A joint meeting of the Australian Parliament is a convening of members of the Senate and House of Representatives sitting together as a single legislative body.
Subject to the Constitution of Australia, each house has its own rules, standing orders and procedures; its own presiding officer; and meets separately, at dates and times it alone decides.
However, General MacArthur was provided with a seat on the floor of the House of Representatives on 26 March 1942,[13] and addressed members of Parliament from outside the chamber later that day.
[6]: 115 The first address by an invited guest to the Parliament in a formally convened joint sitting of which there was an official record was on 2 January 1992, by the US President, George H. W. Bush.
Later addresses to joint sittings included those from US presidents Bill Clinton (1996), George W. Bush (2003), and Barack Obama (2011); and paramount leader of China Hu Jintao (2003).