How to make a submission

What is a submission?

A submission can be a response to a parliamentary inquiry or a request for funding.

Submission writing skills can be useful for both fundraising and pressuring power holders. Sometimes the government invites public submissions on an important issue (for example, building a second nuclear reactor in Sydney).

How to prepare a submission

To write an effective submission, you need up-to-date and accurate information. Your submission should directly address the terms of reference set by the inquiry or the guidelines set by the funding agency.

As a rule, inquiries are not allowed to investigate issues outside the terms of reference. However, you could decide to make a political statement by deliberately addressing other issues.

Before you start writing

Do your research

Your first step before writing your submission is to research the topic and find as much relevant information as possible. Likely sources of information include:

• interviewing people involved
• your local library for maps, acts of parliament and magazines
• parliament house for copies of recent legislation and other reports/submissions on the topic
• government departments
• your local council
• public companies and their annual reports
• the Australian Bureau of Statistics for a wealth of facts and figures
• universities
• media resources and archives, such as newspapers, radio, TV and the Internet
  

Keep a record of who and where you obtained your information from, and include these references in your submission. This is both for copyright issues and for accuracy.

Everyone sees an issue differently and you need to ensure your submission includes the source of any evidence you put forward.

Writing the submission

Your submission should include:

• the name of the inquiry and the committee hearing the inquiry
• your own name and organisation (if applicable)
• a cover letter thanking them for the opportunity to make a submission, if appropriate
• a request to give a verbal presentation to the committee if you want to do this
  

The body of your submission should include:

1. an introduction and summary of the submission's key issues
2. the vital facts you want to present
3. why the audience you have chosen should be interested
4. what the problems/positives are
5. what you recommend
6. what you want done
7. who supports you, including letters of support and/or quotes (try to have some supporters who are prominent in the community)
8. what it might cost (a budget breakdown)
9. how long you think it will take (a timeline table could be helpful)
10. photos, maps and drawings if applicable

How long?

Submissions can be as long as you like but try to keep information as succinct as possible and add supporting documentation as appendices. If it's a long submission, consider including an executive summary at the start.

Like writing a press release or giving a public presentation, you'll want your submission to be catchy, relevant, interesting and not too long and boring. There's no harm in using conversational language, and supporting it with the 'science and facts'. Not everyone is an expert and you don't want to make the submission hard to understand.

Presenting the submission

How you present your submission can effect how it is received. Once you've written it and collected supporting information, enlist the help of friends with desktop design and artistic skills to make the submission look good.

You may consider making the submission into a book or a poster. You can build a model or make a map to accompany the basic submission. The options are limitless.

A slick presentation is a good way to spark media interest and demonstrate your passion for the issue.

Spread the word: Getting your submission out there

It is important that submissions to inquiries are only made public after they have been received by the relevant committee, and you have permission, or you see that the committee has made it publicly accessible on their website.

Once your submission has been made public, you can send it to relevant politicians on all sides of the debate, as well as to the media. It’s a good idea to send a briefing sheet and press release to the media as well, summarising the key points. It’s unlikely they’ll have time to read a very long (but not at all boring!) submission.