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 2024 ACT election, Labor formed a minority government of 10 members, after the Greens moved to the crossbench and dissolved the coalition that had been in place since 2012.^[3]

Ministers are appointed by the Chief Minister.^[4] The current ministry of the Australian Capital Territory (Fourth Barr Ministry) comprises eight of the 25 members of the Legislative Assembly.^[5]

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.^[6] 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 (Fourth Barr Ministry) of the ACT was appointed on 6 November 2024, comprising eight Labor Party members. The current arrangement of the incumbent shadow ministry was announced on 18 November 2024, comprising seven Liberal Party members.^[5]^[7]

	Minister	Portfolio	Opposition counterpart	Portfolio	Party
Labor	Andrew Barr	Chief Minister Minister for Economic Development Minister for Tourism and Trade	Leanne Castley MLA	Leader of the Opposition Shadow Minister for Health Shadow Minister for Transport Shadow Minister for Home Ownership Shadow Minister for Seniors	Liberal
	Yvette Berry	Deputy Chief Minister Minister for Education and Early Childhood Minister for Housing and New Suburbs Minister for Sport and Recreation	Jeremy Hanson MLA	Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow Minister for Educations and Skills Shadow Minister for Veterans
	Rachel Stephen-Smith	Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health Minister for Finance Minister for the Public Service	James Milligan MLA	Shadow Minister for City Services Shadow Minister for Business, Arts and Creative Industries Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation
	Chris Steel	Treasurer Minister for Planning and Sustainable Development Minister for Heritage Minister for Transport	Ed Cocks MLA	Shadow Treasurer Shadow Minister for Government Services and Customer Experience
	Tara Cheyne	Manager of Government Business Attorney-General Minister for Human Rights Minister for the Night-Time Economy Minister for City and Government Services	Peter Cain MLA	Shadow Attorney General Shadow Minister for Planning and Environment Shadow Minister for Housing Services
	Suzanne Orr	Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water Minister for Disability, Carers and Community Services Minister for Seniors and Veterans	Deborah Morris MLA	Shadow Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Community Safety Shadow Minister for Corrections Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence
	Michael Pettersson	Minister for Business, Arts and Creative Industries Minister for Children, Youth and Families Minister for Multicultural Affairs Minister for Skills, Training and Industrial Relations	Chiaka Barry MLA	Shadow Minister for Community Services, Disability and Carers Shadow Minister for Women Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
	Marisa Paterson	Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Minister for Women Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister for Corrections Minister for Gaming Reform

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.