4.1 Governments defer making significant appointments during the caretaker period. When determining if an appointment qualifies as ‘significant’, agencies should consider the importance of the position and whether the proposed appointment is likely to be controversial.

4.2 Agencies should also be aware that meetings of the Executive Council, at which appointments by the Governor-General are usually made, do not generally occur during the caretaker period except in exceptional circumstances.

4.3 Sometimes deferring an appointment is not possible for reasons associated with the proper functioning of an agency. In this scenario, the following options should be considered:

• the minister could make an acting appointment, where permissible
• the minister could make a short-term appointment until shortly after the end of the caretaker period
• if those options are not possible, the minister could consult the relevant Opposition spokesperson regarding a full-term appointment (see section 3.3 for further information).