The New Zealand Government (formally termed "Her Majesty's Government") is defined by the Constitution Act as the monarch acting on the advice of the Executive Council. One of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place, which means appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet, a committee of the Executive Council charged with advising the Crown on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and legally required to keep the governor-general up to date on state affairs.