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About us
The Council for the Australian Federation (CAF)
was formed in October 2006 to support and enhance our federal system by providing
an intergovernmental forum for State and Territory leaders in Australia.
Download the Memorandum of Understanding to Establish the Council
for the Australian Federation Secretariat,
PDF (787 KB)
Word (440 KB).
Each State and Territory Premier or Chief Minister is a member of
CAF with the inaugural Chair being the Premier from South Australia,
Mike Rann. The position of Chair rotates between jurisdictions and the current Chair
is the New South Wales Premier, Hon. Kristina Keneally. Full members' details are
listed below.
Since 2006, the Council has met seven times and overseen a detailed work plan based
on the key objectives of the Council:
Objectives
The objectives of the Council are to:
- provide leadership on and promote innovative solutions to matters important to Australians
- promote constructive engagement with the Commonwealth Government and Parliament
on matters of national interest
- promote and communicate to the Australian people the benefits of Australia's federal
system in providing diversity of policy options
- complement the work of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG,
see http://www.coag.gov.au/) and facilitate
COAG-based agreements
with the Commonwealth by working towards a common position among the States and
Territories
- reach collaborative agreement on cross-jurisdictional issues where a Commonwealth
imprimatur is unnecessary.
CAF Report Card
The CAF
Report Card, PDF (205 KB), highlights the Council's achievements
from its inception to October 2008.
The second CAF Report Card,
PDF (413 KB), outlines CAF's achievements
in the period October 2008 to October 2009.
Council Secretariat
The Council Secretariat is funded by all States and
Territories and is located in Brisbane.
List of current members
Meetings
The Council meets at least once a year or on an ‘as needs basis’. However,
many policy issues are dealt with throughout the year out-of-session.
The outcomes of the Council's meetings are contained in communiqués released at
the end of each meeting. See Meetings for a list of
meeting details including key discussion topics, outcomes, communiqués and related
documentation.