Federal 
     Executive 
     Council 
     Handbook 
     2021 
     PM&C | [Section Name]  |  [Document Title]
           Federal Executive Council Handbook 2021
           © Commonwealth of Australia 2021
           978-1-925364-53-8 Federal Executive Handbook 2021 (online)
           Copyright Notice
           With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, this work is licensed under a Creative 
           Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0) 
           (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).
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           Attribution
           This publication should be attributed as follows:
           © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Federal Executive 
           Council Handbook 2021
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           Other uses
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           Federal Executive 
           Council 
           Handbook 2021
           Foreword
           The Federal Executive Council Handbook is produced for departmental officers and 
           ministerial staff as an aid in the preparation of papers for consideration by the 
           Governor-General in Council.
           This edition supersedes the 2019 version of the Handbook and incorporates 
           information subsequently issued through circulars by the Executive Council 
           Secretariat.
           The Handbook outlines the diverse nature of matters submitted to the Executive 
           Council and the form in which these matters are presented to the 
           Governor-General and his Executive Councillors.
           All papers prepared for the Executive Council must be high quality; it is essential 
           that they are accurate, reflect the Governor-General’s constitutional or legislative 
           powers, and clearly set out the recommendations being made.
           The Executive Council Liaison Officer in each Australian Government Department is 
           the first point of contact for officials who are preparing draft papers for the 
           Executive Council.  The Executive Council Secretariat within the Department of the 
           Prime Minister and Cabinet performs an important role managing the quality and 
           timeliness of these papers and is available to advise and assist with any procedural 
           or presentational questions you may have.
           Paul Singer MVO
           Official Secretary to the Governor-General 
           PM&C | CABINET DIVISION  | FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL HANDBOOK 2021
            Contents
             Introduction................................................................................................................1
               The Handbook........................................................................................................1
               The Federal Executive Council................................................................................1
               Other References....................................................................................................2
             The Federal Executive Council....................................................................................3
               What is the Federal Executive Council?.................................................................3
               Meetings of the Federal Executive Council............................................................4
               The ‘caretaker’ period............................................................................................5
               Recommendations to the Federal Executive Council.............................................7
               Deadlines................................................................................................................8
               Late items...............................................................................................................8
               Special meetings.....................................................................................................9
               Clearance of drafts and final documents...............................................................9
               Withdrawal of papers...........................................................................................10
               Ministerial changes affecting Executive Council documents...............................10
               Documents contingent on assent to legislation...................................................11
               Preparing documents for the Administrator of the Government of the 
               Commonwealth....................................................................................................12
             The Document Package............................................................................................13
               The standard set of documents............................................................................13
               Minutes................................................................................................................13
               Instruments..........................................................................................................13
               Explanatory memoranda......................................................................................14
               Signing and initialling by the responsible minister..............................................16
               Alterations to documents.....................................................................................18
               Numbering, making copies, and assembling documents....................................19
               Explanatory statements........................................................................................19
            PM&C | CABINET DIVISION  | FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL HANDBOOK 2021