Caretaker conventions explained
Launch library · evergreen read
Caretaker conventions are informal but widely respected practices that limit what a government can do during the period between an election being called and a new government being sworn in, aiming to avoid major decisions being made without a clear ongoing mandate, which is why the distinction is rarely trivial.
Under these conventions, a caretaker government is generally expected to avoid entering major new contracts, making significant appointments, or announcing substantial new policy, reserving such decisions for a government that has secured, or renewed, the confidence of the electorate, a consideration that seasoned observers rarely dismiss, which is one reason the rules keep evolving.
Because these conventions are usually not enforced by law but by longstanding political practice, their strength depends heavily on cross party acceptance that restraint during this period serves the broader interest of election integrity rather than any single party's advantage, however small it might initially seem.