Writing Submissions to Parliamentary Inquiries

Parliamentary inquiries can attract hundreds of submissions on a single topic, and committees have limited time to read them. A submission that isn’t structured around who you are, what you want and why it matters is easy to overlook — no matter how sound the underlying argument.

This white paper walks through how parliamentary committees and inquiries actually work, from the Terms of Reference through to the Final Report, and sets out what separates a submission that gets read and cited from one that doesn’t: a clear executive summary, specific recommendations, and evidence that substantiates rather than asserts. It also covers what to do after you’ve lodged a submission — the follow-up opportunities most organisations leave on the table.