The NSW Government may receive requests or be required to respond to reports arising from inquiries or reviews. Government responses provide a pathway for the Government to contribute to policies, strategies and outcomes in areas of significance for NSW.

Inquiries affecting the interests of the NSW Government may be conducted by:

• NSW Parliamentary Committees

• NSW statutory agencies (for example the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal)

• Royal Commissions and Special Commissions of Inquiry

• Commonwealth Government agencies and the Commonwealth Parliament

• non-government organisations or international bodies.

This Memorandum provides guidance for Ministers and agencies required to prepare a response to an inquiry report.

This Memorandum should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

• The Cabinet Practice Manual is the authoritative guide to Cabinet practice in NSW – it provides guidance on the types of matters that are generally considered by Cabinet and Committees.

• From time to time, Ministers and agency employees may be called as witnesses to appear before parliamentary and other inquiries. Guidance for witnesses before the Legislative Council's Portfolio Committees is provided in Premier’s Memoranda M2017-01 and M2017-02. 

For guidance on NSW Government submissions to inquiries, see M2025-02.

Government responses to inquiries

When to submit a response to an inquiry

Committees of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly publish reports on inquiries that may require a government response after publication. A Government response is mandatory if the report recommends an action to be taken by the Government.

The Government response must be tabled in accordance with the following timeframes:

• Standing Order 240 of the Legislative Council requires that on the tabling of a report in the Legislative Council which recommends that action be taken by the Government, the Government must, within 3 months of the report being tabled, report to the House what action, if any, the Government proposes to take in relation to each recommendation of the committee.

• Standing Order 303A of the Legislative Assembly provides that on the tabling of a report in the Legislative Assembly which recommends that action be taken by the Government, the relevant Minister(s) must within 6 months report to the House what action, if any, the Government proposes to take in relation to each recommendation of the committee.

Where the Government is responding to a report made by a joint committee, the longer timeframe of 6 months should be observed.

If the Minister responsible for a Government response that is subject to the three-month timeframe believes that a considered Government response cannot reasonably be prepared and provided to the House within that timeframe, the Minister should write to the Clerk, copying the Leader of the Government in the House, advising of the reasons why further time is required and the date by which a Government response will be provided.

 Standing Order 240 of the Legislative Council provides that:

• The President is to report to the House any Government response not received within the three-month deadline.

• If a response does not address what action, if any, the Government proposes to take in relation to each recommendation, the President is to inform the House on the next sitting day. The relevant Minister must immediately explain to the House the reason for non-compliance.

• If, after explanation in the House, the Minister has not provided a full Government response within a period of one month, the President is to again inform the House and the Minister will again be called to explain. This procedure is to continue until a full Government response to each recommendation is provided.

Agencies may make a voluntary response to a report of a NSW Parliamentary inquiry, or other inquiries such as Special Commissions of Inquiry, provided they obtain the Premier’s approval to do so.

Responsibility for preparing a response to an inquiry

In all cases, the response is to be prepared by the responsible portfolio agency. Where the response relates to other portfolios, the responsible agency should consult with relevant agencies to ensure that there is a coordinated approach across NSW Government in the preparation and approval of Government responses.

If it is unclear which agency is responsible, TCO will, in consultation with the Premier’s Office, allocate the response to an agency. In exceptional circumstances TCO may assume responsibility for a response where it raises complex issues affecting several portfolios or where there is no clear lead agency.

Approvals required for a response to an inquiry

There are two steps associated with the making of a response to an inquiry:

1. Confirmation by the Premier of the approval pathway for the final response

2. Approval of the final response.

The final approver will depend on which of the following three categories the inquiry report and approach to the response falls within:

If it is unclear which category a response falls within, agencies should treat it as category 1 unless the Premier (or delegate) or TCO determines otherwise.

Attachment 1 sets out for each category of inquiry report and response the likely pathway and timeframe for approval of the final response. The actual approval pathway is subject to the Premier’s confirmation.

Attachment 2 to this Memorandum contains a form that should be used by agencies when seeking confirmation of the approval pathway from the Premier.

Timeframes for a response can be short, especially in relation to mandatory responses to reports of a Committee of the Legislative Council. Accordingly, agencies should submit the form at Attachment 2 to TCO as early as possible.

Responses to intergovernmental matters

Agencies may also be required to coordinate responses to other significant and intergovernmental matters (for example, responding to an issue raised by a Commonwealth Minister). In such cases, the principles and procedures in this Memorandum should be applied to seek the Premier’s approval to prepare a response and determine the appropriate approval pathway for the final response.

Agencies should refer to Section 2.3 of the Cabinet Practice Manual to determine if a response should be approved by Cabinet.

Chris Minns MP

Premier