4.4.1 Cabinet submissions
Principles
Cabinet submissions are confidential documents.
A submission to Cabinet involving policy changes, public announcements, new initiatives and major decisions must include a communications strategy. Exceptions to this must be approved by the Director - Communications, Government Communications Office.
NOTE: Some discretion is required. Not all Cabinet submissions and Minutes will require a communications strategy eg announcement of appointments.
The purpose of the communications strategy is to provide Ministers and Cabinet with a basic outline of how agencies intend to communicate particular decisions to the Tasmanian public.
It also provides evidence that communication issues have been properly considered during the drafting and development of the cabinet submission.
Policy requirements
Cabinet decisions must be accompanied by a communications strategy as per the Cabinet submission: communications strategy template. See the Cabinet submission: communications strategy users guide for advice on completing the template.
The template is a guide only. It may not be possible to provide specific answers to all questions in the template prior to Cabinet making a decision. However, the communications strategy should:
- accurately reflect the agency’s intentions at the time of Cabinet consideration
- be completed on the assumption that the recommended option in the submission is accepted by Cabinet.
Communications strategies must be approved by the relevant agency’s Communications Manager or their delegate. The communications strategy will also be attached to the signed cabinet decision communicated to the responsible Heads of Agency.
To ensure appropriate measures and adequate resources are recommended to meet planned communication objectives, the Director - Communications reviews the Cabinet Submissions prepared by agencies.
