Summary heading

  Descriptive Note

Function and purpose

 This series consists of Submissions received in the Cabinet Office during the term of the First Fraser Ministry  - together with a copy of the relevant Decision in each case.

The First Fraser Ministry  was in effect an interim ministry of 15 members, sworn in as a caretaker government on 11 November 1975, following the dismissal of the Whitlam government.  It remained in place for six weeks while the outcome of the election set for 13 December 1975 was determined.  

During this time there were two meetings of cabinet. (The cabinet comprised the whole ministry, as had been the practice of the Whitlam government.)

The first meeting occurred on 12 November – that is, the day after the government was formed.  As would be expected, since there hadn’t been time for any formal submission process, all the matters considered at this meeting were Without Submission.  They were mainly  administrative or housekeeping matters – with the exception of the last item :  ‘North Korea and Portuguese Timor’.  A total of eleven Cabinet Decisions were made at this meeting.

The second meeting was held a week later on 19 November 1975. At this meeting the 12 Submissions which had in the meantime been formally registered in the Cabinet Office (and which constitute this series) were considered – along with a further six matters Without Submission.  The formal Submissions included some which were re-registrations of earlier submissions which had lapsed when the Whitlam cabinet ceased.   There was a wide range of  subject matter including education programs, Nursing Home benefits, industry assistance and purchase of aircraft.  In total eighteen Cabinet Decisions were made at this meeting

There were no further Cabinet meetings of this ministry.  The ministry formally ended on 22 December 1975 when a new Fraser government (with a much expanded ministry) was sworn in following the Coalition’s election victory.  The numbering sequences of both Submissions and Decisions of the caretaker government were discontinued and new number sequences were begun by the Cabinet Office for the Second Fraser Ministry.  

In the course of the First Fraser Ministry therefore, there was a total of 12 Cabinet Submissions (this series ) and 29 Cabinet Decisions (series CRS A13050).  All of the Decisions were Decisions of the Cabinet itself – there were no Cabinet committees during the term of the First Fraser Ministry.

Note that multiple copies of Submission are created to facilitate the administrative processes (circulating to Ministers before the meeting, etc.)  While the security of Cabinet documents is closely regulated (Section 7 of the Cabinet Handbook refers)  copies may occasionally  be found in departmental files, Minister’s Personal Records and elsewhere. 

Related legislation

 

Using the series

  As all submissions have been entered in RecordSearch database, a submission relating to any particular subject can be retrieved by keyword search in RecordSearch (limiting search by Series No 12908.)   An alternative is to peruse the Register of Submissions (CRS A12910)   A submission is normally, by direction of the Cabinet Office,  a fairly brief document.  (The Cabinet Handbook specified a maximum of 7 pages, including the Cover Sheet.)   More background material may be found on the relevant file in the Cabinet Office’s LC series (CRS A10756)  The department which prepared the submission will also have files on the subject, including the drafting of the submission, in its general correspondence files series.  (The Cover Sheet on top of  each  submission indicates which Minister - and hence which department - is making the submission.)

The entry for the LC file in RecordSearch shows the relevant Submission number in the Title field.

The Register of Decisions (CRS A12911) shows the relevant LC file for each Decision (that is, including Decisions without Submissions)

Note that there is no correlation between a Submission number and the Decision number for that submission.  The sequence of Submission numbers reflects the chronology of the submissions’ being received in Cabinet Office.  The sequence of Decision numbers reflects the chronology of the submissions’ being presented to a cabinet meeting for consideration - and there are many variable factors that intervene to affect the latter.  In addition, the sequence of Decision numbers includes Decisions on matters for which no submission was made (known as ‘Decisions without Submissions’)  The Decision number is therefore normally well in advance (in numerical terms) of the Submission number.  In the course of the First Fraser ministry, there were 12 Submission and 29 Decisions.

Language of material

Physical characteristics

  The practice of the Cabinet Office is that a copy of the finalised Submission, together with a copy of the subsequent Decision, are accumulated in a sequence of visidex folders arranged by the Submission number.  In the case of the First Fraser Ministry only one folder was required.

When the records were transferred to the custody of the National Archives in May 2004,  both for preservation reasons and also to improve accessibility of individual submissions, the Submissions were removed from the folder and re-packaged in individual acid-free folders.  The Submissions are controlled and described at this level in the RecordSearch database.

The Submissions are in a standardised format as specified by Cabinet Office.  Submissions in this series did not have the standardised Cover Sheet (incorporated as the first page of the Submission) which was introduced in early 1976.

System of arrangement and control

  The items of this series are controlled by the Submission Number allocated when the submission is received and registered in the Cabinet Office.  The submission number sequence is a simple number sequence ranging from 1 to 12.

Relationships with other records

  The submission numbers are allocated from the Submission Register (CRS A12910)  which documents the receipt in Cabinet Office of all Submissions made during the ministry   The relevant file in the LC series (CRS A10756) documents the process of preparation of the submission for presentation to the cabinet.  The Decision Register (CRS A 12911)  controls the allocation of Decision number to register all Decisions made in that ministry, including Decisions without Submissions.  The Decisions themselves (normally one page for each Decision) are accumulated in series A13050.  The Attendance Sheets (CRS A12575) record which ministers were present  at each meeting (as well as the type of meeting – whether cabinet or a committee – and also who the Notetakers were at each meeting.)

Finding aids

  This series and related series of the First Fraser Ministry are described in RecordSearch database both at Series level and item level.  For general information regarding the Cabinet Office refer to registration for agency CA 1472 in RecordSearch.  The Cabinet Office procedures regarding preparation of  Submissions is described in detail in the Cabinet Handbook which was first printed during the term of the second Fraser Ministry (February in 1976.)  The Handbook also outlines the operation of the Cabinet system in broad terms.  The present edition (the fifth) can be seen at   www.pmc.gov.au/guidelines/index.cfm

Note that Cabinet Decisions are referred to in the Handbook, and in some other contexts, as Cabinet Minutes.  Matters that are raised in the Cabinet meeting for which no Submission has been made (leading to a Decision without Submission) are referred to as ‘under–the-line’ matters.

Access conditions

 

Series history

 

Provenance

  The records that constitute this series were created in the Cabinet Office (CA1472) in November 1975   - or, more specifically, the individual submissions were created in various departments and forwarded to Cabinet Office where they became record items of this series by virtue of being allocated  control numbers from the Submission Register maintained by Cabinet Office

Immediate source of acquisition

 

Custodial history

  The records that constitute this series were transferred from the Cabinet Office to the custody of the National Archives in May 2004

Quantity in agency custody

 

Disposal history

 

Publication note

 

Additional information

 

End notes

Sources