ACT granted self-government

11 May 1989

The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 established the first fully elected legislature for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), called the Legislative Assembly. It also provided for an executive branch of government and an independent court system. The Act did not provide for a vice-regal post to represent the monarch and to exercise executive power. Therefore, the ACT does not have a governor or administrator like the states and the Northern Territory. Instead, bills passed by the Legislative Assembly become law after publication in the government gazette. 

The Australian Parliament and the Minister for Territories made all the decisions about the ACT before 1989. Between 1920 to 1989, advisory bodies were set up to advise the Parliament and Minister about issues in the ACT, but they did not have to follow this advice. At the time, the majority of people in the ACT did not want self-government. A referendum on self-government had been defeated in 1978. Even so, ten years later the Australian Parliament passed the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988. Feeling was so strong against the new political system, three members of the No Self-Government Party were elected to the first Legislative Assembly.