Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Henderson, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) order for the production of documents no. 479, agreed to by the Senate on 28 February 2024, regarding application processing data from Services Australia has not been complied with,

(ii) the Minister for Government Services stated that the order seeks 'not a document that is in existence, but one that would need to be created', and

(iii) the Minister for Government Services further stated that a 'request for information of this kind in this way is appropriate for a question on notice';

(b) rejects the grounds that the Minister for Government Services has provided for not complying with the order, noting that:

(i) it is a well-established principle that orders for the production of documents may require the creation and production of documents by the person or body having the information to compile the documents, and

(ii) refusing to comply with the order on the grounds that the information could be obtained via a question on notice or at Senate estimates is not an acceptable basis to withhold information from the Senate; and

(c) requires the Minister for Government Services to comply with the order by no later than midday on Monday, 25 March 2024.

Question agreed to.