1. Although the recorded outcomes of Cabinet discussions are often referred to as Cabinet ‘decisions’, they are formally known as Cabinet minutes. As the Cabinet has no legal or statutory status, the decision‐maker from a legal perspective is normally the Parliament, the Federal Executive Council, the relevant minister or an official with designated statutory powers.
2. Cabinet Committee minutes that require endorsement by the Cabinet are marked accordingly. When they have been endorsed by the Cabinet, a superseding minute is issued.
3. It is important that the Cabinet minutes reflect this position and do not pre‐empt the carrying out of due process or the proper exercise of any discretion (whether under statute or prerogative) by the responsible minister. Cabinet may ‘note’ rather than ‘agree’ matters in these circumstances.

Circulation

4. Once the Cabinet Secretary has approved and signed the Cabinet minutes, Cabinet Division is responsible for circulation.
5. Cabinet minutes are Cabinet documents and include appropriate security markings (see Annex H – Cabinet documentation).
6. The Cabinet and Cabinet Committee minutes are normally circulated to all Cabinet ministers, any non‐Cabinet ministers co-opted to a meeting or having a direct portfolio interest in the matter, and to relevant departments. Cabinet minutes are also circulated to departments which are specifically required to take action or which have a need to know and to no others.
7. Departmental secretaries are expected to have procedures in place to ensure that Cabinet minutes are circulated internally with the strict application of the ‘need‐to‐know’ principle.
8. Officers in a department which does not receive a copy of a Cabinet minute in its initial circulation may consider, on advice from their minister’s office or from other departments, that they require access to the Cabinet minute. In that case, a request may be made in writing to Cabinet Division, indicating the reasons for the request.
9. Except for those agencies with major executive functions relating to the day‐to‐day business of government (such as the Office of Parliamentary Counsel and the Australian Taxation Office), agencies other than departments do not normally receive copies of Cabinet minutes. Rather, in the event of minutes affecting such bodies, it is for ministers with responsibility for them to arrange that they be informed of what is required and by when. Ministers will often look to their secretaries to discharge this responsibility on their behalf. Where an agency has been directly involved in the preparation of a matter for the Cabinet or directly affected by the outcome of the Cabinet’s deliberations, the relevant Cabinet minute may be issued to the chief executive officer of that agency.
10. Departments with coordinating responsibilities in an area affected by a Cabinet minute should, as appropriate, convey the effect of that Cabinet minute to other departments and authorities.

Amendments

11. A minister may disagree with the wording of a Cabinet minute and request that it be amended. Such a request is made in writing to the Cabinet Secretary. If it is agreed that the Cabinet minute does not accurately reflect the Cabinet outcome, an amended Cabinet minute may be issued. If there is a more fundamental dispute over the content of the Cabinet minute, the matter may need to be brought forward to the Cabinet for consideration.

Announcements

12. Sponsoring ministers should specifically consider if, when and how an agreed policy proposal should be made public and what factual material and analysis embodied in the submission might be made available to the public. Some government decisions are not made public.
13. Ministerial intentions regarding public release must be indicated in the recommendations of the submission, with a draft media release included as an attachment noting that any such announcement would refer to the decision of the Government, not of the Cabinet or one of the Cabinet Committees.
14. Where possible, any information on the proposed handling strategy for the media release should be incorporated in the submission. This might include the indicative timing of the release, whether it is expected to be issued jointly, involve a media event, or form part of a broader community engagement strategy or information campaign.
15. Generally, significant policy developments are announced first in the Parliament, if this is practicable. Likewise, and where possible, policy information papers announcing government policy (white papers) or public policy discussion papers (green papers) are first tabled in the Parliament.
16. No publicity is to be given to matters, including appointments where Federal Executive Council’s approval is required before the council’s action is complete, unless the Governor‐General’s prior approval of an announcement has been obtained (see Federal Executive Council Handbook for further information). The Federal Executive Council Secretariat (located in Cabinet Division) will assist with advice and make any necessary arrangements in such cases.
17. Where premiers and chief ministers have to be informed, or other preliminary action arising from a Cabinet minute has to be taken, it is the responsibility of the portfolio minister to see that this has been finalised before an announcement is made.

Information campaigns

18. Submissions which propose government funded information campaigns must provide adequate information to enable the Cabinet to consider the cost‐effectiveness of proposed campaigns when considering the initial approval of new policy proposals, including justification for the proposed campaign, costs, target audiences, method and media, independent advice from the master media agency and any whole‐of‐government aspects.