Australian Government Cabinet Handbook: 7th Edition

The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private Cabinet meetings occur once a week to discuss vital issues and formulate policy. Outside of the cabinet there are a number of junior ministers, responsible for a specific policy area and reporting directly to any senior Cabinet minister.

The Constitution of Australia does not recognise the Cabinet as a legal entity, and its decisions have no legal force. All members are also in the Executive Council, a body which is - in theory, though rarely in practice - chaired by the Governor-General, and which meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet. For this reason, there is always a member of The Cabinet holding the title Vice-President of the Executive Council.

This is its cabinet handbook, 7th Edition.