The Federation Chamber is an alternative venue of the Australian House of Representatives, operating in parallel with its main Chamber to allow two streams of business to be debated concurrently.

In June this year, I was pleased to take the Chair in the Federation Chamber and make a statement celebrating the 30th birthday of this unique and successful Australian innovation in parliamentary institutions. Even so, it is not widely known that the Federation Chamber exists, and it is important that we celebrate what the Federation Chamber enables Members to do. Since its establishment to relieve legislative pressure in the House, it has adapted and evolved to provide a range of speaking opportunities for Members.

Shaped by history and geography

Composed of Members representing 151 diverse electorates spread across a vast continent, the Australian House of Representatives has from its inception, in 1901, faced a very practical challenge. Travel to and from Canberra can be a significant impost, taking Members away from their electorates and families for long periods. Yet it takes time to make legislation, scrutinise government and represent constituents in the national Parliament. Therefore, making the most of the House’s time when Members are in the capital is imperative.

In the late 1980s, changes to sitting patterns increased the number of sitting days per week from three to four. However, in 1993, the House Standing Committee on Procedure, noting the marked increase in legislative activity since 1901, found there had nevertheless been a significant rise in the ‘guillotining’ of Bills to reduce legislative pressure.

To address this, the Committee proposed the establishment of a ‘Main Committee (Legislation)’. In 1994, the House responded by amending its Standing Orders to create ‘the Main Committee’ – a parallel chamber supporting a second legislative stream. The business menu also included the ability to debate ‘take note’ motions on Committee and delegation reports.
Thirty years later, as Deputy Speaker of the House, it is my proud duty to chair what is now known as the Federation Chamber: a second chamber of the House in which Members can not only debate legislation but also move Private Members’ motions and have a range of other speaking opportunities. Like many successful parliamentary innovations, the growth of the House’s second chamber has been iterative.

In 1995, a Procedure Committee report on Bills, questions and working hours found that the Main Committee had increased sitting hours by almost 10%. A striking indicator of the success of the Main Committee in allowing more time for consideration of legislation was the decrease in the use of the guillotine – for example, in 1994 the guillotine was used for 14 Bills compared with 132 Bills in 1992. Further, the ability to debate Committee reports in the Main Committee had also significantly relieved pressure at the end of periods of sittings, when the presentation of an increased number of reports usually coincided with the greatest pressure from legislative business.

In 1997, in response to a Procedure Committee recommendation, the House agreed to the introduction of three-minute statements and an adjournment debate. Initially the opportunity to make statements was only available to Private Members but was eventually extended to Parliamentary Secretaries and Ministers, recognising their representational role, and they were renamed ‘constituency statements’. In 2008, the Main Committee became the venue for the grievance debate and the opportunity for Members to make 90-second statements was also added. In February 2012, the House agreed to amend its Standing Orders to change the Main Committee’s name to the Federation Chamber, in recognition of the importance of the House’s second chamber. Other names had been explored, but ultimately the word ‘Federation’ was favoured as it recognised ‘the fundamental structure of our parliamentary system’.

Since 13 September 2016, Mondays in the Federation Chamber have been entirely devoted to Private Members’ business. At its inception, the Main Committee met as required, often twice a week. These days it meets four days a week. In 1995, its first full year of operation, the Federation Chamber provided an additional 94 hours of debating time. In 2014, this figure reached 209. In 2024, for the first half of the year to 5 July, the Federation Chamber has already met for 133 hours.

Above: The Speakers Panel for the Australian Parliament. Members of the Speakers Panel assist the Speaker and Deputy Speaker by taking the Chair of the Federation Chamber when required to preside over proceedings.

A Creature of the House

The Federation Chamber is presented as a microcosm of the House. It is situated in the largest of the House of Representatives Committee rooms, which has been fitted out in a horseshoe configuration similar to that of the House. There are galleries for the public, advisers and the media. As with the House, the floor of the Federation Chamber is reserved for Members. The public galleries are separated from the floor by rope barriers, and, while advisers may occasionally be tempted to lean or call across, this is strictly out of order.

