Ministerial statutory decisions
28. Special considerations apply to protect the integrity of the relevant statutory decision‐making process when a minister brings an item to the Cabinet on a statutory decision or action he or she intends to make. The Cabinet cannot make, or appear to make, a decision that the statute requires a minister (officer or agency) to make. Accordingly, the submission should be drafted on the basis that, consistent with the law, it is seeking to have a policy view taken into account by the independent decision‐maker; it should not be drafted as an instruction.
Cabinet memorandums
29. Cabinet memorandums are papers which are submitted by departments rather than ministers, generally in response to requests by the Cabinet (or a Cabinet Committee) for supplementary information or the development of options. Authority is required before a memorandum can be brought forward, in the same way as for submissions. Departments cannot initiate a memorandum without authority being in place.
30. Memorandums are to contain the same information as submissions and require the same circulation and consultation.
Deadlines and late submissions
31. Deadlines for the lodgement of Cabinet documents (that is, submissions and memorandums as well as coordination comments) ensure that ministers have sufficient time to read and seek advice on papers and to discuss them with colleagues if required. The standard submission process allows three working days between distribution of the final submission by Cabinet Division and consideration by the Cabinet or a Cabinet Committee (see Annex D – Preparing a submission to the Cabinet).
32. Breaching lodgement timeframe requirements requires the approval of the Cabinet Secretary, which will only be given where the need for earlier consideration is urgent and unavoidable.
Amending and withdrawing submissions
33. Amendments to Cabinet or Cabinet Committee submissions and memorandums already lodged with the Cabinet Division will not be accepted unless the change is of a minor editorial nature. If a minister wishes to make substantive amendments to a paper already submitted, the original submission will be withdrawn and a corrigendum submitted.
34. If a sponsoring minister wishes to withdraw his or her submission from consideration after the Cabinet Division has issued an agenda, that minister should provide notice of withdrawal, including a reason for the withdrawal, to the Cabinet Secretary as soon as practicable.
Authority to bring urgent matters forward (Short Notice Submissions)
35. When ministers bring matters before their Cabinet colleagues that have not been subject to the full submission process, it increases the risk that the Cabinet’s decision will result in unforeseen and unintended consequences. It weakens the ability of the Cabinet to apply scrutiny from a whole‐of‐government perspective and ultimately undermines the Cabinet system itself.
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