NT granted self-government

01 July 1978

The Northern Territory was granted self-government when the Australian Parliament passed the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978. This Act granted the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly the power to make laws and decisions about issues that affect the Territory. Before this, laws for the Territory were made by the Australian Parliament under section 122 of the Australian Constitution.

A Legislative Council had been established in the Northern Territory in 1947 but it's powers were limited, and the Australian Parliament continued to make most decisions about Territory matters. In 1942 Darwin was bombed and Japanese invasion was feared so Darwin was evacuated and military rule imposed on the Northern Territory. When civilian rule was re-established after World War II, pressure started to grow for political advancement for the Northern Territory. Demands for greater decision-making power in the 1950s and 1960s led to self-government.

The Self-government Act gave the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly powers and responsibilities similar to a state parliament. However, the Australian Parliament maintained power over Aboriginal land rights, uranium mining, national parks and industrial relations. Under section 122 of the Constitution, the Australian Parliament can still overrule any Northern Territory law, which it did with the Northern Territory's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995.