Governments introduce legislation. The Senate finishes it. Between a bill’s first reading and royal assent come the committee referral, the inquiry hearings, the second-reading amendments and the negotiations with whichever senators hold the balance. Every one of those steps is an opening for an organisation that understands the process, and a hazard for one that does not.
The piece will work through the four points in the Senate process where outside evidence changes the result, what a useful submission looks like, and why a crossbencher remembers who briefed them before the vote and not after it.
If this is already on your board’s agenda, it is worth a conversation before it becomes urgent.