Government of the Australian Capital Territory

The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly forms government. Unlike the Australian States and the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly directly elects one of their number to be the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory as the head of the Government, rather than being appointed by a Governor or Administrator.^[2]

Government of the Australian Capital Territory
Government of the Australian Capital Territory
Territorial Government
Logo of the ACT executive specifically. The ACT does not have an official territory coat of arms, but the coat of arms of Canberra is often used to represent the territory as a whole.
Overview
Established	1 January 1911; as an Australian territory 4 March 1989; with self-government
Country	Australia
Polity	Australian Capital Territory
Leader	Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (Andrew Barr)
Appointed by	Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
Main organ	Cabinet of the Australian Capital Territory
Ministries	9 Government Directorates
Responsible to	Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
Annual budget	$8.4 billion (2023–2024)[1]
Headquarters	220 London Circuit, Canberra.
Website	act.gov.au

Since December 2014, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory has been Andrew Barr, leader of the Labor Party. Following the 2020 ACT election, the Government has been formed by a coalition of ten Labor members and six Greens members. The terms of the coalition are outlined in the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory.^[3]

Ministers are appointed by the Chief Minister.^[4] The current ministry of the Australian Capital Territory (Third Barr Ministry) comprises nine of the twenty five Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.^[5][6]

Constitutional framework

The ACT has internal self-government, but Australia's Constitution does not afford the territory government the full legislative independence provided to Australian states. Government for the Australian Capital Territory is outlined in Commonwealth legislation; the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988.^[7] Nonetheless, the ACT is governed according to the principles of the Westminster System, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom.

Legislative power rests with the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.

Executive power rests formally with the Executive, which consists of the Chief Minister and Ministers, and is informally called the Cabinet.

Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution.

The ACT does not have a separate system of local government such as that seen in the Australian States and the Northern Territory. In the ACT, government functions that would usually be handled by local government are instead directly handled by the Territory government.

Current Ministry

Main articles: Third Barr Ministry and Opposition (Australian Capital Territory)

The current arrangement of the incumbent ministry (Third Barr Ministry) of the ACT was appointed on 4 November 2020, comprising six Labor Party members and three Greens members.^[5][6]

Minister	Portfolio	Portrait	Party		Opposition counterpart	Portfolio	Portrait	Party
Andrew Barr MLA	Chief Minister Treasurer Minister for Climate Action Minister for Economic Development Minister for Tourism			Labor	Elizabeth Lee MLA	Leader of the Opposition Shadow Treasurer Shadow Minister for Climate Action Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Tourism and Major Projects			Liberal
Yvette Berry MLA	Deputy Chief Minister			Labor	Giulia Jones MLA	Deputy Leader of the Opposition			Liberal
	Minister for Housing and Suburban Development				Mark Parton MLA	Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness			Liberal
	Minister for Women				Nicole Lawder MLA	Shadow Minister for Women Shadow Minister for Seniors			Liberal
	Minister for Education and Youth Affairs Minister for Early Childhood Development				Jeremy Hanson MLA	Shadow Minister for Education and Higher Education Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education			Liberal
	Minister for Sport and Recreation				James Milligan MLA	Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation			Liberal
	Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence				Elizabeth Kikkert MLA	Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence			Liberal
Mick Gentleman MLA	Minister for Corrections			Labor		Shadow Minister for Corrections
	Minister for Police and Emergency Services				Jeremy Hanson MLA	Shadow Minister for Police Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs			Liberal
					James Milligan MLA	Shadow Minister for Emergency Services			Liberal
	Minister for Planning and Land Management Minister for Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety				Peter Cain MLA	Assistant Shadow Treasurer Shadow Minister for Planning and Land Management Shadow Minister for Jobs and Workplace Affairs			Liberal
Shane Rattenbury MLA	Attorney-General Minister for Consumer Affairs			Greens	Elizabeth Lee MLA	Shadow Attorney-General			Liberal
	Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction				Leanne Castley MLA	Shadow Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction			Liberal
	Minister for Gaming				Mark Parton MLA	Shadow Minister for Gaming, Racing and Community Clubs			Liberal
Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA	Minister for Health			Labor	Giulia Jones MLA	Shadow Minister for Health			Liberal
	Minister for Families and Community Services Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs				Elizabeth Kikkert MLA	Shadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs			Liberal
Chris Steel MLA	Minister for Skills Special Minister of State			Labor	James Milligan MLA	Shadow Minister for Vocational Training and Skills			Liberal
	Minister for Transport and City Services				Mark Parton MLA	Shadow Minister for Transport			Liberal
					Nicole Lawder MLA	Shadow Minister for City Services			Liberal
Tara Cheyne MLA	Minister for the Arts			Labor		Shadow Minister for Arts
	Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Human Rights				Giulia Jones MLA	Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs			Liberal
	Minister for Business and Better Regulation Assistant Minister for Economic Development				Peter Cain MLA	Shadow Minister for Regulatory Services			Liberal
					Leanne Castley MLA	Shadow Minister for Business Assistant Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Tourism and Major Projects			Liberal
Rebecca Vassarotti MLA	Minister for the Environment Minister for Heritage			Greens		Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage
	Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction				Mark Parton MLA	Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Shadow Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction			Liberal
Emma Davidson MLA	Minister for Disability Assistant Minister for Seniors, Veterans, Families and Community Services			Greens	James Milligan MLA	Shadow Minister for Disability			Liberal
	Minister for Mental Health Minister for Justice Health				Giulia Jones MLA	Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing			Liberal

