Australian Capital Territory Government
Facts: Australian Capital Territory facts, Demographics, Geography, Government, History
ACT Government
In the late 1980s the Federal Government decided that the Australian Capital Territory, with a population of 270,000, needed its own system of self-government. The Federal Parliament passed the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988, along with other related legislation which established self-government in the ACT.
An election was held in March 1989 to elect the First ACT Legislative Assembly. Since then the Second, Third and Fourth Assemblies were elected in February 1992, February 1995 and February 1998 respectively. Legislation passed in 1997 changed the election date from February to October. The Fifth Assembly was elected on 20 October 2001.
The Legislative Assembly performs various state and municipal functions. This makes it a unique parliament within Australia, acting at a state level in some matters (eg education and health), as well as at what is usually a local council level in others (eg waste management). As a result the ACT is sometimes referred to as a ‘city state’.
The Legislative Assembly is made up of 17 Members. These are referred to as MLAs or Members of the Legislative Assembly.
The Assembly has power to:
• elect a Chief Minister who forms a government to administer the ACT;
• make laws;
• investigate and debate matters of public importance;
• review the actions of the Government; and
• oversee the financial matters of the Government.
The Assembly is unusual in that the Crown does not play a direct part in the legislation process. In the Federal Parliament the Governor-General signs each Bill as the last stage of creating an Act. If a Bill is passed by the Assembly, it is gazetted (ie a notice is placed in the Gazette) by the Chief Minister and it becomes an Act, that is, part of the law of the Australian Capital Territory.
This information has been reproduced with permission from the ACT Legislative assembly. The help received from Australian government departments, associated organisations and other authorities is gratefully acknowledged. For more information about the Australian Capital Territory government visit http://www.parliament.act.gov.au
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As all Australian states are ultimately governed by federal parliament, the
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