Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat , office , or directorate ) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration .
44-468: A ministerial committee is a committee consisting of ministers of various government portfolios . A joint ministerial committee usually refers to committee consisting of ministers from different governments. The term is used in both federal and state governments of Australia. An Interministerial Standing Committee exists in the UK as a committee of ministers and members of devolved administrations . It
88-605: A change of government, with the exception of Cabinet records and Cabinet notebooks which since 1986 are released after 30 years. Cabinet documents are considered the property of the political government of the day, with access by successive governments only granted by request. However, the documents themselves are not legally protected, allowing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 2018 to publish some Cabinet documents found in filing cabinets whose keys had been lost and subsequently sold at
132-460: A decision of the Cabinet is binding on all members of the government, regardless of whether they were present when the decision was taken or their personal views. Issues are debated within the confidential setting of Cabinet meetings so that some form of consensus can be summarised by the prime minister, as chair of the Cabinet, to be recorded in the Cabinet minute. Cabinet collective responsibility
176-471: A government surplus auction. The documents revealed the inner workings of recent governments, and were characterised by the ABC as the largest breach of cabinet security in the nation's history. As with other Westminster system cabinets, Cabinet committees play an important role in the effectiveness of the Cabinet system and providing avenues for collective decision-making on particular policy issues. As of 2024,
220-639: A member of either house, but section 64 of the Constitution requires the minister to become a member within three months. The prime minister and treasurer are traditionally members of the House of Representatives, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement. As amended in 1987, the Minister of State Act 1952 permits up to 30 ministers. As members of one house cannot speak in the other, ministers in each house serve as representatives of colleagues in
264-561: A minister is referred to as his or her "portfolio". In the United Kingdom , all government organisations that consist of civil servants, and which may or may not be headed by a government minister or secretary of state , are considered to be departments . Until 2018, the term "ministry" had been retained only for the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice . On 8 January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that
308-527: A ministerial office and hence the minister, is referred to as the minister's "portfolio". New Zealand 's state agencies include many ministries and a smaller number of departments. Increasingly, state agencies are styled neither as ministries nor as departments. All New Zealand agencies are under the direction of one or more ministers or associate ministers, whether they are styled ministries or not. Each body also has an apolitical chief executive, and in ministries and departments these chief executives often have
352-420: A ministry, usually led by a government member called a secretary of state who is subordinate to the minister. In Australia at the federal level, and also at the state level, the term ministry refers to the ministerial office held by a member of Cabinet , the executive, which is then responsible for one or more departments , the top division of the public service. The collection of departments responsible to
396-470: A more flexible organization. Although the term "ministry" has been eliminated from the Government communication and from most of the new published laws, it continues to be used in some legislation, especially those referring to some government areas that existed for a long time as ministries ( Finance , National Defense , Foreign Affairs , Health , etc.). The term "ministry" also continues to be used as
440-447: A political portfolio . Governments may have differing numbers and types of ministries and departments. In some countries, these terms may be used with specific meanings: for example, an office may be a subdivision of a department or ministry. The federal Government of Canada uses the term department to refer to its first-level executive bodies. In Canada , first-level subdivisions are known as provinces and territories . Five of
484-527: A week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. There are several Cabinet committees focused on governance and specific policy issues, with administrative support provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . The outer ministry consists of junior ministers outside of Cabinet. There are also a number of assistant ministers (designated as parliamentary secretaries under
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#1732783313910528-490: Is a product of convention and practice. There is no reference to the Cabinet in the Australian Constitution and its establishment and procedures are not the subject of any legislation. The prime minister of the day determines the shape, structure and operation of the Cabinet and its Committees. Decisions of Cabinet (formally known as Cabinet minutes ) do not in and of themselves have legal force, requiring
572-581: Is most obviously expressed in the principle of Cabinet solidarity. In governments using the Westminster system, members of the Cabinet must publicly support all government decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not agree with them. Cabinet ministers cannot dissociate themselves from, or repudiate the decisions of, their Cabinet colleagues unless they resign from the Cabinet. The principle of collective responsibility requires that ministers should be able to express their views frankly in Cabinet meetings in
616-487: Is not an executive body and cannot bind any of its participants. Portfolio (government) These types of organizations are usually led by a politician who is a member of a cabinet —a body of high-ranking government officials—who may use a title such as minister , secretary , or commissioner, and are typically staffed with members of a non-political civil service , who manage its operations; they may also oversee other government agencies and organizations as part of
660-640: Is on the agenda. Cabinet meetings are chaired by the prime minister, and a senior public servant is present to write the minutes and record decisions. Since 1942, every member of the Cabinet has been a member of the Australian Labor Party , the Liberal Party of Australia , or the National Party of Australia . The prime minister is responsible for the membership of the Cabinet, determines and regulates all Cabinet arrangements for
