The embattled Department of Parliamentary Services is expected to be questioned at Senate Estimates on Monday about the $108 million security upgrade at Parliament House.
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The hearing comes as further criticism emerges of the planned 2.6 metre high steel fence screening the ministerial wing.
Architect Rodney Moss likens the proposal to putting a fence across the front steps of the Opera House.
He makes his scathing criticism in a submission to the Senate finance and public administration legislation committee which is examining the security upgrade.
Mr Moss is a fellow of Cox Architecture which has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Dubai, and is an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Canberra.
"Imagine the Opera House with a fence across the front steps or Buckingham Palace with a fence protruding from its front facade," he said.
"The current proposal to fence the entrance to the prime minister's wing of the Parliament not only diminishes the Parliament House as a symbol of Australian democracy but clearly signals we are compromising our daily life due to the threat of terrorism. There must be a smarter way to address the issue at hand."
"The White House, Buckingham Palace and the Taj Mahal provide readily recognisable examples of effective security which complement the aesthetics of the buildings they are protecting," he says.
The Senate inquiry was established when Independent senator Nick Xenophon and the Labor opposition combined to refer the question of parliamentary security to the committee for urgent investigation.
The inquiry will provide oversight for the department's security upgrade, including the new perimeter fence, gatehouses and bulletproof glass, which will begin on July 9, with construction expected to take 23 weeks.
It is believed further physical security enhancements are under consideration including widespread installation of bulletproof glass and more security fencing, possibly screening the Senate and House of Representatives wings.
The committee has questioned why new gate houses being built at Parliament House as part of the security upgrade when four guardhouses built as part of the original design are disused and abandoned.
The head of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Carol Mills, who was fired from her position last month, was found by the finance and public administration committee to have presided over an organisation that was "deeply dysfunctional".
The committee has been told scrutiny of the department's management of the security project was being done by an independent auditor and through "project in-flight audit reviews".
