{"id":"a-2012-47","name":"Election Commitments Costing Act 2012","slug":"election-commitments-costing-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"47 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":23478,"registerId":"act-a-2012-47-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Election Commitments Costing Act 2012","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nA2012-47\nRepublication No 3\nEffective: 1 January 2018\nRepublication date: 1 January 2018\nLast amendment made by A2017-14\n(republication for amendments by A2016-55\nas amended by A2017-14)\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Election Commitments Costing Act 2012 (including any\namendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on\n1 January 2018. It also includes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting\nthis republished law to 1 January 2018.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the\nACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made\nby an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117).\nThe changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law\ninto line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M\nappears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision appears\nin the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation Act 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $150 for\nan individual and $750 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nContents\nPage\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act 2\n3 Dictionary 2\n4 Notes 2\nPart 2 Costing of election commitments\n5 Requests to cost election commitments 3\n6 Withdrawal of costing requests 4\n7 Guidelines for costing election commitments 4\n8 Additional information for costing election commitments 4\n9 Costing of election commitments and publishing costings—before\npolling day 5\n10 Costing of election commitments and publishing costings—on or after\npolling day 6\n11 Request and disclosure of costing request information 7\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\n13 Regulation-making power 8\nDictionary 9\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 10\n2 Abbreviation key 10\n3 Legislation history 11\n4 Amendment history 11\n5 Earlier republications 12\n\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nAn Act to enable costing of election commitments\n\nPart 1 Preliminary\nSection 1\npage 2 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act\nThis Act is the Election Commitments Costing Act 2012.\n3 Dictionary\nThe dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act.\nNote 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this\nAct, and includes references (signpost definitions) to other terms\ndefined elsewhere.\nFor example, the signpost definition ‘polling day—see the Electoral\nAct 1992, dictionary.’ means that the term ‘polling day’ is defined in\nthat dictionary and the definition applies to this Act.\nNote 2 A definition in the dictionary (including a signpost definition) applies to\nthe entire Act unless the definition, or another provision of the Act,\nprovides otherwise or the contrary intention otherwise appears (see\nLegislation Act, s 155 and s 156 (1)).\n4 Notes\nA note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act.\nNote See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of\nnotes.\n\nCosting of election commitments Part 2\nSection 5\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 2 Costing of election commitments\n5 Requests to cost election commitments\n(1) Before polling day in a costing period for an election of the\nLegislative Assembly—\n(a) the leader of a registered party in the Legislative Assembly\nwith 1 or more MLAs may ask the director-general to cost a\npublicly announced election commitment of the party; or\n(b) an MLA who is not a member of a registered party may ask the\ndirector-general to cost a publicly announced election\ncommitment of the MLA.\nExample—publicly announced\nmedia release or policy statement published on a party website\nNote An example is part of the Act, is not exhaustive and may extend, but\ndoes not limit, the meaning of the provision in which it appears (see\nLegislation Act, s 126 and s 132).\n(2) On or after polling day in a costing period for an election of the\nLegislative Assembly, the leader of a registered party with 1 or\nmore MLAs before polling day, or another person nominated by the\nparty, may ask the director-general to cost a publicly announced\nelection commitment of the party.\n(3) A costing request must—\n(a) be in writing; and\n(b) include—\n(i) a detailed explanation of the election commitment,\nincluding its purpose; and\n(ii) any other information relevant to costing the election\ncommitment.\nExample—par (ii)\nassumptions to be used when costing the election commitment\n\nPart 2 Costing of election commitments\nSection 6\npage 4 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(4) The director-general must, as soon as practicable after receiving a\ncosting request, make the following details about the request\npublicly available:\n(a) the election commitment to which the request relates;\n(b) the name of the person making the request;\n(c) the date the request was received.\n(5) A person must not ask the director-general to cost a publicly\nannounced election commitment of—\n(a) another MLA; or\n(b) a registered party of which the person is not a member.\n6 Withdrawal of costing requests\n(1) A person may withdraw a costing request made by the person at any\ntime before the person is given a copy of the costing under\nsection 9 (3) or section 10 (3).\n(2) A withdrawal of a costing request must be by written notice given to\nthe director-general.\n7 Guidelines for costing election commitments\nThe director-general may issue written guidelines setting out\nadministrative procedures for costing an election commitment.\n8 Additional information for costing election commitments\nThe director-general may ask a person, in writing, for additional\ninformation to cost an election commitment under a costing request\nmade by the person.