Module One: How does our Australian System of Government Work?

TOPIC 1.3: Executive Role and Function of Cabinet

What is the Executive Council and what is Cabinet?

Executive authority for the Australian Government formally occurs through the Federal Executive Council comprising the Governor-General and Commonwealth ministers, while executive authority for each state government occurs through their governor and ministers meeting as the Executive Council. However, ‘real’ executive decision-making occurs through senior ministers meeting in cabinet, making collective policy decisions and then exercising their individual ministerial powers in legislation to give effect to those decisions. Almost all new or changed government policy must pass through cabinet for approval and announcement so that it can be translated into government action (PM&C, 2022)[1]. ‘Although a body in most jurisdictions, without legal standing, it is the source for an authoritative allocation of government resources’ (Althaus et. al. 2023, p. 14)[2]. The formal endorsement by Federal Executive Council or Executive Council in a state, gives legal force to cabinet decisions. Each cabinet governs on behalf of their parliament and must maintain the confidence of that parliament to continue to govern. Cabinet is also effectively the board that oversees the public service.

The role and many responsibilities of a cabinet

In Australia, ‘executive power is concentrated in the prime minister [or premier] and the cabinet’ (Jackson et. al., 2022, p. 80)[3]. Keating and Weller (2020, p. 45)[4] argue that ‘the essence of government is to choose’ and it is cabinet ‘that is responsible for how those choices are defined and made’. New, significant or politically controversial decisions are made collectively, determined by the processes of cabinet government, rather than by the individual choices of ministers (or even a prime minister or premier). However once cabinet has agreed on a course of action it is then up to individual ministers, working with their departmental officers, to use their legislative powers to implement the decision (Keating and Weller, 2020). This is the point in the cabinet system of government in Australia that political, legislative and administrative authority meet to deliver the executive decisions of government.

Some examples of the wide range of new, significant or politically controversial decisions that cabinets must make, and then ministers and public servants must implement, can be found in the reading box below:

Executive Responsibilities

  • Coordinating the activities of government
  • Declaring and waging war
  • Proposing a budget to parliament and administering the budget of each department
  • Making all sorts of day-to-day decisions
  • Appointments to statutory authorities (such as the ABC), diplomatic posts and other government bodies.
  • Establishing inquiries, Royal Commissions (including, importantly, the commissioners and their terms of reference, or scope of the inquiry)
  • Announcements of policy initiatives; communicating decisions to citizens affected
  • Answering questions from journalists, Members of Parliament and the public
  • gathering support for government policy in the media and parliament
  • Crisis management – responding to natural disasters, stock market crashes, etc.
  • Ceremonial duties, such as memorial services
  • Managing the bureaucracy

Miragliotta, Errington and Barry (2013, p.104 Box 5.3)[5]

 

Required
20 min

If within Government: Locate your Departmental Cabinet handbook and become familiar with the processes in your area. Learn how your work area engages with Cabinet.

If employed by NGO: Interview a senior member of the public service and determine the cabinet processes, or ask to speak with a Cabinet Liaison officer (or equivalent) in the Department with which you have dealings, and seek an explanation of the process. It may be useful to understand the process if you are ever invited for input into the policy cycle.

What is the role of public servants in the Executive?

Public servants assist Ministers with advice, preparation and coordination of Cabinet documentation. Public servants are also considered part of the executive wing (along with Cabinet) of Government, where you undertake your work as delegated by the Minister. Like the Courts, the Public Service in our system is also independent of the Government of the day but needs to be responsive to it. Independence is to ensure it can offer ‘frank and fearless’ advice to the political wing. The public service is a major study unto itself. Each State and Territory has its own service so you need to see if you can gather similar data as they relate to your jurisdiction. However, as an integrated, interdependent system, it is important to understand how the whole system fits together across commonwealth, state and local jurisdictions.

Required
10 min

  • Do you agree that Cabinet discussions should be confidential? Why or why not?
  • Can you recall a time when confidential information was used in a court of law?

Recommended
80 min

Weller, P. (2004). Parliamentary Democracy in Australia. Parliamentary Affairs, 57(3), p630–645.
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2019). Executive Summary. In Our Public Service, Our Future: independent Review of the Australian Public Service (pp. 16–34). Australian Government.

Reflection

  • What surprised you about the size and complexity of the public service?
  • What surprised you about the public attitude towards public servants?
  • Do you see any way to improve the perception of the public and politicians to the public service?
  • Do you offer ‘frank and fearless’ advice? Do you have a role model of a public servant who does?

Deeper Learning

The following books are excellent resources if you would like to know more on this topic.

Jackson, S., Lelliott, J., Brincat, S., Bourne, J., & Economou, N. (2022). Australian politics in the twenty-first century: Old institutions, new challenges (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Taflaga, M. (2023). Executive government. In N. Barry, P. Chen, Y. Haigh, S. Motta, & D. Perche (Eds.), Australian Politics and Policy: Senior Edition. Sydney University Press.

 

 

  1. PM&C. (2022). Cabinet Handbook - 15th edition. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/administration/cabinet-handbook-15th-edition ↵
  2. Althaus, C., Ball, S., Bridgman, P., Davis, G., & Threlfall, D. (2023). The Australian policy handbook: A practical guide to the policymaking process (Seventh edition.). ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/QUT/detail.action?docID=7132571. ↵
  3. Jackson, S., Lelliott, J., Brincat, S., Bourne, J., & Economou, N. (2022). Australian politics in the twenty-first century: Old institutions, new challenges (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781009117593 ↵
  4. Keating, M., & Weller, P. (2020). Cabinet government: an institution under pressure. In M. Keating, Wanna, J., & Weller, P. (Eds.), Institutions on the edge? Capacity for governance. (pp. 45-73). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003116127 ↵
  5. Miragliotta, N., Errington, W., & Barry, N. (2013). The Australian political system in action (2nd edition.). Oxford University Press. ↵

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