Forward work program of Cabinet business

50. The Cabinet forward work program is a 12-month plan of upcoming Cabinet business. The forward work program is used to support delivery of the Government’s agenda. A key input to the forward work program is a triannual call for proposals that:
    1. Ensures visibility of future Cabinet business, which strengthens collaboration and supports efficient use of resources and early resolution of problems.
    2. Enables ministers (supported by departments) to take a strategic and longer-term approach to Cabinet business and to consider the impact of proposals on other portfolios and sequencing between the Cabinet and committees.
    3. Allows the government to align the Cabinet agenda with its strategic priorities, the Budget process, its legislative agenda and the Parliamentary calendar.
51. Through the call for proposals, which occurs three times a year, ministers are invited to seek authority for proposed items for consideration by the Cabinet over the following 12 months. To assist with forward planning, each proposal must clearly set out:
    1. The purpose of the proposal and any anticipated recommendations.
    2. Strategic merit of the proposal and how it aligns with the government’s priorities.
    3. Impacts of the proposal and proposed consultation approach.
    4. The preferred timing for consideration of the item.
    5. Critical date rationale to support the scheduling of the item.
    6. Expected financial impacts of a proposal and an offset strategy.
52. The sponsoring minister must submit proposals to the Prime Minister for consideration. The minister’s departmental secretary will be expected to prioritise resources to meet timelines proposed by their minister and the requirements of the Cabinet Handbook.
53. In addition to items given authority by the Prime Minister following the call for proposals, the forward work program will include other items with authority to come forward to the Cabinet, such as a late notice proposal agreed by the Prime Minister or an item directly tasked by the Prime Minister or decision of the Cabinet.
54. More detail on how matters receive authority is under Late notice proposals and Authority to bring forward business sections.

Late notice proposals

55. Alongside items from the Cabinet forward work program, the Cabinet and committees may consider matters that require an urgent decision, with the agreement of the Prime Minister. These are known as late notice proposals and are generally reserved for exceptional, unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.
56. Requests for late notice proposals must:
    1. Be initiated by the sponsoring minister/s with the Prime Minister.
    2. Outline the purpose of the submission, the exceptional, unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances or opportunity requiring the late notice proposal, the form of the proposal and any timing imperatives.

Meeting agendas

57. Cabinet Division prepares draft agendas for the Cabinet and committees for the Cabinet Secretary’s consideration and the Prime Minister’s approval.
58. Agendas are prepared using the Cabinet forward work program and any late notice proposals that have been agreed by the Prime Minister to come forward. Agendas list items for consideration, responsible ministers and co-opted ministers.
59. An item’s inclusion on the agenda is dependent on factors such as its priority or urgency, whether it has been submitted in accordance with Cabinet timeframes and any other matters that the Cabinet needs to consider.
60. If a minister wishes to remove an agenda item, they must seek agreement from the Prime Minister or the Cabinet Secretary to do so. Ministers must outline the reasons for removal and propose a new date for Cabinet consideration, if required. Cabinet Division will provide a revised agenda to theCabinet Secretary for consideration and the Prime Minister for approval.

Authority to bring forward business

61. Ministers must have authority to bring a matter to Cabinet or a committee. Authority is provided in the following ways:
    1. Previous decision of the Cabinet or a committee, recorded in a Cabinet minute, requiring a minister to bring an item back to Cabinet or a committee, referred to as a ‘comeback’.
    2. The Prime Minister’s approval to include an item on the Cabinet forward work program for the following 12 months, with the Prime Minister’s approval, following the triannual call for proposals.
    3. The Prime Minister’s approval of a late notice request from a minister to add an item to the Cabinet forward work program or a Cabinet agenda.
    4. Direct tasking from the Prime Minister, or Cabinet Secretary acting on the Prime Minister’s authority.
    5. The Prime Minister, or Cabinet Secretary acting on the Prime Minister’s authority, otherwise agreeing to list a matter on an agenda.
62. Ministers must ensure submissions are compliant with their authority, including scope and timing for consideration by the Cabinet or a committee.
63. The Prime Minister or Cabinet Secretary may remove submissions from the forward work program or an agenda if they are not compliant with their authority. Ministers must either revise their submission to comply with authority or seek revised authority to have the matter considered later.
64. If a minister wishes to vary or extinguish an authority in their portfolio, they must seek agreement from the Prime Minister to do so, including through the triannual bid process for the Cabinet forward work program.

Sponsorship, co-sponsorship, and development of submissions in consultation with other ministers

65. Where an item involves the policy interests of more than one minister or relies on another portfolio for implementation, it may be co-sponsored, including by non-Cabinet ministers. Ministers should agree a lead minister for jointly sponsored submissions. Co‑sponsoring ministers must all agree recommendations and text in the submission.
66. Non-Cabinet ministers can bring forward submissions with the agreement of the senior portfolio minister. A Cabinet minister must co-sponsor the item, unless otherwise agreed by the Cabinet Secretary.
67. Where a number of a ministers have an interest in an item, it is generally preferred that responsibility be allocated to one or two key ministers, with other ministers thoroughly consulted during the preparation of the submission.
68. Sponsoring ministers must provide relevant ministers, including ministers who will be required to take action agreed in a recommendation, with an opportunity to contribute to the submission.
69. Sponsoring ministers should ensure careful and genuine consideration is given to the views of relevant ministers and resolve issues before submissions are brought forward to the Cabinet or a committee, wherever possible.