\n\nCosting of election commitments Part 2\nSection 9\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n9 Costing of election commitments and publishing\ncostings—before polling day\n(1) If the director-general receives a costing request before polling day,\nand the request is not withdrawn under section 6, the\ndirector-general must—\n(a) cost the election commitment; and\n(b) make the costing publicly available.\nExamples—publicly available\n1 published on the Treasury Directorate website\n2 media release issued by the Treasury Directorate\nNote An example is part of the Act, is not exhaustive and may extend,\nbut does not limit, the meaning of the provision in which it\nappears (see Legislation Act, s 126 and s 132).\n(2) The director-general must cost an election commitment and make\nthe costing publicly available—\n(a) as soon as practicable after receiving the costing request; and\n(b) before polling day.\n(3) However, before making a costing publicly available, the\ndirector-general must give a copy of the costing to the person who\nmade the costing request.\n(4) Also, if the director-general does not have adequate information or\nenough time to cost an election commitment and make the costing\npublicly available before polling day, the director-general must,\nbefore polling day, make publicly available a notice stating—\n(a) that the election commitment cannot be costed before polling\nday; and\n(b) the reason why.\n\nPart 2 Costing of election commitments\nSection 10\npage 6 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(5) A costing request made before polling day that has not been costed\nand made publicly available before polling day is taken to be\nwithdrawn on polling day.\n(6) If an election commitment under a costing request made before\npolling day has not been costed before polling day, the\ndirector-general must not begin or continue costing the election\ncommitment on or after polling day.\n10 Costing of election commitments and publishing\ncostings—on or after polling day\n(1) If the director-general receives a costing request on or after polling\nday, and the request is not withdrawn under section 6, the\ndirector-general must—\n(a) cost the election commitment; and\n(b) make the costing publicly available.\nExamples—publicly available\n1 published on the Treasury Directorate website\n2 media release issued by the Treasury Directorate\nNote An example is part of the Act, is not exhaustive and may extend,\nbut does not limit, the meaning of the provision in which it\nappears (see Legislation Act, s 126 and s 132).\n(2) The director-general must cost an election commitment and make\nthe costing publicly available—\n(a) as soon as practicable after receiving the costing request; and\n(b) before the end of the costing period.\n(3) However, before making a costing publicly available, the\ndirector-general must give a copy of the costing to the person who\nmade the costing request.\n\nCosting of election commitments Part 2\nSection 11\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(4) Also, if the director-general does not have adequate information or\nenough time to cost an election commitment and make the costing\npublicly available before the end of the costing period, the\ndirector-general must, before the end of the costing period, make\npublicly available a notice stating—\n(a) that the election commitment cannot be costed before the end\nof the costing period; and\n(b) the reason why.\n(5) A costing request made on or after polling day that has not been\ncosted and made publicly available before the end of the costing\nperiod is taken to be withdrawn at the end of the costing period.\n(6) If an election commitment under a costing request made on or after\npolling day has not been costed before the end of the costing period,\nthe director-general must not begin or continue costing the election\ncommitment after the end of the costing period.\n11 Request and disclosure of costing request information\n(1) During the costing period, costing information particular to a\ncosting request must not be disclosed to anyone other than the\nperson who made the request.\n(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the disclosure of costing\ninformation particular to a costing request if the disclosure is\nmade—\n(a) under this Act or another territory law; or\n(b) in relation to the exercise of a function under this Act or\nanother territory law; or\n(c) with the consent of the person who made the costing request.\n\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\nSection 13\npage 8 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nu\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\n13 Regulation-making power\nThe Executive may make regulations for this Act.\nNote A regulation must be notified, and presented to the Legislative\nAssembly, under the Legislation Act.\n\nDictionary\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 9\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nDictionary\n(see s 3)\nNote 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to\nthis Act.\nNote 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, defines the following terms:\n director-general (see s 163)\n Executive\n function\n Legislative Assembly.\ncosting period, for an election of the Legislative Assembly, means\nthe period––\n(a) starting—\n(i) for an election held in 2012—on Monday\n3 September 2012; or\n(ii) for an election held in a later year—1 week after the last\nsitting day of the Legislative Assembly before the\nelection; and\n(b) ending when the Chief Minister is elected on the first sitting\nday of the Legislative Assembly after the election.\ncosting request means a request made under section 5.\nelection—see the Electoral Act 1992, dictionary.\nMLA—see the Electoral Act 1992, dictionary.\npolling day—see the Electoral Act 1992, dictionary.\nregistered party—see the Electoral Act 1992, dictionary.