The department receives a special appropriation to provide modest hospitality to school groups visiting Parliament House. School visits are coordinated by the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office, working in partnership with the Parliamentary Education Office and the Visitor Experience Office of DPS.

In 2019–20 expenditure for the schools hospitality program activity was $0.216 million. Results against performance criteria are summarised in the annual performance statement (page 25).

Performance summary

In 2019–20, 86,315 school students participated in educational tours of Parliament House, down from 124,831 in the previous year (see Table 7). The reduction was due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of Parliament House to the public. The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 led to significant activity for the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office in managing cancellations and re-booking of school visits.

All visiting students participated in a guided tour and visited both the House and Senate chambers; 74 per cent (64,155) received hospitality and 71 per cent (61,344) participated in the Parliamentary Education Office program (see pages 61–62 for more information on the activities of the Parliamentary Education Office).

Outlook

In partnership with colleagues from DPS and the Parliamentary Education Office, staff are preparing for the resumption of school visits to Parliament House from July 2020. At 30 June 2020, 112,041 students from 1,597 schools had been booked for the following 12 months, noting that these figures remain subject to change due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. Last year at the same time 125,263 students from 3,432 schools had been booked.