Secure handling of Cabinet documents

1. Cabinet documents, including pre‐exposure drafts, exposure drafts, drafts for coordination comments, final submissions, and drafting comments (including coordination comments), must only be circulated via the CabNet+ system to ensure that they are circulated securely and that copies of the documents can be accounted for. It is important, therefore, that exposure drafts, drafts or finals (either in the template or in a document which looks like a Cabinet submission) are not circulated by any other means.
2. Similarly, substantive comments on submissions should only be transmitted via CabNet+.
3. Cabinet documents, including drafts, must be circulated strictly in accordance with the ‘need‑to‑know’ principle. The circulation of documents must be no wider than is required for the proper and efficient conduct of the business at hand. It must be restricted to those officials who have a role in contributing to the issues in the document and who hold an appropriate security clearance. Departmental officials are not entitled to access merely because it would be convenient for them to know or by virtue of their status or level of authorised access.
   1. Cabinet documents which cannot be distributed on the CabNet+ system due to the classification have strict handling requirements. The Cabinet Division will provide advice on these arrangements on an as needs basis.
4. Information and details on the handling of Cabinet documents is also provided in the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) and further information on security matters can be sought from departmental security advisers.
5. If you become aware of the circulation of a submission by any means other than as a locked down version on CabNet+, Cabinet Division should be notified as soon as possible. Cabinet Division will identify any possible breach of Cabinet document protocols and contact the relevant department’s security adviser.

Recording access to Cabinet documents

6. CabTrack+ is a hard copy document tracking system within CabNet+, which allows users to track the lifecycle of a document from the print phase through to document destruction. The system allows users to allocate a printed document to a user, identify when a document is transferred to another user and mark when a document has been destroyed.
7. CabTrack+ provides an efficient and secure means of monitoring the location of printed Cabinet material and will help to manage Cabinet material stocktakes. The CabTrack+ functionality is available in both PROTECTED and SECRET environments.
8. CabNet+ maintains a record of who has been provided access to, and viewed, Cabinet documents electronically. This information is auditable and access can be revoked at any time.

No copying of Cabinet documents

9. Cabinet documents must not be copied and this rule includes transcribing or copying of text of Cabinet documents (particularly minutes) into departmental IT systems.
10. The production and circulation of Cabinet minutes are strictly controlled by the Cabinet Division and, if extra copies of these are required, a request must be submitted to the Cabinet Division including information on why access is being sought. This information will assist the Cabinet Division in making an assessment of whether the department has a ‘need‐to‐know’ the contents of the Cabinet minute.

Destruction of Cabinet documents

11. When hard copy Cabinet documents are no longer required by ministers or departments they must be destroyed according to the procedures set out in the PSPF. They also must be destroyed when a minister vacates office or a change of government occurs. In the case of final Cabinet documentation, CabNet+ network users must certify that destruction has occurred by updating the Stocktake Status in the CabNet+ system.