Issues for the Cabinet

70. While there are no hard and fast rules about issues that should be considered by the Cabinet and it is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide the agenda, in general, items would normally require consideration by Cabinet if a proposal:
    1. Relates to implementation and delivery of government’s strategic priorities.
    2. May lead to significant public comment or controversy.
    3. Affects the government’s financial position, or important financial commitments.
    4. Impacts the portfolio interests of a number of Cabinet ministers.
    5. Includes implementation challenges due to complexities, or timeline for delivery.
    6. Affects state and territory government relations.
    7. Includes international business, including international treaties and agreements.
    8. Deals with national emergencies, including decisions to take military action.
    9. Affects Australia’s constitutional arrangements.
    10. Involves new or amended legislation or regulations.
    11. Involves significant or controversial exercise of a minister’s statutory power.
    12. Responds to recommendations made in parliamentary committee reports.
    13. Proposes reviews or public inquiries.
    14. Recommends significant government appointments.
71. Where possible, ministers should combine related matters into one Submission to enable the Cabinet to focus on key strategic elements.
72. Requests from ministers to commission any major policy reviews must be directed to the Prime Minister in the first instance.
73. Ministers are only able to bring forward a proposal for the establishment of a new entity, board or advisory board (or similar) with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance.

Statutory decisions

74. Ministers may consult the Cabinet on the exercise of individual statutory powers. This allows views from the Cabinet to be accounted for by the decision-maker and supports the Cabinet to defend the decision publicly and collectively. However, the Cabinet cannot make, or appear to make, a decision that the statute requires a minister or specified individual to make.

Settling matters by correspondence

75. Where all interested ministers agree that a proposal does not raise significant sensitivities following consultation, those ministers may request that the proposal be considered and agreed by correspondence to the Prime Minister. To settle an issue by correspondence, the lead minister must write to the Prime Minister seeking approval for the course of action agreed with relevant ministers. Affected ministers should be copied into the correspondence.
76. Where the Prime Minister does not agree to settle a matter by correspondence, the Prime Minister may refer the minister’s correspondence to the Cabinet or a committee for consideration, or the minister will be advised to prepare a submission for consideration by the Cabinet or a committee.
77. In some circumstances, Cabinet will agree that final details of Cabinet proposals be settled by exchange of correspondence, usually with final approval from the Prime Minister in his or her role as the Chair of the Cabinet.
78. Correspondence to resolve Cabinet proposals is considered part of the Cabinet deliberation and should be handled accordingly.

Cabinet minutes

79. Cabinet minutes record the decisions of Cabinet and committees. These are prepared by the Cabinet notetakers and approved by the Cabinet Secretary.
80. As several committees are sub-committees of Cabinet, their decisions must be endorsed by Cabinet before they have effect. Cabinet may alter a committee decision or ask a committee to reconsider before endorsing.
81. The Prime Minister may endorse committee minutes as final if decisions need to be urgently implemented.
82. Where a minister has concerns about the accuracy of minutes, they should write to the Cabinet Secretary to seek an amendment. The Cabinet Secretary may issue an amended Cabinet minute, or the matter may need to be considered by the Cabinet or the responsible committee.
83. Where a Cabinet minute requires action across several portfolios, the sponsoring minister should initiate follow-up action, usually by correspondence, with relevant ministers.
84. Where a minor amendment is required to an authority provided by Cabinet, the sponsoring minister/s should write to the Prime Minister to seek a variation to the scope of the authority prior to implementation.

Circulation of minutes to departments

85. Cabinet Division is responsible for the circulation of Cabinet minutes to sponsoring and relevant ministers and departments.
86. Departmental secretaries must have procedures in place to ensure that Cabinet minutes are handled in accordance with the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF). Minutes should be accessed, distributed and handled in accordance with the ‘need-to-know’ principle.
87. Departments with coordinating responsibilities affected by a Cabinet minute should, as appropriate, convey the effect of that Cabinet minute to relevant departments and authorities.
88. Where departments consider they have a genuine reason to access a Cabinet minute, they must make a written request to Cabinet Division.

Announcement of decisions

89. Cabinet decisions are announced as decisions of the government. Where a public announcement is intended, ministers should include specific recommendations in their submission seeking Cabinet’s approval to their proposed approach.
90. Where Federal Executive Council approval of a Cabinet decision is required, in general the decision cannot be announced until approved by the Governor-General.
91. In certain circumstances, the Governor-General may approve an early announcement. Any requests for an early announcement should be submitted to the Federal Executive Council Secretariat. Further information on the Federal Executive Council is in the Federal Executive Council Handbook.

Implementation and delivery of decisions

92. Sponsoring ministers, supported by their departments, are responsible for ensuring policy proposals can be implemented and delivered. Implementation plans should be agreed in consultation with impacted ministers as early as possible in the development of the proposal.
93. Ministers must consider implementation plans to ensure policies and major initiatives are robust, have adequately considered delivery risks and can be implemented to achieve the intended policy outcome. Sponsoring ministers must provide detail on implementation and delivery challenges and risks in the submission to assist the Cabinet to make an informed decision.