Research Guides: Government Legislation & Publications: New South Wales: Hansard (Parliamentary debates)

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Hansard (Parliamentary debates)

NSW Hansard - Parliamentary debates and votes and proceedings

Hansard is the official record of the debates in Parliament. It is not a strictly verbatim record, but rather a verified and accurate record (NSW Parliament website).

The debates are not the official record of business. This is contained in the Journals (upper house) and the Votes and proceedings (Lower House).

Parliamentary debates are also known as Hansard or Hansards, after Thomas Hansard (1776-1833), official printer of the British parliamentary debates from 1803.

Resources

NSW Hansard: Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly (Parliamentary debates), 1824–present [external website]
Search the Hansard of the NSW Legislative Council (1824–present) and the NSW Legislative Assembly (1856–present) to find petitions, second readings, the state budget, debates about bills, changes to existing legislation as well as question time.
You can search by date, speaker, bill or narrow your search even further, such as the speech type (for example, second reading) or title, by using the Hansard search (advanced search).
'Reports of Parliamentary debates', the precursor to Hansard, were published in the Sydney Morning Herald and are available, along with Hansard for the period 1856 to 1880 via the NSW Parliament website and Trove.
Parliamentary debates / Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly [catalogue record]
Collection locations:
* 1879 to 1900: Call no. REF1/MAV/FM4/10866. In Governor Marie Bashir reading room LG2. Microfilm cabinets.
* 1901 to 1992: Call no. 328.91/N. Onsite storage. Fill in Stack request slip to access.
* 1993 to 2014: Call no. Q328.94401/10. Onsite storage. Fill in Stack request slip to access.
* 2015 to present: See above--NSW Hansard: Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly (Parliamentary debates), 1824–present [external website]

Indexes:

Searching the indexes:

Search the indexes within the volumes to find petitions, second readings, debates about bills, changes to existing legislation, the state budget, who was present in parliament and how each member voted as well as the questions and answers from question time in Hansard.

Comprehensive index to all parliamentary documents available online 1824-present [external website]
Contains links to all NSW Hansard, House Papers and Tabled Papers which are available online, including indexes to those records. Please note: Reports of debates prior to 1880 are currently unavailable online.
Votes and vote indexes of the Legislative Assembly 1857–1991 [external website]
These documents index votes on legislation passed in the NSW Legislative Assembly. Voting information and sessional papers are also provided. The indexes include amendments to bills, standing orders, motions and other procedures of passing acts.
New South Wales Parliamentary debates (Sydney morning herald) : index in two volumes / Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1856-1880 [catalogue record]
Call no. NQ328.94402/SET. In Governor Marie Bashir reading room LG2. On Reference books shelf.
Vol. 1. First to Fifth Parliament: 22 May 1856 to 15 November 1869.
Vol. 2. Sixth to Ninth Parliaments: 27 January 1870 to 9 November 1880.
Or
Search Trove.
New South Wales Legislative Council 1824-1856 : abstracts of Votes and proceedings : with an index compiled by R.F. Doust. 1824-1843 [catalogue record]
Call no. Q328.944/12 SET. In Special Collections Area, Mitchell wing. On Australian Reference books shelf.
New South Wales Legislative Council 1824-1856 : the select committees, compiled by R.F. Doust. 1824-1856 [catalogue record]
Call no. NQ328.944/13 SET. Onsite storage. Fill in Stack request slip to access.
Part. I. 1824-1843
Part. II. 1844-1848
Part. III. 1849-1856.
Consolidated index to the Minutes of the proceedings and printed papers, 1856–1954 [catalogue record]
Call no. NQ342.91/2. In Governor Marie Bashir reading room LG2. On Reference books shelf.
Use the index to find debates about bills, changes to existing legislation, the state budget, the questions and answers from question time as well as petitions, second readings and reports from committees in Hansard.
The index has been published across five volumes.

About Hansard

Hansard is available online in two formats:

Day Transcripts - are available about 3 Hours after the last House rises, but are indexed by date only. Navigate to a sitting day and access the Hansard Full Day Transcript link for the full text of the day's proceedings.
Articles - are available on the morning following a sitting day, generally after 10 am. This format is more convenient to search and print than the full text day transcript. Access the Date, Bill, or Member link for each item of business.
The Proof is replaced with a corrected copy usually within two weeks of a sitting.

About Hansard
See the Parliament of New South Wales website for more information about Hansard

What is a bill?

A bill is a proposed law. A bill needs to go through several stages to become an Act including being passed by both Houses and assented (signed by the Governor).

Bills glossary
See the Parliament of New South Wales Bills glossary for explanation of other terms associated with bills.