Primary school factsheet - 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
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.
2020
- Tenth ACT Legislative Assembly election was held between 28 September and 17 October 2020. This election was held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- New electorate boundaries used at this election after a redistribution in 2019.
2024
- Eleventh ACT Legislative Assembly election held between 28 September and 19 October 2024.
- New electorate boundaries used at this election after a redistribution in 2021.
Previous Assembly elections
Education
Fact sheets
- Fact sheet - The ACT Electoral Commission & Elections ACT
- Fact sheet - Authorising electoral material
- Fact sheet - Candidate information statements
- Fact sheet - Casual vacancies
- Fact sheet - Compulsory voting
- Fact sheet - Electoral expenditure cap
- Fact sheet - Electoral information for ACT voters experiencing homelessness
- Fact sheet - Electoral information for homelessness agency workers
- Fact sheet - Enrolment and voting for people with a disability
- Fact sheet - Electoral information for families and carers
- Fact sheet - Glossary
- Fact sheet - Hare Clark
- Fact sheet - How to register a political party for ACT Legislative Assembly elections
- Fact sheet - Nomination of candidates
- Fact sheet - Non-party candidates
- Fact sheet - Prisoner enrolment and voting
- Fact sheet - Prohibited donors
- Fact sheet - Redistributions
- Fact sheet - Referendums
- Fact sheet - Regular reporting of gifts