The office provides a range of advisory, research and public information services closely aligned with the role and work of the Senate, including legislative drafting services and support for the Parliament’s legislative scrutiny committees. The PEO produces educational programs and resources for schools, students, teachers and others. The office also supports the Parliament’s international programs.

The demand for procedural and legislative advice and support is substantially driven by the requirements of senators and the Senate. The work of the secretariats of the legislative scrutiny committees is similarly driven by the volume of legislation coming before the Senate and any additional inquiries undertaken by the committees.

The Procedure Office monitors levels of satisfaction with its performance through formal and informal channels such as letters, emails, phone calls, seminar evaluation forms and direct advice from senators and their staff, educators, students, and members of the public. This continuous performance appraisal was supplemented during the reporting period by a survey of senators and their staff to gauge satisfaction with legislative drafting and procedural advice.

The full-time equivalent staffing level for the Procedure Office in 2017-18 was 29.5 (28 in 2016-17). The cost of providing the services of the Procedure Office in 2017–18 was $5.7m, including $1.6m for PEO ($5.5m in 2016-17).