The Senate has expanded its legislative drafting team from three to 11 staff as demand from independents and minor parties grows.
The Department of the Senate has had to increase the number of staff involved in legislative drafting to cope with demands from a growing crossbench over the past decade, its latest annual report shows.
Senate clerk Richard Pye said in his final annual report — his 10-year term ends next year — that one trend is the increasing resource demands from independents and minor parties.
Pye said that there were once only three staff involved in legislative drafting, but the department has had to beef things up given the increasing demands from minor parties and independents.