Petitioning Parliament is a long established right of all citizens. It allows anyone to place concerns before the Parliament. It is one of the few direct means of communication between the people and the Parliament. There is no age limit.

Petitions being presented to the Parliament of South Australia MUST be in specific formats.

Presenting a petition to the Legislative Council

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Presenting a petition to the House of Assembly

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If a petition has over 10,000 signatures, it is referred to a Committee to investigate and report back to the Parliament.  The Minister is then required prepare a response and make a statement outlining the action to be taken.

Did you know?

  • About 130 petitions are presented in each session of Parliament
  • The largest petition in SA had 102,501 signatures. It was presented in the 1999-2000 session of Parliament by the Leader of the Opposition at the time, Hon Mike Rann. Citizens were requesting that the House of Assembly urge the Government to increase prison sentences for persons convicted of robbery with violence of residential property.
  • The most famous petition in SA is the Women’s Suffrage petition of 1894, where over 11,500 South Australians requested that women have the right to vote. It was 101 metres long. You can browse the names of people who signed this petition online.