With six sitting weeks left of the 58th Parliament, the Legislative Council wasted no time getting back to business. After a busy sitting break dominated by Budget Estimates hearings, members returned to the chamber for a packed week debating several significant bills, motions and orders for papers, along with several notable procedural moments.
On Wednesday, the House adopted changes to the standing orders to continue the Question Time arrangements that have operated as sessional orders since November 2025. Under the new rules, supplementary questions are limited to one minute and answers to two minutes, with a possible one-minute extension. Following a question from a non-government member, there may also be a short exchange made up of four one-minute contributions: first from the questioner, then the minister, another non-government member and the minister again. Read more about these standing orders in the Hansard record. Changes to standing orders, which makes sessional orders permanent, are quite rare and are approved by the Governor under the Constitution Act 1902.
The House also adopted guidelines, developed by the Privileges Committee, for treatment of unauthorised disclosure of committee proceedings. These guidelines are designed to ensure committee information remains confidential until the committee authorises its release, helping to protect witnesses, support fair inquiries and allow committees to deliberate freely. Unauthorised disclosure may be treated as a contempt of Parliament, potentially leading to investigation by the Privileges Committee and sanctions. Read the full guidelines in the Hansard record.
On Thursday, the House considered two messages from the Legislative Assembly advising that it did not agree to amendments made by the Council. The first related to the Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026, which had been amended in the Council to include provisions concerning the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901. The second related to the Parliamentary Remuneration Amendment (Basic Salary and Additional Entitlements) Bill 2026, which deals with additional staff allocations for members of the NSW Parliament. After debate, the House voted to insist on its amendments to both bills, sending them back to the Legislative Assembly. For one of the bills, this will be the second time it has returned to the Assembly.
In other notable procedural moments, a process authorised under standing order 157 was used for the first time in more than 30 years. This standing order allows a bill to be recommitted to a committee of the whole at the third reading stage for consideration of further amendments. It was successfully used on Thursday during debate on the Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026.
Read on to find out more about what happened in the Legislative Council this week…
BILLS INTRODUCED
BILLS DEBATED
- Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Knife Scanning) Bill 2026
- Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Points Reduction) Bill 2026
- Parliamentary Remuneration Amendment (Basic Salary and Additional Entitlements) Bill 2026
BILLS PASSED
- Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026
- Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026
- Sydney Olympic Park Authority Amendment (Millennium Parklands) Bill 2026
- Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Amendment (Review) Bill 2026
BILLS NEGATIVED
IN COMMITTEES
The following new committee inquiries were reported in the House this week:
- Emerging combat sports and comparable activities, Standing Committee on Social Issues
- Review of Division 8A of Part 3A of the Crimes Act 1900 (Inciting racial hatred), Portfolio Committee No. 5 – Justice and Communities
The following committee reports were either tabled or reported in the House this week:
- Report No. 52 of the Selection of Bills Committee, dated 15 September 2026
- 2026 Review of the Work Health and Safety Scheme, report No. 89 of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice dated September 2026
- Delegated Legislation Monitor, report 10 of the Delegated Legislation Committee dated September 2026
- Legislation Review Digest, report 50/58 of the Legislation Review Committee dated 15 September 2026
- Consideration of disputed claim of privilege as referred by the Clerk under standing order 54, report 112 of the Privileges Committee dated September 2026
- Immediate options for enhancing political party governance, report 6/58 of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters dated September 2026
- Special Report to the House concerning disorderly conduct in committee proceedings, report 69 of Portfolio Committee No. 1 – Premier and Finance dated September 2026
- Potential breach of the privileges of the Hon Mark Latham MLC by a Racing NSW investigation, report 111 of the Privileges Committee dated august 2026
- Interventions to reduce road trauma in regional NSW caused by speeding, fatigue, drink and drug driving, report No. 3/58 of the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety (Staysafe) dated September 2026
GENERAL MOTIONS
| Topic | Moved by | Agreed to? |
| Floods in Nepal | The Hon Mark Buttigieg (Labor) | Agreed to |
| Access to Non-Commercial Licences to Harm Kangaroos | The Hon Scott Barrett (Nationals) | Agreed to, on division (Ayes 31/Noes 5) |
| Train Manufacturing in the Hunter Region | The Hon Emily Suvaal (Labor) | Agreed to |
| Assessment of Transfer Duty Under the Duties Act 1997 | The Hon Scott Farlow (Liberal) | Agreed to |
| Explicit Teaching and Student Academic Results in New South Wales Schools | The Hon Mark Latham (Independent) | Negatived, on division (Ayes 15/Noes 18) |
| Portfolio Committee no. 1 – Premier and Finance — Publication of Transcript (Budget Estimates 2026-2027) | Ms Cate Faehrmann (The Greens) | Agreed to, as amended, on division (Ayes:19/Noes: 13) |
ORDERS FOR PAPERS