Do you have statistics about the history of the parliament showing, by year, how many bills were introduced and passed?
Thanks for your great question Mark.
The House of Representatives has published a table of statistics about this topic, dating back to 1901. You can view the House of Representatives statistics page and select ‘general statistics’ under the heading 'Historical statistics'. The table shows that the largest number of bills – proposed laws – passed in one year was 264 in 1992. The smallest number of bills passed in one year was 12 in 1907.
This table does not list how many bills have been presented to the Senate each year. You can find a record of all the bills passed by the Senate in each Parliament going back to 2012 on the Senate statistics page. Senate statistics for each Parliament between 1978 and 2011 are published on the statistics by Parliament page.
A minister introducing a bill in the House of Representatives
David Foote/DPS Auspic
A minister introducing a bill in the House of Representatives
David Foote/DPS Auspic
Description
A minister hands a stack of documents to the Clerk in the House of Representatives, introducing a bill to Parliament. Introducing the bill is the first step in the law-making process. After this, the bill must go through several stages before it becomes a law. If both the House of Representatives and the Senate agree to the bill, it is sent to the Governor-General for Royal Assent and becomes law.
Permission should be sought from DPS AUSPIC for third-party or commercial uses of this image. To contact DPS AUSPIC email: auspic@aph.gov.au or phone: 02 6277 3342.