A guide to accessing Tasmanian Government publications at our library and online.
Documents presented to Tasmanian Parliament in the course of proceedings are referred to as 'tabled documents'. Among a range of other material, these documents include annual reports of government agencies, government inquiries and parliamentary committee reports. Some documents are required to be presented by law and others are presented as general information for Members of Parliament.
Of all the documents presented to Parliament each year, documents that are considered substantial are then ordered to be published parliamentary papers. Parliamentary papers do not include petitions, official notices, acts and regulations.
Tasmanian published parliamentary papers are not a separate series but are included in volumes with the Parliamentary votes and proceedings, currently titled Journals and printed papers of the Parliament of Tasmania. State Library Victoria holds up until 2009 in print, from 2013 onwards they are available in a digital format, along with digital copies of some consolidated indexes, through the National edeposit on Trove.
2013–
Journals and printed papers of the Parliament of Tasmania
Parliamentary papers are not a separate series but are included in volumes with the parliamentary proceedings and journals. Recent volumes in this series are available online through the National edesposit on Trove.
1856-1901
Colonial-era Parliamentary Papers
Includes all parliamentary papers tabled during this period, in either the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council, and ordered to be printed.
1892–
Tasmanian Parliament Document Search
Searchable database that indexes parliamentary papers from House of Assembly and Legislative Council. Select "ParliamentaryPapers" in the drop down box beside the search button. Coverage is from 1892 to present and includes name of paper, date tabled, and the paper number. Records for papers from approximately 2007 onwards often include links to PDF documents or websites.
1957-2011
Index to Parliamentary Papers of Tasmania from 1957-2011 (Vol. V Parts 1 & 2), digital version of published volumes available through National edesposit on Trove.
1856-1956
Index to Parliamentary Papers of Tasmania from 1856-1956 (Vol. 1 Parts 1 & 2), digital version of published volumes available through the National edesposit on Trove.
Recent papers tabled in House of Assembly and Legislative Council can be searched through the Parliament of Tasmania website. Details include name of paper, date tabled, and the paper number. House of Assembly Tabled Papers includes a scanned PDF of the document.
2015–
House of Assembly Tabled Papers (includes scanned PDF of documents)
2008–
Legislative Council Tabled Papers
Parliament of Tasmania website has details of all current parliamentary committees. There is a webpage for each committee but the documentation available will depend on the committee and its purpose. It can include: terms of reference, reports, inquiries, public notices, and media releases. Documentation and reports of past committees from 1997 onwards are also available through the Parliament website, see below:
2014-
House of Assembly Former Committees
Legislative Council Former Committees
Joint Former Committees
1997-2013
Historical Committees
There are multiple volumes of the published series of parliamentary papers that cover each session of Parliament. Parliamentary papers are not a separate series but are included in volumes with the parliamentary votes and proceedings. State Library Victoria holds the print version until 2009, from 2013 onwards access the publication online.
1884-2009
Journals and printed papers of the Parliament of Tasmania
1856-1883
Journals of the House of Assembly includes papers presented to the House of Assembly and ordered to be printed. Most papers were presented to both houses and are printed twice in the journals of both the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
1856-1883
Journals of the Legislative Council includes papers presented to the Legislative Council and ordered to be printed. Most papers were presented to both houses and are printed twice in the journals of both the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
1837-1855
Van Diemen’s Land. Legislative Council. Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Council includes papers presented to the Legislative Council and ordered to be printed. Also available online from the State Library of Tasmania.
1840-1851
Papers of the Legislative Council of Van Diemen’s Land. Annual volumes. State Library Victoria does not have 1843.
Note that online versions of some indexes also available.
1856-1956
Index to the printed papers of the Parliament of Tasmania, from 1856-1956 (volume 1: part 1 1856-1884; part 2 1885-1956)
1957-2011
Index to parliamentary papers of Tasmania (volume 2 1957-1967; volume 3 1957-1980)
Index to parliamentary papers of Tasmania (volume 4 1980-1990 – not available at State Library Victoria)
Index to parliamentary papers of Tasmania (volume 5 1990-2011 – online only)
1981-2009
Journals and printed papers of the Parliament of Tasmania. There is usually an index to the parliamentary papers in the first volume for each period which is devoted to papers rather than the journals of each of the houses. For this period the online indexes are easier to use.
1852-1855
Use index in Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Council
1840-1850
Use index in Papers of the Legislative Council of Van Diemen’s Land
(indexes to royal commissions, committees of enquiry, etc.)
1859-1980
Borchardt, D. H. Checklist of Royal Commissions, Select Committees of Parliament and Boards of Inquiry: part II: Tasmania, 1856-1959.
Borchardt, D. H. Supplement to Checklist of royal commissions, select committees of parliament and boards of inquiry, 1856-1980.
The Tasmanian Parliamentary Library together with the Tasmanian Family History Society have digitsied colonial-era parliamentary papers making them available to the wider community for research. This database, Tasmanian Parliamentary Papers 1856 - 1901, includes all parliamentary papers tabled during this period, in either the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council, and ordered to be printed.
Not all reports and research produced by Government are tabled in Parliament or get included in parliamentary papers. Government departments' or agencies' reports and research in many cases are deposited in the relevant State Library. Search Libraries Tasmania's catalogue, or the National Library and other State Library collections via Trove. If a publication is not held by a Library, try the below sources.
Government reports and research are in most cases published on departments' or agencies' websites. Government Directory Service provides an entry point to these websites.
When websites are updated these documents can become inaccessible or be removed. The Australian Web Archive (accessible through Trove) archives Australian Government websites. Search for a specific government department or agency and then (if available) navigate to linked publications within the past version of their website. Note: snapshots occur only periodically and linked documents are not always archived.
If you are looking for government research you can also try searching the Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO), an open access repository that aims to make public policy and research discoverable and usable.
