On 16 August 2022, following revelations in the media a few days earlier, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, announced that Scott Morrison MP had been appointed to administer five departments of State, in addition to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, during his term as Prime Minister. Mr Morrison had been appointed to administer the Department of Health on 14 March 2020, the Department of Finance on 30 March 2020, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on 15 April 2021, and the Departments of the Treasury and Home Affairs on 6 May 2021. In other words, Mr Morrison had been appointed to administer six of the 14 departments of State. These appointments had not previously been disclosed to the Parliament or to the public.

The Terms of Reference required the inquiry to examine and report on: the facts and circumstances surrounding the appointments; the implications arising from the appointments; and the practices and processes that apply to the appointment of ministers to administer departments under Section 64 of the Constitution and directions that ministers hold certain offices under Section 65 of the Constitution.

Each of the appointments was made by the Governor-General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, consistent with well settled constitutional convention.

The lack of disclosure of the appointments to the public was apt to undermine public confidence in government. Once the appointments became known, the secrecy with which they had been surrounded was corrosive of trust in government.