Two former coalition MPs and an adviser to former Howard government treasurer Peter Costello are among at least 15 appointments to government boards announced on Wednesday.
The government is expected to head into caretaker mode - when such appointments cannot be made - within days as Prime Minister Scott Morrison weighs up a mid-May election.
Former Queensland MP and real estate agent Ewen Jones was made a member of the National Film and Sound Archive board for three years.
Richard Alston, a former arts minister and high commissioner to the UK, was appointed to the Council of the National Gallery of Australia.
And former federal ministerial adviser Philip Lindsay was nominated for appointment to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, serving until mid-2021.
