Guidance on matters for collective agreement

44. Collective agreement can be sought at a Cabinet meeting or through ministerial correspondence.
45. As a general rule, ministers should put before their colleagues the sorts of issues on which they themselves would wish to be consulted—matters of public interest, importance, or controversy. The need to advise the Cabinet on these matters must be balanced against the demands that Cabinet meetings make on ministers’ time.
46. Ministers should give serious consideration as to whether a matter could be dealt with by correspondence, for example where it is known that all interested ministers are in agreement (see Annex B – Managing the Cabinet business).
47. Where there is uncertainty about the level and type of consideration needed, ministers should seek advice from the Cabinet Secretary. Similarly, government departments should seek advice from the office of the portfolio minister, or from Cabinet Division.

Issues for the Cabinet

48. There are no hard and fast rules about the issues that should be considered by the Cabinet and it is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide the agenda. Generally, however, matters brought before the Cabinet should require a decision and not be simply for noting.
49. The following is an indication of the kind of issues that would normally require consideration by the Cabinet (including by reference to the relevant Cabinet Committee):
    1. proposals relating to the delivery of the Government’s formally agreed strategic priorities
    2. controversial proposals, which are likely to lead to significant public comment
    3. proposals affecting the Government’s financial position, or important financial commitments
    4. issues that impact on every member of the Cabinet, or on the portfolio interests of a number of ministers (particularly where agreement cannot be reached)
    5. the most significant domestic policy issues
    6. significant matters affecting state and territory relations
    7. the most significant international business, including international treaties and agreements
    8. national emergencies, including any decision to take military action
    9. proposals that affect Australia’s constitutional arrangements
    10. proposed responses to recommendations made in parliamentary committee reports
    11. proposed reviews or public inquiries
    12. proposals involving significant new legislation or regulations [note: all legislative proposals require approval from the Parliamentary Business Committee of Cabinet (PBC)
    13. significant government appointments.
50. Consideration of significant policy issues may be taken by the Cabinet at an early stage to inform the development of detailed policy by the relevant portfolio minister(s), or as a final step prior to announcement.

The Budget process

51. The annual Budget process is the decision-making process for allocating public resources to the Government’s policy priorities. It is through the Budget that the Government gains the passage of the annual appropriation acts and other legislation, including special appropriations.
52. The Budget provides a picture of Australia’s forecast financial performance and the Government’s fiscal policy for the three years beyond the next financial year. The Budget includes estimates of government revenue and expenses for the Commonwealth over a specified period, as specified under the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998.
53. The annual Budget process usually begins in November or December when the Expenditure Review Committee of Cabinet (ERC) considers portfolio ministers’ new proposals and expected major pressures and establishes the Government’s priorities for the Budget. From February to April, ERC develops the Budget against the background of the Government’s political, social and economic priorities. There can be exceptions to this timing depending on the particular circumstances facing the Government.

Ministerial responsibility for proposals

54. Submissions coming before the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees must have a sponsoring minister, usually the Cabinet minister with portfolio responsibility. Ministers are expected to take full responsibility for the proposals they bring forward, even where detailed development or drafting may have been done on their behalf by officials.
55. Non‐Cabinet ministers can bring forward submissions in their areas of responsibility with the agreement of the senior portfolio minister. Unless otherwise agreed by the Cabinet Secretary, the submissions must be co-sponsored by the relevant Cabinet minister.
56. Proposals may be sponsored by more than one minister, provided the ministers are from different portfolios. Major and sensitive proposals which have a significant service delivery component must be brought forward jointly with the minister or ministers responsible for the delivery of the proposal (see Annex D – Preparing a submission to the Cabinet).
57. Where many ministers have an interest, it is generally preferable for responsibility to be allocated to one or two key ministers and for the other ministers to be thoroughly consulted during the preparation of the submission.

Cabinet minutes

58. Cabinet Division produces minutes of decisions as soon as possible after each Cabinet or Cabinet Committee meeting, recording the decision in a form that enables the necessary action to be taken. The Cabinet minutes do not record the detail of discussions at the meeting. The Cabinet minutes are issued to ministers and relevant departments and agencies once they have been approved by the Cabinet Secretary.
59. Cabinet and Cabinet Committee minutes are circulated to all Cabinet ministers and any non‑Cabinet ministers co‐opted for a meeting or having a portfolio interest in the matter.
60. Some Cabinet Committee minutes will be given a limited circulation. The ERC minutes recording Budget decisions are circulated to ERC ministers and the relevant portfolio minister only, but are circulated to the Cabinet ministers in the Cabinet room prior to Budget Cabinet.
61. If ministers have concerns about the accuracy of minutes as circulated, they should draw their concerns to the Cabinet Secretary’s attention in writing, as soon as possible.
62. If ministers consider that any minutes are essential for their department’s operations, they may make a request to make the minutes available to their departmental secretary or agency head for information and any necessary action.
63. If a Cabinet minute requires action in several portfolios and if the Cabinet does not direct otherwise, it is for the minister who raised the matter in Cabinet to initiate follow‐up procedures, usually by letter to other ministers involved in implementing the decision.
64. Where the Federal Executive Council’s approval is required, action on Cabinet minutes must be held over until that approval has been obtained.
65. Procedures for following up Cabinet minutes that require legislation are set out in the Legislation Handbook.

Comebacks

66. Ministers may be requested to return to the Cabinet with further information. Where a ‘comeback’ is no longer warranted, the responsible minister should write to the Prime Minister explaining why Cabinet attention is no longer required and seek agreement to directly conclude the matter.

Implementation

67. In the Westminster system, portfolio ministers are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their policy proposals can be implemented. Nevertheless, delivery failure and success has implications for all the Cabinet ministers and collectively they have an interest in ensuring that policy design and implementation planning, for major initiatives in particular, is robust.
68. The planning, processes and advice leading up to Cabinet decisions are critical in setting the path for effective program implementation.
69. To ensure that their Cabinet colleagues are fully informed when making decisions, sponsoring ministers must ensure that their Cabinet submissions provide enough detail on risk and implementation challenges to ensure the Cabinet can make an informed decision on the efficacy of the proposal.