Government of the Australian Capital Territory

Government of the Australian Capital Territory
Government of the Australian Capital Territory
Overview
Established	1 January 1911; as a territory; 4 March 1989; with self-government;
Polity	Australian Capital Territory
Leader	Chief Minister (Andrew Barr)
Appointed by	Legislative Assembly
Main organ	Cabinet
Ministries	9 government directorates
Responsible to	Legislative Assembly
Annual budget	A$8.4 billion (2023–2024)
Headquarters	220 London Circuit, Canberra
Website	act.gov.au

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. 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 Legislative Assembly directly elects one of their number to be the Chief Minister as the head of the government, rather than being appointed by a Governor or Administrator.^[2]

Since December 2014, the Chief Minister 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 25 members of the 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

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		Opposition counterpart	Portfolio
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	Elizabeth Kikkert MLA	Shadow Minister for Corrections	Liberal
	Minister for Police and Emergency Services		Jeremy Hanson MLA	Shadow Minister for Police Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs	Liberal
	Minister for Police and Emergency Services		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
Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA	Minister for Families and Community Services Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs	Labor	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
	Minister for Transport and City Services		Nicole Lawder MLA	Shadow Minister for City Services	Liberal
Tara Cheyne MLA	Minister for the Arts	Labor	Nicole Lawder MLA	Shadow Minister for Arts	Liberal
	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	Leanne Castley MLA	Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage	Liberal
Rebecca Vassarotti MLA	Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction	Greens	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
Emma Davidson MLA	Minister for Mental Health Minister for Justice Health	Greens	Giulia Jones MLA	Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing	Liberal

ACT Government Directorates

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.

References

^ ACT Government (June 2023). "Australian Capital Territory Budget 2023-24: Budget Outlook" (PDF).
^ "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 40".
^ "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.
^ "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 39".
^ ^a ^b "ACT Government Executive" (PDF). Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2020 (No 2)" (PDF).
^ "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988".
^ "ACT Government Directorates". ACT Government. 24 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
^ "Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations". 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

[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".

[currentministry-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.

[currentministry2-6] "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.

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