 Australian Senate committees

The committees of the Australian Senate are committees of Senators, established by the Australian Senate, for purposes determined by that body.Senate committees are part of the operation of the Australian parliament, and have for some decades been involved in maintenance of government accountability to the Australian parliament, particularly through hearings to scrutinise the budget, and through public inquiries on policy questions.The existence of parliamentary committees is mentioned in section 49 of the Constitution of Australia, which makes reference to 'The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House...' However, the Senate had few committees, engaged in limited activities, until 1970.