Australia’s Federal Relations Architecture
Australia’s federal relations architecture includes intergovernmental forums where Commonwealth, state and territory ministers can meet to progress a range of priority cross-jurisdictional issues. At the core of this architecture is National Cabinet. National Cabinet was established on 13 March 2020 and comprises the Prime Minister and state and territory First Ministers. The first priority of National Cabinet was to respond to the urgent health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this continues to be a priority, First Ministers now utilise National Cabinet to collaboratively address a wide range of issues of national significance.
Prior to the establishment of National Cabinet, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum where the Prime Minister, state and territory First Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) worked together on policy reforms of national significance. On 29 May 2020, National Cabinet agreed to the cessation of COAG.