Transcribe Senate estimates recordings every agency, every answer, searchable.
A Senate estimates committee day in Australia can run from morning into the late evening, and at about 2 minutes per hour of audio a 14-hour day sent as two 7-hour files comes back in about 28 minutes, with the first 20 minutes free. That day is 840 minutes, inside the $12 pack of 2,000 minutes with 1,160 left.
For staffers, journalists, analysts and agencies
The answer an official gave at 9:40 pm, found in seconds the next morning.
Getting the recording
Estimates hearings are broadcast and archived by the Parliament. Where the archive lets you download a session, download it and upload it on the upload page; where a hearing is posted to YouTube, paste the link instead.
Two files for a long day
A single file holds up to 10 hours or 5 GB. A day that runs longer goes in as two files, split at the lunch or dinner suspension, and each half comes back with its own chapters.
Chapters by agency
As the committee moves from one department or agency to the next, each block becomes a chapter with its start time. Following one portfolio across a long day means reading the chapters you need and skipping the rest. A spillover or additional hearing day works the same way, as long as each file stays within 10 hours.
On notice, on record
When an official takes a question on notice, the exact words and the minute are in the transcript. Search for the phrase and every question still owed an answer is in front of you.
Why estimates are hard to keep up with
Several committees sit at once, each for most of the day, and the interesting exchange is rarely at the start.
✗ Watching on fast forward
During an estimates week, a staffer or reporter may need to track several committees running in parallel. The official Hansard proof follows later, and in the meantime the only record is many hours of video. An exchange that makes the news is often a few minutes long, and finding it again means guessing the time from a social media clip.
- Days longer than one file allows
- Parallel committees to follow
- Questions on notice hard to track
- Figures quoted once and lost
- Waiting for the official proof
- Short limits on most tools
✓ A searchable day of questioning
Each session comes back as text with a chapter for every agency, a brief and the numbers officials gave. Hansard remains the official record; this is the working copy you search the same night. Agencies preparing answers to questions on notice can also see the exact wording of each question, which saves a round of clarification.
- About 28 minutes for 14 hours
- Senators named in the summary
- Agency blocks as chapters
- Every 'on notice' searchable
- Figures and dates in a list
- DOCX for a briefing note
Sample
An estimates hearing, as it comes back.
This sample is illustrative and was written for this page; it is not from any committee's hearing. Role names replace the names a summary would carry.
Export
One transcript. Five clean formats.
Every pack exports all five — no format is held back for a higher tier.
Plain text
De-ummed paragraphs. Ready to paste.
SRT captions
Timed to the speech. Every video editor reads this.
WebVTT
HTML5 player + YouTube uploads.
Show notes
Formatted with chapters and pull-quotes.
Machine-readable
Timestamped text for your own tools.
Pricing
Honest pricing, no surprises.
A pack from $6 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript. After that, no subscription and no auto-renew — every tier is a one-time minute pack, and credits never expire. Buy once, use the minutes whenever you need them.
Casual pack
$6/500 min
8 hours of audio — $0.72 an hour. One-time — credits never expire.
- 500 minutes of audio
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
- Executive summary & key quote
Best value
$12/2,000 min
33 hours of audio — $0.36 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 2,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
Bulk pack
$24/5,000 min
83 hours of audio — $0.29 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 5,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
Senate estimates recordings, the common questions.
How long does an estimates day take to transcribe?
An estimates hour in about 2 minutes of audio, so a 7-hour half day is ready in roughly 14 minutes and both halves of a 14-hour day in about 28.
What does an estimates week cost?
Four days of one committee at about 11 hours a day is 2,640 minutes, which fits the $24 pack of 5,000 with 2,360 left for a second committee's day. A single 14-hour day fits the $12 pack. All pack figures here are US dollars.
Why split the day into two files?
For one estimates file, the limit is 10 hours or 5 GB. A day that runs longer is split at a suspension, which also keeps morning and evening sessions easy to find.
The video download is several gigabytes. Will it upload?
Up to 2 GB goes in before the first pack and up to 5 GB after. If the upload refuses the file, convert it to MP3 first; audio of a 7-hour session is a few hundred megabytes. A download over 2 GB will start once a pack is on the account.
Is this the official Hansard transcript?
No. It is an AI working copy with timestamps; it is not a certified or official transcript and Hansard remains the record. Use it to find the moment, then cite Hansard. The timestamps help you find the same exchange in the official video and the Hansard proof.
Which formats does a session come back in, and is it private?
DOCX for briefing notes, TXT for search, SRT and VTT for captions and JSON for analysis. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training, and nothing you upload is shown to other accounts.
Related
More for parliament and hearings
Upload the estimates session. Find the answer, then cite Hansard.
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