2.2 Officials attending Cabinet
Officials (other than Cabinet Secretariat staff) do not attend Cabinet meetings unless their attendance has been agreed to by the Chairperson of Cabinet. When it has been agreed that officials may be present, the Cabinet Secretary will arrange for their attendance. All officials should wait in the Cabinet anteroom until they are summoned by the Cabinet Secretary.
Officials may be invited to attend a Cabinet meeting only to assist their Minister and to provide advice at the meeting if requested. They are expected to explain factual or technical material on request, but not to participate in discussions unless invited by the Chairperson. If their Minister leaves the Cabinet room (the meeting), the official will withdraw. Officials cannot represent Ministers in Cabinet or on Cabinet Committees.
Officials present at Cabinet or Cabinet Committee meetings are privy to discussions on the basis of absolute confidentiality. There must be no disclosure of the nature or content of those discussions.
For the purpose of this section, "officials" includes public sector employees, Ministerial staff and statutory body employees.
2.2.1 Audio-visual presentations
Audio-visual presentations, slides, charts, overheads and explanatory texts may be useful supplements to written Cabinet documents to facilitate Ministerial discussion of a proposal. The Premier's approval is required for any supplementary material. Once approval is obtained, officers should liaise with the Cabinet Secretariat to ensure the necessary equipment is available.