704-632: The Australian federal budget and the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Decisions of the ERC must be endorsed by the Cabinet. The ERC is chaired by the prime minister with the treasurer as deputy chair and includes the deputy prime minister, the minister for social services, the minister for health, the minister for finance, and the minister for revenue and financial services. The Parliamentary Business Committee (PBC) considers priorities for
748-513: The Federal Cabinet , is the chief decision-making body of the Australian government . The Cabinet is selected by the prime minister and is composed of senior government ministers who administer the executive departments and ministries of the federal government. Ministers are appointed by the governor-general , on the advice of the prime minister , who is the leader of the Cabinet. Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once
792-551: The Ministers of State Act 1952 ), responsible for a specific policy area and reporting directly to a senior Cabinet minister of their portfolio. The Cabinet, the outer ministry, and the assistant ministers collectively form the full Commonwealth ministry of the government of the day. Officials and advisors are not allowed to attend Cabinet, with only Cabinet ministers and the three official note-takers that produce Cabinet minutes able to be present during deliberations. The Cabinet
836-584: The leader of the Opposition , the Opposition in parliament appoints from its ranks a shadow cabinet to monitor government ministers and present itself as an alternative government. The portfolios of shadow ministers usually correspond with those of the government. When the Liberal and National parties are in Opposition, the shadow cabinet is appointed by the leader of the Opposition in consultation with
880-564: The Australian government's legislation program and requests to the prime minister for the presentation of ministerial statements. Decisions of the PBC do not require the endorsement of the Cabinet. The PBC is chaired by the leader of the house with the leader of the government in the Senate as deputy chair and includes manager of government business in the senate, the deputy leader of the house, and
924-570: The British parliamentary cabinet system. This entails collective decision-making and responsibility, Cabinet solidarity and confidentiality. The role of collective decision-making reflects the parliamentary tradition that the confidence given to governments by the House of Representatives is collective, rather than towards individual ministers. Similarly, the governor-general, in acting on ministerial advice, needs to be confident that they only give effect to government policy. In practice this means that
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#1732783313910968-550: The Cabinet committees are: The National Security Committee (NSC) focuses on major international security issues of strategic importance to Australia, border protection policy, national responses to developing situations (either domestic or international) and classified matters relating to aspects of operation and activities of the Australian Intelligence Community . Decisions of the NSC do not require
1012-555: The Department of Communities and Local Government would be renamed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to emphasise her government's prioritising of housing policy. In September 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reverted the ministry to a department, renaming it the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and giving it the responsibility of overseeing his government's levelling up policy . It
1056-508: The Parliamentary Labor Party, the caucus , and this practice was followed until 2007. The prime minister retained the right to allocate portfolios. In practice, Labor prime ministers exercised a predominant influence over who was elected to Labor Cabinets, although leaders of party factions also exercised considerable influence. Under two-tier ministerial arrangements introduced in 1987, each senior or portfolio minister
1100-498: The Peninsular Malaysia states use committee , while Sabah and Sarawak state governments following the federal government's style in naming certain portfolios. In Hong Kong , the term bureau is used, and departments are subordinate to the bureaus. In Mexico , ministries are referred to as secretariats . In 1999, the ministries of the federal government of Belgium became known as federal public service ,
1144-1457: The assistant minister to the prime minister. The other committees are the Government Communications Subcommittee, the National Security Investment Subcommittee, the Net Zero Economy Committee and the Priority and Delivery Committee. MP for Grayndler (1996–) MP for Corio (2007–) Senator for South Australia (2002–) MP for Rankin (2013–) Senator for Australian Capital Territory (2019–) Senator for South Australia (2016-) MP for Watson (2004–) MP for Hindmarsh (2019–) MP for McMahon (2010–) MP for Sydney (1998–) MP for Ballarat (2001–) MP for Kingston (2007–) MP for Maribyrnong (2007–) MP for Isaacs (2007–) MP for Blaxland (2007–) MP for Franklin (2007–) MP for Greenway (2010–) MP for Brand (2016–) MP for Chifley (2010–) Senator for Queensland (2016–) MP for Hotham (2013-) Senator for Northern Territory (2016–) MP for Shortland (2016–) Led by
1188-517: The election he would dispense with this tradition and appoint the ministry himself. In fact, the caucus rule requiring the election of ministers remains in place. At the first caucus meeting after the election, Rudd announced the members of his chosen ministry, and the caucus then elected them unopposed, thus preserving the outward form of caucus election. Members of both the House of Representatives and Senate are eligible to serve as ministers and parliamentary secretaries . A minister does not have to be
1232-569: The endorsement from individual ministers, holders of statutory office, Parliament or the governor-general as advised by the non-deliberative Federal Executive Council —the highest formal executive body mentioned in the Constitution . In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet. Until 1956 the Cabinet comprised all ministers. The growth of
1276-409: The endorsement of the Cabinet. The NSC is chaired by the prime minister with the deputy prime minister as deputy chair and includes the attorney-general, the minister for foreign affairs, the minister for defence, the treasurer, the minister for immigration and border protection, and the Cabinet secretary. The Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) considers matters of regarding expenditure and revenue of
