Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has claimed a "significant win" for the coalition after he reached agreement with Labor on the way the three independent MPs will be briefed about the policy costings of both sides.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Mr Abbott have agreed to amend caretaker government conventions following an exchange of letters between the pair over three days.
The coalition will be able to have discussions with Treasury before the costing of its promises are calculated.
"No information from that full briefing of Treasury by the coalition will be available to the government," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
"The coalition has had a significant win on the briefings process."
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The independents - Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott - have asked for a Treasury briefing on the cost of all Labor and coalition policies over the next term as a pre-requisite for talks about forming a minority government.
Until now, Mr Abbott refused to release most of his election campaign promises to Treasury under the Charter of Budget Honesty because of an earlier leak showing up coalition savings on its plan to dump Labor's national broadband network.
Instead, a private accounting firm costed the promises.
Mr Abbott said the coalition also had a win on incoming government briefs.
"Those incoming government briefs are prepared with particular recipients in mind," he said.
It was "absolutely essential" for the frank and fearless advice of the public service to be confined to the intended recipients.
"Making that advice available to people other than the intended recipients would have completely trashed that important part of our system," Mr Abbott said.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet normally prepares folders for both sides of politics but destroys the dossier prepared for the losing side.
With no major party having a majority in their own right, Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott have agreed to let the independent MPs see both briefs.
But the government will be banned from seeing the one prepared for the coalition in the event it wins the election.
