3.9 Cabinet decisions
All Cabinet submissions, either written or oral, considered by Cabinet will have a corresponding Cabinet decision prepared. Decisions are not issued for Matters to Note. Should a Minister decide to withdraw a written submission at Cabinet, a Cabinet decision will record that action.
The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for accurately recording the decisions of the Cabinet.
Written Cabinet decisions, certified by the Cabinet Secretary, will be distributed by the Cabinet Secretariat as soon as possible after the Cabinet meeting.
The security classification of a Cabinet decisions mirrors the security classification of the associated Cabinet submission. The security classification of a Cabinet decision on an Oral submission will be determined by the Premier.
Decisions are distributed to Ministers and to relevant department Chief Executive Officers via the Cab Bag app, subject to circulation restrictions imposed by security classifications.
Within departments, CLLOs are responsible for ensuring that relevant action officers are aware of the particulars of a decision as soon as possible following Cabinet.
Individual Ministers, and their Chief Executive Officers, are responsible for the implementation of Cabinet decisions.
Monitoring and regularity of reporting of Cabinet Decisions will be determined by Government, with advice provided by The Cabinet Office, DPC. After Cabinet has resolved a matter, Ministers should not announce a Cabinet decision unless the submission has specifically foreshadowed that an announcement will be made or approval has otherwise been provided by the Premier.
The provision of Cabinet documents, which includes original documents and copies of documents, to the media or to the public is not to be undertaken in any circumstances. Attachments to Cabinet submissions may be released only with the express approval of Cabinet or the Premier.
Cabinet decisions that require the approval of the Governor in Council should not be publicly announced until this approval has been obtained. In special cases, the approval of the Premier and Governor may be obtained to announce the decision prior to the meeting of the Executive Council. In such cases, the announcement should make clear that the particular matter will be submitted to the Governor in Council for consideration.
In announcing a decision of Cabinet, there should be no direct quotations from the relevant submission or decision (including disclosure of allocated identification numbers).