The Standing Orders relating to the Federation Chamber clearly situate it as subservient to the House. It can meet only when the House is sitting and must suspend if a division is called in the House so that Members can attend. The Federation Chamber also does not meet during Question Time or at other times when most Members might be expected in the Chamber. All Members of the House are Members of the Federation Chamber. It has a quorum of three – the Deputy Speaker, one government Member and one non-government Member – who must be present at all times. Members who are suspended from the service of the House due to disorderly conduct are also excluded from the Federation Chamber.

In establishing a second chamber, the House was at pains to make sure that it operated on a consensus basis. The Federation Chamber cannot suspend Standing Orders, and any decision taken in the Federation Chamber is subject to the approval of the House. The Standing Orders do not provide for divisions in the Federation Chamber. If a matter cannot be resolved ‘on the voices’ – in other words, if any Member dissents from the result announced by the Chair – then the question is returned to the House for resolution.

Matters can be referred to the Federation Chamber by a programming declaration by the Leader of the House or Chief Government Whip, by resolution of the House or by the Selection Committee, which selects items of Private Members’ business for consideration on Mondays.

Taking the Chair

As Deputy Speaker, I am the Chair of the Federation Chamber. As well as setting its meeting times whenever a deviation from the pattern set by the Standing Orders is required, I am responsible for presiding over Federation Chamber meetings. In this role, I am ably assisted by a panel of deputies, who have been appointed by warrant of the Speaker. The Federation Chamber’s relatively small size and restricted range of business make it a good venue for new Chairs to develop their skills. Members’ proximity to each other can tempt them to interject. Unresolved questions can end proceedings on a matter more quickly than expected. Cut-off times may be either flexible or inflexible, depending on the item of business. This dynamism means that Chairs must always be focussed, and new Chairs can find they have the opportunity to exercise not just their technical skills but their negotiating skills as well. Despite the general ethos of cooperation in the Federation Chamber, disorder does sometimes arise, and there are formal mechanisms in place if it does. The Chair may direct a disorderly Member to leave the Federation Chamber for a period of 15 minutes. Should a Member refuse to leave as directed, the Chair must report the disorder to the House.

Alternatively, if sudden disorder occurs in the Federation Chamber, the Chair may – and on motion by any Member is obliged to – immediately suspend or adjourn the proceedings. The Chair must then report the circumstances to the Speaker. Any subsequent action to sanction a Member may only be taken in the House. Disorder warranting formal action has been rare, although the Chamber has been suspended or adjourned due to disorder – the last occasion being in 2020. One of the more conspicuous examples of disorder occurred in 2015, when a Member was named and suspended from the service of the House after pouring and spilling fuel oil that he had brought into the Federation Chamber to illustrate a speech.

More commonly, though, a cooperative spirit prevails. The ability of any Member to move the adjournment of the Chamber and the unresolved question mechanism further reduce the likelihood of disorder. This, too, is where the role of the Chair in anticipating issues, acting fairly and impartially and using their discretion and judgement can go a long way to keep proceedings orderly.

Happy Birthday

As a parallel debating chamber, the Federation Chamber has made a significant contribution to managing the work of the House. More than 1,570 Bills have been referred to it, and Members have spent over 2,340 hours debating legislation there.

This article was written by Ms Sharon Claydon, MP, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. The article was first published in pages 236-238 of ‘The Parliamentarian,’ 2024: Issue 3.

It has also been a useful forum for introducing and trialling procedural and other innovations. For example, a formal mechanism for allowing a Member to pose a short question or make a brief response during another Member’s speech was first permitted in the Main Committee by sessional order. This provision for interventions, as they are known, was eventually adopted in the House. In 2012, screens showing the item of business and question under consideration were trialled in the Federation Chamber before being introduced into the House two years later.

In turn, the Federation Chamber has inspired other Legislatures to consider new ways of working. For example, the United Kingdom’s House of Commons looked closely at our model before establishing its parallel debating chamber, Westminster Hall, in a manner which suited its own needs.

Our Federation Chamber was created in response to the unique circumstances of Australia’s House of Representatives and the need to make the most of the time available to Members while they were in the national capital. Over time, it has grown into a forum which allows opportunities for Private Members as well as offering a parallel debating stream of legislation. The Federation Chamber has also provided the House with an important forum to test and innovate, helping our Parliament remain agile and adaptive.

Happy 30th birthday to the Federation Chamber. May this unique Australian parliamentary innovation continue to evolve and help strengthen our democracy for decades to come.