Preparing for NSW parliamentary committee evidence: a practical guide
Preparing to give evidence to a NSW parliamentary committee requires more than knowing your brief. You need to understand the particular inquiry’s rules, the capacity in which you are appearing and the arrangements for accurate follow-up.
Premier’s Memorandum M2017-01 remains listed as active government guidance for employees dealing with Legislative Council Portfolio Committees. It is not a substitute for Parliament’s procedures or advice on a specific summons, document order or privilege issue. For government submissions, use current M2025-02 rather than relying on the 2017 memorandum’s old submission-policy reference.
Budget Estimates has specific rules
The Legislative Council’s July 2026 Budget Estimates Guide for 2026–27 provides a useful current example. Its rules should not be assumed to apply unchanged to every parliamentary inquiry. Under the arrangements described in that guide, hearings are public and witnesses cannot give opening statements. Private evidence is not available under that Budget Estimates resolution, unlike arrangements that may exist in other inquiries.
Prepare a reliable evidence brief
Confirm the hearing arrangements with the relevant contact officer. Organise verified facts, dates, figures and source documents. Identify uncertainty rather than guessing. Public servants should not be asked for opinions on the merits of government policy, but the guide says they may be asked to explain policy, how it was formulated and how it differs from previous policy. Answers must be directly relevant.
Handle difficult issues through the proper process
Raise anticipated confidentiality, privacy or privilege concerns early with the agency’s legal advisers and appropriate parliamentary contacts. A claim of confidentiality is not automatically accepted. The guide describes a process for objections in which the committee considers the grounds, relevance and necessity of the information and decides whether to insist on an answer. It also describes committee document orders. Do not treat an internal approval process as permission to disregard parliamentary requirements.
Track follow-up carefully
Where a witness cannot answer a question, the guide allows an undertaking to provide a written answer later, with the Chair confirming what is taken on notice. Answers are generally due within 21 calendar days after questions are forwarded, unless the committee determines otherwise. Confirm the actual deadline and coordinate through the ministerial office.
Check the transcript promptly. Correct transcription errors, not the substance or style of what was actually said. Substantive corrections or clarifications require separate correspondence through the agreed process.
These practices help officials, including those supporting corrections portfolios, provide accountable evidence. This is practical general guidance, not advice about the legal consequences of a particular question, summons or claim of privilege.
Official sources
Sources checked 13 November 2026. Independent explanatory commentary; no government endorsement. Original documents are linked rather than reproduced because reproduction permission has not been established.
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