A Senate estimates committee heard last month that senior officers in the Department of Parliamentary Services used CCTV to observe footage of the Parliament's corridors while investigating a departmental officer suspected of leaking information to Senator Faulkner.

Fairfax Media later revealed that Australian Federal Police investigators hunting those responsible for leaking government information had accessed images and information from the Parliament's closed circuit television cameras located throughout the building, including the corridors of the press gallery.

Senator Faulkner and Senator Cory Bernardi have called for an investigation into whether the monitoring of CCTV interfered with the free performance of senators' duties.

Both have written to Senate president John Hogg, who told the Senate on Tuesday that the complaints were "a very serious matter".

Senator Bernardi, who chairs the committee where the revelations were first aired, will bring a motion to the Senate on Wednesday for the matter to be referred to the privileges committee.

An inquiry would consider whether the use of CCTV "was an improper interference or intended improper interference with the free performance of Senator Faulkner or any other senator in their duties as a senator", he said.

It was revealed at the Senate estimates committee hearing that DPS officers had used video surveillance in an internal disciplinary investigation of a senior member of the parliamentary Hansard staff. The official was recorded by CCTV cameras placing an envelope under the door of the office of Senator Faulkner.

The clerk of the Senate Rosemary Laing has advised Senator Faulkner there is "a reasonably strong possibility" that contempt of the Senate was committed by DPS officials.

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