AGY-5376 | Cabinet and Parliamentary Branch (1978-1980) / Cabinet Secretariat (1980- )

Full description

The Cabinet Secretariat Branch of the Premier’s Department began as the Cabinet and Parliamentary Branch which was established by 1978. (1) By the end of 1980, the branch was known as the Cabinet Secretariat. The Cabinet Secretariat’s broad function was to handle the Department’s procedural work in relation to meetings of Cabinet, Cabinet Committees, and sittings of Parliament. Prior to 1978, Cabinet matters were the responsibility of the Cabinet Section of the Premier's Department.

The Cabinet Secretariat’s work included the following:
i) the programming and co-ordination of the Government’s legislative program, including assistance to the Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council;
ii) liaising with Ministers and Departments on draft legislation to proceed in Parliament;
iii) the allocation of the Administration of Acts to Ministers;
iv) procedural assistance to the Premier in the appointment of Ministers, Ministers Assisting and Acting Ministers;
v) administrative arrangements for the prorogation, dissolution and calling together of Parliament, and for changes in the Ministry. (2)

In 1980, the Cabinet Secretariat was a branch of the Cabinet Secretariat and Public Service Division of the Premier’s Department. The Cabinet Secretariat was transferred in 1982 to the Government and Community Relations Division, and in 1983 was part of the Government and Parliamentary Division within the Premier’s Department. By 1984, the Cabinet Secretariat was a separate Branch within the Premier’s Department and did not report through the Department’s Divisional structure. When the Cabinet Office was established as a separate Department in June 1988, the Cabinet Secretariat Branch was transferred from the Premier’s Department to the Cabinet Office.(3) The Cabinet Secretariat was a separate Branch within the Cabinet Office because, unlike the Premier’s Department, the Cabinet Office did not have a Divisional structure. (4)

In 2005-06, the Cabinet Secretariat was responsible for the following functions:
i) managing the operations of the full Cabinet and Cabinet Committees; and co-ordinating the business agendas of the Executive Council;
ii) monitoring and reporting to the Director-General on follow-up actions flowing from Cabinet decisions;
iii) monitoring and reporting on the status of private members’ bills, including arranging for the development of Government positions;
iv) co-ordinating the answering of Parliamentary questions asked of the Premier or the Government as a whole;
v) managing the registration and answering of the Premier’s correspondence;
vi) programming Parliamentary sittings (in conjunction with the Leader of the House) and administrative arrangements for the prorogation, dissolution and calling together of Parliament;
vii) managing Ministerial appointments to Government Boards and Committees through the Cabinet and Executive Council;
viii) administering all leave requests for Ministerial overseas official travel on behalf of the Premier;
ix) procedures associated with the allocation of the Administration of Acts to Ministers; and procedural assistance to the Premier in the appointment of Ministers, Ministers Assisting and Acting Ministers, and for changes in the Ministry. (5)

The Cabinet Secretariat contained the Correspondence Unit which was responsible for the registration and tracking of all correspondence addressed to the Premier, and to the Directors-General of The Cabinet Office and the Premier’s Department, as well as the preparation of some replies. (6)

In 2005-06, the Cabinet Secretariat remained a separate Branch within the Cabinet Office and reported directly to one of the three Deputy Director-Generals. (7)

On 27 April 2007, the Cabinet Secretariat was transferred to the renamed Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) when the Cabinet Office was abolished as a Division of the Government Service. (8) The Cabinet Secretariat became part of the General Counsel Division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. (9)

As of June 30, 2011, DPC was divided into five divisions and three offices. The General Counsel (and the Cabinet Secretariat) was moved into the Policy and Strategy Division within DPC. (10)

The DPC undertook significant changes in management and structure from October 2012 creating 'central agency groups' rather than divisions. The General Counsel Division ceased and its functions were moved into the new central agency group ‘Office of the General Counsel’. The Cabinet Secretariat was moved into the Strategic Policy and Co-ordination Group of DPC. (11)

Further restructure by 30 June 2014 moved the Cabinet Secretariat into the Government Secretariat branch within the Sector Performance and Coordination Division within DPC. (12) By 30 June 2015, the Cabinet Secretariat branch was removed from the Government Secretariat branch and moved into Office of the General Counsel. (13)

From late 2015, DPC was divided into 3 service groups and the Office of the General Counsel (and Cabinet Secretariat) were transferred into the Policy Support Group. (14) Further organisational restructure of DPC in 2016 moved the Office of the General Counsel and its branches into the Cabinet and Legal Group and in 2018 into the Governance Group. (15)

In 2019 further organisational restructure removed the Office of the General Counsel (and Cabinet Secretariat) from the Governance Group and placed it into the Cabinet and Governance Branch within DPC. (16)

In 2023 the Cabinet Secretariat provided continuity and impartial support for operations at the centre of government. The Cabinet Secretariat supported the Premier, Cabinet committee chairs and the Cabinet Secretary/Deputy Secretary in ensuring that government business is conducted in an effective and timely way and that proper collective consideration takes place. The Secretariat: organised agendas, provided administrative support during Cabinet meetings, distributed Cabinet submissions and decisions, acted as custodian of the Cabinet documents of the Government and previous Governments. Contact between the Cabinet Secretariat and Departments (and agencies) was usually made through the Cabinet Liaison Officer (CLO) for the relevant cluster. (17)

Endnotes
1. NSW Premier’s Department, Annual Report, 1980, p.12.
2. NSW Premier’s Department, Annual Report, 1984, p.24.
3. NSW Government Gazette No.101, 15 June 1988, p.3167.
4. NSW Premier’s Department, Annual Reports, 1984-1988.
5. The Cabinet Office, Annual Report, 2005/06, pp.8-9.
6. The Cabinet Office, Annual Report, 2005/06, p.9.
7. The Cabinet Office, Annual Report, 2005/06, p.3.
8. NSW Government Gazette No.47, 2 April 2007, p.2102; NSW Government Gazette No.56, Special Supplement, 20 April 2007, p.2435.
9. NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report, 2006-07, p.30.
10. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2010-2011, pp.4-5.
11. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2011-2012, pp.8-9.
12. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2013-2014, p.124.
13. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2014-2015, p.11.
14. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2015-2016, p.65.
15. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2017-2018, p.8.; Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2018-2019, p.9.
16. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2019-2020, p.4.
17. Department of Premier and Cabinet website, Cabinet Practice Manual, https://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/tools-and-resources/cabinet-practice-manual/ (accessed 26 April 2023).