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Key Points 1This circular sets out the requirements for central government agencies to estimate and disclose the greenhouse gas emission implications when certain types of policy proposals are presented to Cabinet. It has been updated to reflect...

Introduction 1 This circular sets out the guidelines and requirements for Ministers and departments seeking approval of proposals with financial implications, changes to appropriations, and the authority to incur expenses. 2 This circular updates...

Introduction 1This circular sets out the requirements for Ministers and agencies seeking approvals relating to government regulatory proposals. 2This circular replaces CO (17) 3, and updates Cabinet’s requirements for impact analysis.  The...

Key Points 1This circular provides guidance on the management of parliamentary business after Parliament has been dissolved. The key points are as follows: 1.1all parliamentary business will lapse on Sunday, 6 September 2020, when Parliament...

Government Decisions and Actions in the Pre-election Period This circular has been updated to reflect the election date announced by the Prime Minister on 17 August 2020. Introduction 1As announced by the Prime Minister on 17 August 2020, the 2020...

Government Decisions and Actions in the Pre-election Period This circular has been updated to reflect the election date announced by the Prime Minister on 17 August 2020. Introduction 1As announced by the Prime Minister on 17 August 2020, the 2020...

Introduction 1In January this year the Cabinet Office issued guidance on government decision making in the pre-election period.1 That guidance reiterates that the government has the right to govern as usual until the election. As in previous election...

Introduction 1Following the general election on 17 October 2020, the Leader of the Labour Party has announced that she is able to lead a government that has the support of a majority of the House. 2In accordance with the convention on caretaker...

A guide for government agencies and policy advisors on principles and values for good community engagement in policy making.

A guide for government agencies on building capability and readiness for community engagement.

A guide for policy advisors on good community engagement practice, including at each level of the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.

Introduction 1The New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have signed a cooperation agreement.  This circular sets out the next steps in the transition to a new administration. Appointment of the new ministry...

Introduction 1This circular provides practical guidance for Ministers[1] and departments on implementing the cooperation agreement between the Labour Party and the Green Party entered into when the government was formed following the 2020 general...

Email request forms Below is a list of the different forms that Ministers’ offices might need to submit to Cabinet Office on their Minister’s behalf. Ministers’ offices should copy the relevant form into an email, fill it out, and then send it to...

Introduction 1This circular sets out the requirements for the preparation of requests ('bids') from Ministers for bills to be awarded places on the 2021 Legislation Programme. 2Ministers and departments are asked to consider legislative priorities...

Policy development often involves engagement with citizens and/or interest groups to gather views on issues and options. Any non-government consultation process should be discussed with the Minister’s office before proposals are developed for Cabinet....

Introduction 1 This circular sets out the process for developing the Statutes Amendment Bill in 2021. Process for the Bill This circular sets out the seven key steps involved in the preparation of Statutes Amendment Bills, which range from the...

  “Advice given to Ministers must be honest, impartial, and include all relevant information. It must also be responsive to the priorities determined by the government of the day. Advice should be free and frank, and acknowledge any key...

Papers seeking agreement to policy/approval for additional resources to implement that policy should be submitted to the Cabinet committee responsible for that area of government activity. The Cabinet committee may refer such papers to the Cabinet ...

Impact analysis, within the context of preparing Cabinet material, is a process of defining the policy or operational problem that needs to be addressed, identifying policy objectives, and the full range of feasible options for addressing that problem....

This section outlines the need for a range of consultation on Cabinet and Cabinet committee papers and the process for consultation, including: the process for departmental consultation, which includes consultation with the Department of the Prime...

Ministers are expected to consult their relevant Ministerial colleagues before submitting Cabinet committee papers that deal with significant or potentially controversial matters, or that affect other Ministers’ portfolio interests. Where there is a...

The following template must be used for all papers requesting a priority in the annual Legislation Programme. The template indicates the headings to be used, and each heading must appear in the paper (write "not applicable" if the heading is not...

Summary of Key Points Cabinet has agreed to adopt a policy framework for regulating occupations. A copy of the framework is attached to this circular. All departments and agencies should follow the principles contained in the framework when...

What is CabNet CabNet is a secure platform for supporting Cabinet and Cabinet committee processes. It is the workflow system for Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, and the central repository of Cabinet papers and minutes of decisions. Cabinet...

Owning Ministers offices, owning agencies and the Cabinet Office jointly manage the progress of a submission through the upload, lodge, consideration and decision-making steps in CabNet. If you are involved in managing a CabNet submission and taking...

A tool to help policy advisors identify the level on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation most appropriate for a specific policy project. The final two pages of the design tool are editable and can be used by policy teams to help design their...

Resources to help policy advisors choose the right engagement methods to support good engagement planning. Please download the PDF and open it from your computer before using and printing, as it contains pages in both A4 and A3 that may not print...

Title Date Status CO (19) 8: Climate Implications of Policy Assessment Requirements 5 December 2019 Superseded CO (19) 7: 2020 Legislation Programme: Requirements for Submitting Bids...

The Terrorist and National Security Event Media Protocols are designed to assist during terrorist or national security events within New Zealand, or in a significant terrorist event overseas involving New Zealanders. The primary goal of government...

Papers seeking approval for treaty actions generally follow the format of standard Cabinet papers. Below is an annotated example of an international treaty action paper. Template for international treaty Cabinet papersdocx23.09 KB [...

Papers that are submitted to Cabinet or committee seeking authorisation for the submission of regulations to the Executive Council must follow the format set out below. Each heading must appear in the paper (write "not applicable" if the heading is not...

Occasionally, a Cabinet committee or a group of Ministers can be given “Power to Act” by Cabinet or the Prime Minister to take final decisions on Cabinet’s behalf. What is Power to Act When Power to Act is exercised, the decision of the Cabinet...

A late Cabinet paper is any paper lodged after 10.00am the Thursday before the meeting. If a Minister needs to submit a paper to Cabinet or a Cabinet committee after the Thursday 10:00am deadline, then the Minister’s office must submit an email to the...

Ministers and departments are unable to access highly classified Cabinet material electronically. Hard copy versions of highly classified Cabinet and Cabinet committee material are delivered to Ministers’ offices by the Cabinet Office, and are...

The Cabinet Office publishes Cabinet material on CabNet when the final version is to be made available to relevant users. A user will be notified of documents that are published. Refer to the section on navigating CabNet to find out more about how to...