culture.gov.au

Connecting you with Australian culture online

Caretaker Period Policy at the Culture and Recreation Portal

1. The Culture and Recreation Portal (the Portal) is a program of the Australian Government Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
   
   
2. In the period preceding an election for the House of Representatives, the Australian Government assumes a 'caretaker role'. This 'caretaker period' begins at the time the House of Representatives is dissolved and continues until the election result is clear or, if there is a change of government, until the new government is appointed.
   
   
3. The primary aim of the policy is to ensure that Australian Government resources are not being used to communicate political material and to avoid the involvement of the Australian Public Service or its funded initiatives in election activities.
   
   
4. This policy is based on Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, available on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) website at http://www.pmc.gov.au/guidelines/
   
   
5. During caretaker periods, the Portal will have a notice on all pages advising that the Portal caretaker period policy is in place and that the Culture and Recreation Portal is not responsible for the opinions expressed on websites or documents accessible through its search facility.
   
   
6. Changes to this policy will be posted on this page.
   
   
7. This page last updated: 17 October 2007.