A petition is an informal method by which individuals and groups attempt to influence a change in the law. It is a formal written request to a parliament, demanding action on a particular law. This demand is followed by a collection of signatures. At least one signature is required, but there are usually significantly more than one. A member of parliament (MP) will generally present a petition to a lower house on an issue that falls within that parliament’s powers. The petition and the number of signatures is recorded in Hansard.


Petitions rarely directly lead to a change in the law. However, those with many signatures do force politicians to look at an issue seriously, as it represents the fact that a large number of people feel strongly on a particular issue.

Strengths of petitions

  • Enable citizens to have their views expressed in parliament
  • The greater the number of signatures, the more likely a petition is to influence change in the law

Weaknesses of petitions

  • Once they have been presented, there is no guarantee that parliament will take action.
  • If a petition does not have a significant number of signatures, parliament will likely dismiss the petition
  • They do not generally attract much media attention, and therefore may not raise awareness of the issue to the general population

Even petitions with a significant number of signatures may not influence change in the law. A petition calling on the Liberal Party to change their broadband policy was signed by 272,035 people, yet was dismissed by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.1

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  1. Nick Paine, “The Liberal Party of Australia: Reconsider your plan for a ‘FTTN’ NBN in favour of a superior ‘FTTH’ NBN”, ; Lucy Battersby, “Malcolm Turnbull gives thumbs down to fibre NBN petition”, September 13 2013,