The majority of jurisdictions are either silent on the meeting of Cabinet during the caretaker period, or acknowledge that it would not meet. The exception is South Australia which states that during the caretaker period the normal business of executive government continues because of the separation of powers between the Parliament and the Executive. Cabinet can continue to meet for routine matters, but not major undertakings, initiatives or appointments. This is a different interpretation from other jurisdictions that base their approach on the convention of responsible government which holds that with the dissolution of the House, the executive cannot be held responsible for its decisions in the normal manner.

A crisis situation might necessitate a Cabinet meeting during the caretaker period. This was the case in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War during a Commonwealth election (see Weller 2007, pp. 30-32).