MPs outside government could get a staff floor
Senator Pauline Hanson wants the law to set a floor on staff for the Opposition, small parties and independents. Right now the Prime Minister decides how many staff they get.
Official name: Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment (Safe Staffing Guarantee) Bill 2026
- Today the Prime Minister decides how many staff each MP outside the government can hire.
- This bill would write a smallest number into the law.
- Independents would get at least 4 staff. The Opposition would get at least 110.
- The Prime Minister could add more staff but could never go below the floor.
- It is a private bill from Senator Pauline Hanson. It is still before the Senate.
Who it affects
- Independent MPs and senators: They would be sure of at least 4 staff, with 1 of them a senior adviser.
- Small parties with fewer than 5 members in Parliament: Each of their members would be sure of at least 4 staff, with 1 senior adviser.
- Parties with 5 or more members in Parliament: The party would share at least 20 staff, or more if the government has a lot of staff.
- The Opposition: It would share at least 110 staff, or a quarter of the government's staff if that is more.
- The Prime Minister: The Prime Minister could still give extra staff. The Prime Minister could not cut below the new floor.
Prime Minister sets rivals' staff
Members of Parliament hire staff to help them. Staff read new laws, write changes to them and answer letters. They also help check what the government is doing.
A law from 1984 covers these jobs. It is the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act. Under it, the Prime Minister decides how many staff each MP can have. That includes MPs who are not in the government.
Senator Pauline Hanson brought this bill. It is a private bill. That means it did not come from the government.
Her notes on the bill say there have been recent fights over staff numbers. She says a government should not decide how much checking it faces. So the bill would put a smallest number of staff into the law itself.
Four staff for independents
An independent is an MP or senator who does not belong to a party. Under the bill, each independent could hire at least 4 staff. At least 1 of them could be a senior adviser. A senior adviser is a higher level, more skilled staff job.
The same floor would apply to each member of a small party. A small party here means one with fewer than 5 members in Parliament. It must not be part of the government or the Opposition.
Say a new senator from a 2 person party wins a seat. Under the bill, that senator would be sure of 4 staff, whatever the Prime Minister thinks.
Opposition and bigger parties
The Opposition is the biggest party group that is not in government. The bill says it could hire at least 110 staff. If a quarter of the government's staff is more than 110, it gets that number.
The government's staff here means all the staff working for ministers. It also counts staff for government office holders. These include the people who run each house and the party whips. Whips keep party members in line for votes.
A party with 5 or more members, that is not in government or the Opposition, would get at least 20 staff. If 5 in every 100 government staff is more than 20, it gets that number.
The Opposition would also get a quarter as many senior advisers as the government has. A bigger party would get 5 in every 100 of them. Numbers would be rounded to the nearest whole person.
Say the government has 520 staff. A quarter of that is 130. So the Opposition could hire 130 staff, which is more than the floor of 110.
The Prime Minister cannot cut
The Prime Minister would keep the power to set staff numbers by a written order. But for MPs outside the government, the order could only raise the numbers. It could not drop them below the floor in the bill.
Any order that goes below the floor would have no effect. This would be true even for orders made before the bill became law.
The bill would also stop a group from hiring past its limit. Once a group has hired all its staff, or all its senior advisers, it could not hire more.
Leaders share out staff
For the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives would decide how to share the staff. The House of Representatives is the lower house of Parliament.
For a party with 5 or more members, the party leader would decide.
The bill gives an example. The leader could keep 49 staff in their own office. They could give 15 to the deputy leader. They could give 3 each to 22 other senior members. That adds up to 130.
Money and short term rules
The bill says the money for the extra staff would come from money that Parliament agrees to spend.
The Prime Minister could also write short term rules to help move from the old system to the new one. These rules could not create crimes or fines. They could not give powers to arrest or search. They could not set a tax or change the words of the law.
Waiting in the Senate
The bill would start the day after it becomes law. A bill becomes law when the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
Senator Hanson brought the bill into the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, on 12 October 2026. The debate on its main idea began the same day.
The bill is still before the Senate. Senators would need to debate it and vote for it. Then the House of Representatives would need to pass it before it could become law.
Its journey through Parliament
| 14 Oct 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 14 Oct 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |