Primary school fact sheet - The ACT Electoral Commission

Updated 6 Sep 2016
ACT Electoral Commission

The ACT Electoral Commission is responsible for:

  • Running elections for the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
  • Changing electorate boundaries to make sure they are fair. 

The ACT Electoral Commission is also known as Elections ACT for short.

Elections ACT gives information about elections to the:

  • Speaker
  • Parliament
  • Government ministers
  • People living in the ACT
  • Political parties and candidates.

Elections ACT can also be asked to run elections for other groups. These groups can be:

  • Schools
  • Public service
  • Other organisations
More information

For more information, browse the rest of this website using the links at the top of this page, or contact us.

Information Elections ACT supply includes:

  • Fact sheets  
  • Education kit
  • Election statistics
History of elections in the ACT
1988
  • ACT self-government bills introduced into Commonwealth parliament. Royal Assent is given on 6 December 1988.
  • Elections were run according to the Australian Capital Territory (Electoral) Act 1988.
1989
  • First ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 March 1989 using the modified d'Hondt electoral system.
  • ACT voted as a single electorate.
  • Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected for fixed 3 year terms.
1991
  • Commonwealth parliament legislated to give control of the ACT electoral system to the people of the ACT.
  • The Australian Capital Territory (Electoral) Amendment Act 1991 sets out conditions for a referendum on an ACT electoral system to choose between a single member electorate system or Hare-Clark proportional representation system.
1992
  • Second ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 15 February 1992 using the modified d'Hondt system again.
  • Referendum to choose a new electoral system was held at the same time as the election.
  • The Hare-Clark electoral system was chosen. 65.3% of people voted for this system.
  • ACT Electoral Commission established by Electoral Act 1992.
1995
  • Third ACT Legislative Assembly election held on 18 February 1995 using the Hare-Clark electoral system for the first time.
  • ACT divided into 3 multi-member electorates: Brindabella with 5 MLAs, Ginninderra with 5 MLAs and Molonglo with 7 MLAs.
  • Entrenchment referendum on the Hare-Clark system. Entrenchment means that the electoral system can only be changed by another referendum or by a special majority of two-thirds of the Assembly.
1998
  • Fourth ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 21 February 1998.
  • Elections moved from third Saturday in February to third Saturday in October every 3 years.
2001
  • Fifth ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 20 October 2001.
  • New electorate boundaries used at this election after a redistribution in 2000.
  • Electronic voting used for the first time for an ACT election.
2004
  • Sixth ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 October 2004.
  • Elections changed from third Saturday in October every 3 years to every 4 years.
  • Members now elected for fixed 4 year terms.
2008
  • Seventh ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 18 October 2008.
  • New electorate boundaries used at this election after a redistribution in 2007.
2012
  • Eighth ACT Legislative Assembly election was held on 20 October 2012.
  • New electorate boundaries used at this election after a redistribution in 2011.
2016
  • Legislation was enacted by the Legislative Assembly in 2014 to increase the size of the Assembly to 25 members.
  • A redistribution was carried out in 2015 to create 5 new electorates, each electing 5 MLAs.
  • New electorates are Brindabella, Ginninderra, Kurrajong, Murrumbidgee and Yerrabi.
  • New electorate boundaries apply from the ninth ACT Legislative Assembly election held on 15 October 2016.