{"id":"F2006L01810","name":"Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 - Disallowance: Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT)","slug":"australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":59617,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006L01810-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 - Disallowance: Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT)","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\ntitle: Disallowance\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nDisallowance\n\nAustralian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988\n\nI, PHILIP MICHAEL JEFFERY, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council and under subsection 35 (2) of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988, disallow the Civil Unions Act 2006 (ACT).\n\nSigned and sealed with the  Great Seal of Australia  on 13 June 2006\n\nP.M. JEFFERY  Governor-General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nPHILIP RUDDOCK\n\nAttorney‑General\n\nfor the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-batch","completionTokens":1839},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument performs exactly the single disallowance function authorised by section 35(2) of the enabling Act. There is no expansion or alteration of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision disallows the entire ACT legislation","No defined terms or interpretation sections","No conditional logic, exceptions, or cross-references to other Commonwealth laws","Refers to only one external legislative instrument (the Civil Unions Act 2006)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this is:** This is a federal veto (called a \"disallowance\") of a law passed by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Legislative Assembly.\n\n**What it does:** It cancels the ACT's *Civil Unions Act 2006*, which would have allowed same-sex couples to register civil unions (a legal relationship status similar to marriage).\n\n**Why it happened:** Under the *Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988*, the federal government has the power to override (disallow) any ACT law within six months of it being passed. The Governor-General exercised this power on the advice of the Federal Executive Council.\n\n**The impact:** The ACT civil unions law never took effect. This meant same-sex couples in the ACT could not access the legal recognition scheme that the Territory government had created."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act","history":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-capital-territory-self-government-act-1988-disallowance-civil-unions-act-2006-act/documents"}}