ACT Government Directorates

220 London Circuit in Civic, which houses the main offices of the ACT Government

The Access Canberra service centre in Belconnen

The ACT Government is served by a unified ACT Public Service agency, reporting to a single Head of Service.

Administrative units, known as Directorates, are grouped under areas of portfolio responsibility. Each Directorate is led by a Director-General who reports to one or more Ministers.

As of November 2020^[update], there are nine Directorates:^[8]

• Canberra Health Services
• Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (CMTEDD)
• Community Services Directorate
• Education Directorate
• Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD)
• Health Directorate
• Justice and Community Safety Directorate
• Major Projects Canberra
• Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate (TCCS)

Agencies and Authorities

• City Renewal Authority
• Suburban Land Agency

Independent Authorities

• Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission
• Office of the Work Health and Safety Commissioner

Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations

The ACT Government also has a number of Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations:^[9]

• ACT Building & Construction Industry Training Fund Board: providing funding for the training of eligible workers in the ACT building and construction industry.
• ACT Long Service Leave Authority: administers portable long service leave schemes.
• ACT Teacher Quality Institute: an independent statutory authority established to build the professional standing of ACT teachers and to enhance the community's confidence in the teaching profession through professional regulation and practical initiatives to raise teacher quality.
• Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) is the ACT Government operated vocational educational provider.
• Cultural Facilities Corporation: manages the Canberra Theatre Centre; the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG).
• EvoEnergy: owns and operates the ACT electricity and gas networks as well as gas networks in Queanbeyan and Palerang shires and Nowra.
• Icon Water Limited: providing drinking water and wastewater services to the ACT and surrounding regions.

The following are officers of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly:

• ACT Audit Office: responsible for the audit of all ACT public sector agencies.
• ACT Electoral Commission: an independent statutory authority responsible for conducting elections and referendums for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.
• ACT Integrity Commission: responsible for investigating alleged corrupt conduct in the Legislative Assembly and the ACT Public Sector.
• ACT Ombudsman: manages complaints about unfair treatment by ACT Government agencies.

See also

• Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
• Australian Capital Territory Ministry
• List of Australian Capital Territory ministries

References

1. ACT Government (June 2023). "Australian Capital Territory Budget 2023-24: Budget Outlook" (PDF).
2. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 40".
3. "Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory" (PDF). Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
4. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 39".
5. "ACT Government Executive" (PDF). Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
6. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2020 (No 2)" (PDF).
7. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988".
8. "ACT Government Directorates". ACT Government. 24 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
9. "Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations". ACT Government. ACT Government.

External links

• https://www.act.gov.au/ ACT Government website
• https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/acta1988482/index.html#s24/ The Self-Government Act 1988 (Cth) in AustLII