Documents presented to the Parliament of New South Wales in the course of proceedings are referred to as 'tabled papers'. 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 are assigned a ‘Parliament Paper’ number.
There are a number of different types of documents (House Papers) relating to the proceedings of the Parliament, for more details see Legislative Assembly Types of House papers or Legislative Council about Orders for Papers.
For much of the Parliament's history the parliamentary papers have been incorporated with votes and proceedings, so many of the titles included here are the same for the votes and proceedings section.
Parliamentary papers are not available as an online set. Tabled papers are available online from the mid 1990s onwards. Many papers presented to Parliament such as annual reports of departments and agencies are also available online through the websites of the relevant department or agency.
1998 (Dec)–
Tabled Papers and Reports
1995–
Tabled Papers
1982–
Reports and Government Responses (coverage may vary between different committees)
1982–
Inquiries (coverage may vary between different committees)
1824–
Comprehensive index to parliamentary documents available online
For both houses, sorted by Parliament and date.
1824-1856
Index to the select committees
This work, compiled by R. F. Doust, identifies and describes the many committees of inquiry appointed by the first Legislative Council of the Colony of New South Wales.
2000–
Use online resources, no printed set covers this period. Annual reports of government departments and agencies have been catalogued as individual items, so have some other reports. Search for these items in the Library catalogue using the title or responsible departments or agency. Also see Government reports and research.
1996-2000
New South Wales. Parliamentary paper
This is an incomplete collection of loose copies of parliamentary papers in boxes, use online resources where possible. No bound volumes of parliamentary papers exist for these years.
1985-1995
No holdings in print for this period. Parliamentary papers may be available online (refer to online comprehensive index) or on microfiche (see microform section below).
1978-2007
Register of Legislative Council committee reports & joint committee reports
Chronological list of committee reports and joint committee reports, specifically Select, Sessional, Standing, Estimates, Joint select, Joint standing and Joint statutory committees.
1904-1984
New South Wales. Parliament. Joint volumes of papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly
1856-1984
New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly during the session …
Includes parliamentary papers.
It's preferable to use the online comprehensive index (includes links to full text of Votes) or the Votes and indexes from the 1st to the 50th Parliament. 1857/57-1900 also available on microfilm, (see microform section below).
1832-1855
New South Wales. Legislative Council. Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Council
Includes sessional papers.
It's preferable to use the First Legislative Council Archive.
1824-1831
New South Wales. Legislative Council. Minutes of proceedings of the Legislative Council of New South Wales
Includes papers presented to Council. Minutes of proceedings contain lists of committees, records of attendance, and details of papers tabled but not printed. The full texts of printed papers are sometimes bound with the Votes and proceedings.
It's preferable to use the First Legislative Council Archive.
It's preferable to use the online comprehensive index.
1985–
No printed indexes. Microfilm includes index (see microform section below).
1955-1984
No separate index. Index included in Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, follows the index to the votes and proceedings under the heading Papers. Included in online comprehensive index, access through "LA Votes Indexes".
1856-1954
New South Wales. Legislative Council. Consolidated index to the minutes of the proceedings and papers
In five volumes, 1856 to 1874, 1874 to 1893, 1894 to 1913, 1914 to 1934 and 1934 to 1954.
Included in online comprehensive index, access through "LA Votes Indexes".
1843-1855
Index to the Votes and proceedings and Sessional papers of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, 1843 to 1855 inclusive
This was printed as a supplementary volume to the Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Council in 1855. SLV does not have the supplementary volume. Held by Deakin University Library.
1824-1848 (/1856)
Doust, R. F. New South Wales Legislative Council 1824-1856: the select committees. Part 1: 1824-1843; Part 2: 1844-1848.
Listing of all committees in Legislative Council in the period 1824-1848. Most were appointed to inquire into proposed bills. Includes summary of background to each committee, membership, witnesses and findings. If report of committee was printed, gives reference in Votes and proceedings. Most were not printed. Also includes index of subjects, members and witnesses.
1855-1980
Specialised indexes to royal commissions and committees of enquiry.
1984-1997
Parliamentary papers during the session ... ... [microform] …
Microfiche of papers presented to Parliament and ordered to be printed. One box for each session of Parliament. In earlier years, fiche are arranged in alphabetical order; in later boxes they appear to be arranged chronologically. Also includes Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly and Minutes of proceedings of the Legislative Council.
1856-1900
Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly during the session...
Rolls 12 to 127
1832-1855
Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Council
Rolls 1 to 11
1824-1831
Minutes of proceedings of the Legislative Council of New South Wales
Reel 1
1984-1997
Parliamentary papers during the session ... ... [microform] …
The first fiche in each box is labelled Index. Generally speaking there are 3 indexes--a general index, an Index to Votes and Proceedings and an Index to the Minutes of Proceedings. These indexes are often tables of contents not indexes.
In earlier years the fiche of the parliamentary papers are in alphabetical order by title or agency so the table of contents works well as an index though of a limited nature. In later years, the fiche are arranged in chronological order so the contents list does not function well as an index.
For these years use the Index to Votes and proceedings (usually the second and third to fourth fiches in the box) and/or the Index to the Minutes of Proceedings, which are a little further along in the fiche sequence. At the end of these indexes is an alphabetic index of parliamentary papers under the heading "Papers".
The Parliament of New South Whales website has a comprehensive index to all parliamentary documents available online. This is a great starting point if you know the period or Parliament (i.e. Parliament No.57) of the material you are looking for.
This index contains links to all NSW Hansard (debates), votes and proceedings, House Papers and Tabled Papers for both houses that are available online, including indexes to these records. Reports of debates prior to 1880 are currently unavailable online. The index is arranged by Parliament and date.
Parliamentary Committees are groups made up of members of Parliament appointed to assist the Parliament in fulfilling its functions.
Select Committees are parliamentary committees appointed for a special purpose or short-term need, such as an inquiry, (as distinct from a standing committees).
A list of committees is available on the Parliament of New South Wales website.
The Parliamentary Research paper The Select Committees of the New South Wales Legislative Council 1824-1856 describes Select Committees appointed by the first Legislative Council of the Colony of New South Wales.
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 State Library of New South Wales 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. NSW Government Directory 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.
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.
OpenGov NSW was a searchable online repository for NSW Government publications, containing annual reports, strategic plans, guides, policy documents, and open access information. This websites has been retired and archived. It was active between 2009 and 2024.
