Edition 2 · as at 8 September 2026 · responses checked to 7 September 2026
As at 8 September 2026
What this site said on 8 September 2026. This page does not change: the current registers move every week, and this one is kept so a figure quoted from it stays where it was quoted from. Cite it as toohardbasket.org.au/as-at/2026-09-08/.
- Senate register
- 81
- 73 past the deadline · 45 “being considered”
- House register
- 37
- 29 past the deadline
- Responses read since April 2022
- 624
- 260 closed with the form letter
- Recommendations indexed
- 5,259
- 1,193 awaiting a response
The two register counts are never added: joint committee reports are listed by both presiding officers. The dataset behind this edition is tagged edition-2026-09-08 in the repository, where every row can be traced to the document it came from.
Use these figures
Each line carries its own denominator and date, so it can be quoted as it stands. The citation names this edition, which does not change.
- 81 Senate and joint committee reports were awaiting a government response as at 8 September 2026; 73 were past the Senate’s three-month deadline.
- 37 House and joint committee reports were awaiting a government response as at 8 September 2026; 29 were past the House’s six-month deadline.
- The two counts are not added together: joint committee reports are listed by both presiding officers (23 reports were on both registers).
- The longest wait on either register was 4,305 days (11 years, 9 months) as at 8 September 2026.
- Of 624 government responses tabled since 7 April 2022 and read to 7 September 2026, 260 (42 per cent) closed the report with the same one-sentence “passage of time” letter, stating no position on any recommendation.
- Of 3,504 recommendations the site could show as at 8 September 2026, 1,030 (29 per cent) received a stated position: 504 accepted, 445 in part or in principle, 81 not accepted.
Cite as Australian Public Interest Alliance, The Too Hard Basket, Edition 2, as at 8 September 2026, responses checked to 7 September 2026, https://toohardbasket.org.au/as-at/2026-09-08/
Senate register · 81 awaiting a response
From the President’s report as at 30 June 2026, which listed 98 as waiting; 17 answered since had been taken off. Longest wait 4,305 days (11 years, 9 months).
House register · 37 awaiting a response
From the Speaker’s schedule as at 30 June 2026, which listed 44 as waiting; 7 answered since had been taken off. Longest wait 2,099 days (5 years, 8 months).
| Waiting | Report | Committee | Tabled | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,099 days | Report 485: Cyber Resilience: Inquiry into Auditor-General’s Reports 1 and 13 (2019-20) | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 9 Dec 2020 | Answered in part |
| 1,841 days | Report 486: Regulatory Activities - Inquiry into Auditor-Generals Reports 33, 47, 48 (2019-20) and 5 and 8 (2020-21) | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 24 Aug 2021 | Answered in part |
| 1,623 days | Inquiry into PFAS remediation in and around Defence bases: Final report | Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (Joint, Standing) | 30 Mar 2022 | Being considered |
| 1,622 days | Report 488 Commonwealth Financial Statements 2019-20 | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 31 Mar 2022 | Answered in part |
| 1,622 days | Report 491 Review of the Auditor-General Act 1997 | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 31 Mar 2022 | Answered in part |
| 1,392 days | Report 201: Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Treaties (Joint, Standing) | 16 Nov 2022 | Being considered |
| 1,258 days | Report 494: Inquiry into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s crisis management arrangements | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 30 Mar 2023 | Answered in part |
| 1,091 days | Report 500: Inquiry into procurement at Services Australia and the NDIA - Interim Report | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 13 Sept 2023 | Answered in part |
| 1,063 days | Australia's trade and investment opportunities in a global green economy | Trade and Investment Growth (Joint, Standing) | 11 Oct 2023 | Being considered |
| 1,057 days | Report 499 Inquiry into the Annual Performance Statements 2021–22 | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 17 Oct 2023 | Answered in part |
