Formatting and style for submissions

General formatting and style for submissions

Colour of submissions

Advance lodgement of Cabinet submissions are to be prepared on plain white paper.

The electronic version of the final submissions should be colour coded to assist in recognition of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee submissions, and to distinguish Significant Appointment submissions from other types of submissions. The following colour coding must be adhered to when preparing final submissions:

Type size and spacing

Type size for the cover sheet and body of Cabinet submissions should be no smaller than 12 point font size (Times New Roman is the preferred font type) and single line spacing. Quotations or references used in submissions must also conform with this type size and spacing. Attachments to submissions created originally for another purpose need not be retyped to conform with this rule.

Margins

A 3 cm left hand margin is to be provided in the submission and on attachments. Top and bottom margins should allow for Cabinet-in-Confidence annotations.

Headings

All headings should be in block capitals and any sub-headings in lower case. These are to be positioned on the left hand margin and bolded.

Paragraph numbering

Paragraphs in the body of the submission (including Significant Appointment submissions) should be numbered beginning with ‘1’at the first paragraph under  Objective running through consecutively to the recommendation. Attachments should have separate paragraph numbering wherever possible.

Sub-paragraphs should be numbered ‘1.2, 1.3 ...’. Sub-sub-paragraphs should be avoided as they can be confusing.

Page numbering

Pages are to be numbered consecutively commencing ‘2’ on the second page of the cover sheet of the document and proceed in sequence to the last page of the body of the document. Page numbers are also to appear at the top centre of each page.

Attachments which have already been printed and are numbered in a different format are acceptable.

Tables and schedules

Tables and schedules should be numbered ‘Table 1, 2,...’ consecutively throughout the body of the submission and consecutively from ‘1’ in each attachment. Each table and schedule should be given a brief title clearly describing its contents.

Tables and schedules should only be used if they add value to the document.

Abbreviations/acronyms

Apart from common abbreviations like ‘e.g.’ and ‘i.e.’, abbreviations and acronyms should be spelt out in full the first time they appear in the cover sheet or body of the submission, e.g. Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). Repeat this process in the recommendations to assist in identification.

Attachments

Attachments should not introduce issues for discussion not raised in the body of the Cabinet submission.

The following procedures apply to attachments:

• Attachments are identified by showing ‘Attachment 1, 2,...’ at the top right hand corner of each page. Identifying each page makes for ease of reference where there are multiple attachments
• Agencies should include a list of attachments after the Consultation Addendum, where there are multiple attachments
• Attachments are to be self-contained and should not include appendices, recommendations or issues for discussion not raised in the body of the Cabinet submission
• If a recommendation endorses an attachment, the attachment is to be set out in a form enabling quick comprehension and is to contain no material beyond the scope of the recommendation
• Where an attachment is longer than ten pages, departments should critically examine whether the full attachment is required and if it could more appropriately be attached in a summarised form or merely cited if readily available.

Reports in PDF form or printed material need not be retyped to conform with these procedures. Reports should be lodged as an attachment for the relevant Cabinet submission.

Cross referencing

Any reference in the body of the submission to an attachment must clearly identify the attachment, its page number, paragraph number, table or schedule number.

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