State Election 2025 and Caretaker Conventions (12 Jun 2025)

Hello everyone,

Yesterday evening the Premier met with the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, Governor of Tasmania, to request the Governor prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the House of Assembly to enable a general election. The Governor has accepted his request, and the next Tasmanian State Government election will be held on Saturday 19 July 2025.

This decision means that we are now in a caretaker period, and I am taking this opportunity to remind all Tasmanian State Service (TSS) employees that the Caretaker Conventions apply to all of us. Although not legally binding, the conventions have been designed to guide our work during this period within an apolitical environment.

To help us understand what the conventions mean, a dedicated page has been created on the Department of Premier and Cabinet website and the Caretaker Conventions can also be downloaded here.

If you have any questions about the conventions, please contact your manager in the first instance. If you have further queries, please reach out to caretaker@dpac.tas.gov.au.

As TSS employees, during this time, we must also continue to behave in a way that upholds the State Service Principles, as articulated in the State Service Act.  As a State Service, we are apolitical and perform our functions in an impartial, ethical, and professional manner.

The date when a new government will be appointed is unclear and, pending the results of the election, may not be known for some time. Until then, I thank you all for your respect of the conventions and continuing your work to serve the Tasmanian community.

Best wishes,

Kath

Kathrine Morgan-Wicks
Head of the State Service
Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet
12 Jun 2025