| 1,015 days | Inquiry into the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (Joint, Standing) | 28 Nov 2023 | Being considered |
| 1,014 days | Law enforcement capabilities in relation to child exploitation | Law Enforcement (Joint, Statutory) | 29 Nov 2023 | Being considered |
| 945 days | Interim report - Inquiry into the Australian Government's approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements | Trade and Investment Growth (Joint, Standing) | 6 Feb 2024 | Being considered |
| 896 days | Better Competition, Better Prices: Report on the inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation | Economics (House, Standing) | 26 Mar 2024 | Being considered |
| 860 days | Strengthening Australia's approach to trade negotiations | Trade and Investment Growth (Joint, Standing) | 1 May 2024 | Being considered |
| 833 days | Drowning in waste: Plastic pollution in Australia’s oceans and waterways | Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (House, Standing) | 28 May 2024 | Being considered |
| 831 days | Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework | Human Rights (Joint, Statutory) | 30 May 2024 | Being considered |
| 799 days | Report 5/2024: Department of Defence – Australian Defence Force Academy Living-in Accommodation project and other works | Public Works (Joint, Statutory) | 1 July 2024 | Being considered |
| 736 days | Compulsory Income Management | Human Rights (Joint, Statutory) | 2 Sept 2024 | Being considered |
| 699 days | Migration, Pathway to Nation Building | Migration (Joint, Standing) | 9 Oct 2024 | Being considered |
| 690 days | Flood failure to future fairness | Economics (House, Standing) | 18 Oct 2024 | Being considered |
| 673 days | Report 505: Inquiry into Policy and Program Design and Implementation | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 4 Nov 2024 | Answered in part |
| 673 days | Report 506: Inquiry into Commonwealth Financial Statements 2022-2023 | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 4 Nov 2024 | Answered in part |
| 673 days | Digital platforms and the traditional news media – Second interim report | Social Media and Australian Society (Joint, Select) | 4 Nov 2024 | Being considered |
| 673 days | Digital platforms and the traditional news media – Final report | Social Media and Australian Society (Joint, Select) | 4 Nov 2024 | Being considered |
| 650 days | Trading North: Inquiry into the role of Australian agriculture in Southeast Asian Markets | Agriculture (House, Standing) | 27 Nov 2024 | Being considered |
| 642 days | Financial abuse: an insidious form of domestic violence | Corporations and Financial Services (Joint, Statutory) | 5 Dec 2024 | Being considered |
| 557 days | Final report: Inquiry into the understanding and utilisation of benefits under free trade agreements | Trade and Investment Growth (Joint, Standing) | 28 Feb 2025 | Being considered |
| 532 days | Report 510: Inquiry into the use and governance of artificial intelligence systems by public sector entities - 'Proceed with Caution' | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 25 Mar 2025 | Being considered |
| 209 days | Report 514: Inquiry into the procurement of mandated national support and advocacy services for victims of child sexual abuse | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 11 Feb 2026 | Being considered |
| 181 days | Annual Report No. 1 of the 48th Parliament | National Disability Insurance Scheme – Joint Standing | 11 Mar 2026 | Being considered |
| 179 days | Report 515: Inquiry into the effectiveness of Australia’s National Anti- Doping Scheme | Public Accounts and Audit (Joint, Statutory) | 13 Mar 2026 | Being considered |
| 166 days | Report 231: - Pacific Resilience and Sport Manipulation Treaties | Treaties (Joint, Standing) | 26 Mar 2026 | Being considered |
| 109 days | Review of the Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Act 2021 | Intelligence and Security (Joint, Statutory) | 22 May 2026 | Being considered |
| 71 days | A Level Paying Field Report on the inquiry into schemes, digital wallets and innovation in the payments sector | Economics (House, Standing) | 29 June 2026 | Being considered |
| 71 days | Building Asia capability in Australia through the education system and beyond | Education (House, Standing) | 29 June 2026 | Being considered |
| 70 days | Inquiry into the conduct of the 2025 federal election – interim report | Electoral Matters (Joint, Standing) | 30 June 2026 | Being considered |