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 10 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished\nlaw but are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The\ndetails of these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced\nexpiries are underlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR3\n01/01/18\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\npage 11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nElection Commitments Costing Act 2012 A2012-47\nnotified LR 29 August 2012\ns 1, s 2 commenced 29 August 2012 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 30 August 2012 (s 2)\nas amended by\nFreedom of Information Act 2016 A2016-55 sch 4 pt 4.10 (as am by\nA2017-14 s 19)\nnotified LR 26 August 2016\ns 1, s 2 commenced 26 August 2016 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 4 pt 4.10 commenced 1 January 2018 (s 2 as am by A2017-14\ns19)\nJustice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2017\n(No 2) A2017-14 s 19\nnotified LR 17 May 2017\ns 1, s 2 commenced 17 May 2017 (LA s 75 (1))\ns 19 commenced 24 May 2017 (s 2 (1))\nNote This Act only amends the Freedom of Information Act 2016\nA2016-55.\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\nAccess to documents relating to costing request\ns 12 om A2016-55 amdt 4.12\nReview of Act\ns 14 exp 31 October 2014 (s 14 (3))\n\nEndnotes\n5 Earlier republications\npage 12 Election Commitments Costing Act 2012\nEffective: 01/01/18\nR3\n01/01/18\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications\nare marked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR1\n30 Aug 2012\n30 Aug 2012-\n31 Oct 2014\nnot amended new Act\nR2\n1 Nov 2014\n1 Nov 2014\n31 Dec 2017\nnot amended expiry of provision\n(s 14)\n© Australian Capital Territory 2018","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains focused on its original purpose of enabling the costing of election commitments. The amendments made (A2016-55 and A2017-14) were consequential amendments related to the Freedom of Information Act 2016, specifically removing section 12 which dealt with access to documents (as this became handled under the new FOI regime). The review provision (section 14) expired as scheduled. These changes streamlined the Act without expanding its scope beyond the original intent of providing transparent costing of election promises."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute: only 13 sections plus dictionary","Minimal defined terms: only 6 defined terms in the dictionary (costing period, costing request, election, MLA, polling day, registered party), with 3 being signpost definitions pointing to the Electoral Act 1992","Simple structure: 3 Parts (Preliminary, Costing of election commitments, Miscellaneous)","Limited cross-referencing: primarily references to the Electoral Act 1992 for definitions and the Legislation Act 2001 for standard machinery provisions","Straightforward conditional logic: mainly time-based distinctions (before vs on/after polling day) with clear deadlines","No nested exceptions: section 11(2) contains a simple 3-part exception to the confidentiality rule, but no deeper nesting","Expired provision: section 14 (Review of Act) expired in 2014, simplifying the current state","Repealed provision: former section 12 (Access to documents) was omitted by amendment, further simplifying the Act"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates in the ACT a formal process for costing election promises: eligible party leaders and independent MLAs can ask the Treasury director‑general to estimate the taxpayer cost of policy commitments. Costings must be published publicly (after the requester sees them), with time limits and public notice if a costing can’t be completed. It gives voters clear, comparable price tags for promises and prevents hidden or unrealistic pledges."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act as republished reflects later changes: an access-to-documents provision (s12) was omitted by the Freedom of Information Act 2016 amendment (see Amendment history: 'Access to documents relating to costing request s 12 om A2016-55 amdt 4.12'), and a statutory review provision (s14) expired on 31 October 2014 (see Amendment history). These alterations narrowed explicit access and removed the original review requirement compared with earlier text."},"complexity_factors":["Clear actor list and eligibility rules limit who can request costings (leader of a registered party with ≥1 MLA; independent MLA) (s5(1)–(2), s5(5)).","Tightly defined time windows and consequences for missed deadlines (costing period definition; must publish before polling day or before end of costing period; uncompleted requests are taken to be withdrawn) (Dictionary: costing period; s9(2)–(6); s10(2)–(6)).","Procedural requirements for requests and withdrawals — written requests, detailed explanations, and written withdrawal (s5(3), s6(2)).","Publication and confidentiality rules create dual obligations — public summary of requests on receipt plus prohibition on disclosing request-specific costing information except to requester or under law/consent (s5(4), s9(1)–(3), s11(1)–(3)).","Administrative discretion for the director-general to issue guidelines and seek additional information, creating some operational flexibility and reliance on internal procedures (s7, s8).","Interaction with other territory laws and regulation-making power may affect scope and information access (s11(2); s13), and amendments noted in the endnotes affect FOI interaction (Amendment history)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act sets a formal process for the Treasury director-general to produce and publish cost estimates of publicly announced election commitments on request by party leaders (for registered parties with MLAs) or independent MLAs during a defined 'costing period'. Officially the measure aims to increase transparency of fiscal claims; mechanically it creates deadlines, written request and publication steps, limits who may request or receive request-specific information, and a modest administrative workload for the director-general and the requester."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/election-commitments-costing-act-2012/documents"}}