1320-889: The equivalent organisation to a national government department is termed directorate-general with the civil servant in charge called a director-general (in the European Commission , the political head of the department is one of the European Commissioners ). The government departments of the Soviet Union were termed people's commissariats between 1917 and 1946. Ministry was used, thereafter. The term ministry has also been widely used in fiction, notably in satires and parodies. Portrayals of various fictional government ministries include: Cabinet of Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Cabinet of Australia , also known as
1364-662: The exception being the Ministry of Defense which kept the original designation. In the Republic of China , ministry is used. In the People's Republic of China , ministry is used. In Portugal , the organization adopted by the XXI (2015–2019) and the XXII (2019-2024) governments ceased to expressly foresee the existence of ministries, with the portfolios of the ministers being instead referred as "government areas" and having, in theory,
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1408-455: The expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front in public when decisions have been reached. This in turn requires that opinions expressed in the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, including in documents and any correspondence, are treated as confidential. As such, Cabinet documents are broadly immune from Freedom of Information Act requests. All Cabinet documents are destroyed once they are no longer needed or at
1452-516: The government and is the final arbiter of Cabinet procedures. As chair of the cabinet, the Prime minister sets the Cabinet’s agenda and determines when and where meetings take place. The Prime minister leads and guides discussion to achieve a collective response; however where a collective decision is not possible, the prime minister’s view is authoritative. The Australian Cabinet follows the traditions of
1496-519: The junior Coalition party has had the right to nominate his party's members of the Coalition ministry, and to be consulted by the prime minister on the allocation of their portfolios. When the Labor Party first held office under Chris Watson , Watson assumed the right to choose members of the Cabinet. In 1907, however, the party decided that future Labor Cabinets would be elected by members of
1540-516: The leader of the Nationals. When Labor has been in Opposition, the caucus has elected the shadow ministry and the leader has allocated portfolios. Smaller non-government parties often appoint spokespersons for Cabinet portfolios, but these are not referred to as a shadow cabinet. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which is by Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australian Government available under
1584-472: The ministry in the 1940s and 1950s made this increasingly impractical, and in 1956 Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies created a two-tier ministry, with only senior ministers being members of the Cabinet, while the other ministers are in the outer ministry. This practice has been continued by all governments since, with the exception of the Whitlam government. When the non-Labor parties have been in power,
1628-412: The other for answering questions and other procedures. As of September 2023 every government since Federation has had senators serve as ministers. The Senate typically provides one-quarter to one-third of the ministry. Some former senators and others have proposed that senators should not be eligible to serve as ministers, stating that doing so is inappropriate for members of a chamber that act as
1672-612: The prime minister has advised the governor-general on all Cabinet and ministerial appointments at his own discretion, although in practice he consults with senior colleagues in making appointments. When the Liberal Party and its predecessors (the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party ) have been in coalition with the National Party (or its predecessor the Country Party), the leader of
1716-458: The states' house and a house of review and because governments are only responsible to the House of Representatives. John Uhr and Senator Baden Teague state that an advantage of senators serving in ministries is that the Senate can compel them to answer questions about the government. Since the introduction of the two-tier ministry, meetings of Cabinet are attended by members only, although other ministers may attend if an area of their portfolio
1760-440: The ten provincial governments use the term ministry to describe their departments ( Ontario , Quebec , Saskatchewan , British Columbia , and Alberta ) but the other five, as well as the three territorial governments, use the term department . Despite the difference in nomenclature, both the provincial and federal governments use the term "minister" to describe the head of a ministry or department. The specific task assigned to
1804-463: The title of Secretary. In Indonesia , the term ministry ( Indonesian : Kementerian ) is used. From the New Order to 2009, the office was known as department ( Indonesian : Departemen ). In Malaysia , the term ministry is used for all but one government cabinet portfolio. The Prime Minister Department is the only portfolio that uses department instead. All government portfolios in
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1848-586: The vernacular to refer to a government area. In Nigeria each ministry is led by a minister who is not a member of the Nigerian legislature (due to the separation of powers) and is responsible to the popularly elected president . In Lebanon , there are 21 ministries. Each ministry is led by a minister, and the prime minister is the 23rd minister of the Lebanese government. In the European Union ,
1892-508: Was a member of the Cabinet. In 1996 this was modified by the Howard government , whereby two portfolio ministers, one being the attorney-general , were not members of Cabinet, and one portfolio had two Cabinet ministers. In subsequent Howard ministries, and the 2007 Rudd Labor ministry, all portfolio ministers were in the Cabinet. Before the 2007 election, Kevin Rudd announced that if Labor won
1936-581: Was then subsequently reverted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under the Starmer government in 2024. Some countries, such as Switzerland , the Philippines and the United States , do not use or no longer use the term "ministry" and instead call their main government bodies "departments". However, in other countries such as Luxembourg a department is a subdivision of
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