Annual Reports and Supplementary Budget Estimates – October 2026
This circular provides guidance on tabling arrangements for 2025‑2026 annual reports. It supplements information in the July 2024 Tabling Guidelines, Chapter 2 (Government Documents), published on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website.
2025‑26 Annual Reports
Background
Under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, annual reports are due to the responsible Minister by Thursday, 15 October 2026. Where possible and to assist committees in performing their oversight role, entities are encouraged to finalise their annual reports ahead of Supplementary Senate Budget Estimates scheduled for Monday 26 October to Thursday 29 October 2026 inclusive. Once the report is tabled, agencies are responsible for publishing on their website and through the Department of Finance’s Transparency Portal. This will ensure annual reports are available for scrutiny by the relevant Senate Standing Committee.
Updates for 2026
This year the Senate Table Office will support tabling of annual reports on any business day from Monday 21 September to Thursday 29 October 2026, excluding Thursdays when the Senate is sitting. Standard guidance for out of session presentation will continue apply as per the Tabling Guidelines (page 6), including the requirement for a letter of transmittal to the President of the Senate. Tabling will proceed as normal during the 12 and 26 October Sitting weeks.
To decrease printing requirements for annual reports only, the number of required hard copies has been reduced for the Parliamentary Press Gallery from 10 to 5. This means that for annual reports tabled during Parliamentary Sitting only 26 copies will be required, with 27 copies required for out of session presentation.
Normal copy requirements will continue to apply for all other government documents in accordance with the Tabling Guidelines (page 10).
Other changes
Contact details
- Page 28 of the Guidelines – House of Representatives Document Manager: documents.reps@aph.gov.au.
- Please also note that the Electronic Parliamentary Papers Series (ePPS) has been discontinued.
Online Tabled Documents (OTD) system – document types
- OTD formerly had a ‘government document’ option in the ‘document type’ drop-down when submitting new tabling minutes. After a recent update, this option is no longer available as all OTD items are considered government documents.
- If your Entity is submitting a document that is not one of those listed below, selecting the ‘other’ option is correct:
- Annual report,
- Corporate plan,
- Government response,
- Ministerial statement,
- Order for Production of Documents (OPD),
- Periodical report,
- Royal Commission,
- Senate order – continuing, or
- Treaty.