion, except as provided by leave, standing or sessional orders or resolution 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 business accorded precedence (motions of no confidence or censure and other  business with precedence). Notices of motion given by Legislative Assembly members can be accessed via Notice Tracking.

The Daily Program lists business to be dealt with on each sitting day. It is prepared by the Leader of the House for each sitting day and is published on the morning of each sitting day. The program is indicative only and the order of business may change without notice.

Questions that 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 Questions and Answers paper. Members' questions are published in full when the question is asked and  when the answer is received. The Questions and Answers Paper is published each sitting day. During any adjournment of the House for two weeks or more a paper is published from time to time containing answers received. A final edition (containing all unanswered questions) is published after the House is prorogued.  Questions can also be accessed via the Questions and Answers tracking page by:

• Asking member
• Questions asked by Portfolio
• Answers due by portfolio.

The Running Record is a real time record of Legislative Assembly proceedings. It is updated regularly on sitting days and shows the progress of legislation, results of motions and other business. It links to bills, the tabled papers database and notices of motions given that day. The Running Record is not an official record of proceedings. 

The Statutory 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 for the notice of disallowance to be given by the House.

The Tabled Papers register is an electronic database of all papers tabled in the House. This database only displays reports and other papers that 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 being tabled in the Legislative Assembly. 

The Votes and Proceedings or "Votes" document is the official record of proceedings in the Legislative Assembly and is published on the sitting day, shortly after the House rises. They are the 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 Legislative Assembly from the 1st (1856) to the 49th (1988-91) parliament can be viewed. These records have been created in a searchable PDF format as part of a wider digitisation project. 

The Disallowable 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. The Disallowable Instruments paper can viewed on the Hansard and House papers page.

See also the Disallowable instruments page, which lists instruments by tabling date, status, provides a link to the instrument directly. The Legislative Council's Disallowance alerts page lists all instruments subject to a notice of motion for disallowance, the progress and outcome.

The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the votes and deliberations in the Legislative Council and is published on the sitting day after the House rises. 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 decisions made by the House.

The Notice Paper lists all business before the House, including notices of motion and orders of the day and is published on the preceding sitting day, shortly after the House rises. 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.

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 day and is found on via the Hansard and House papers page.

Questions on notice and questions without notice (asked at Question Time) can also be accessed via the Questions and Answers tracking page by:

• Asking member
• Questions asked by Portfolio
• Answers due by portfolio.

The Running Record is a real time record of proceedings of the Legislative Council. It is updated during 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.