Mechanically, the Act transfers assets, certain contracts, trust accounts, staff and law‑making materials from the Commonwealth to the Australian Capital Territory and establishes transitional arrangements for audit, courts, public service employment and commencement dates. It vests powers to effect transfers and fix commencements in the Commonwealth Minister, the Chief Minister and the Governor‑General, and obliges the Territory to reimburse certain pre‑transfer development costs (ss 5,6,15–21,20,31). The rules keep specified staff and auditing arrangements in place until Territory law replaces them (s 21, s 14).
This Act delivers the statutory machinery to move governmental powers, assets, accounts, staff and laws from the Commonwealth to the Australian Capital Territory (Territory) at and after Self‑Government Day, and to make a wide range of consequential amendments to Commonwealth statutes so that the Territory and its new institutions can operate. Its operative mechanics are largely transitional and consequential: transfer, substitution, preservation and definitional change. The Act sets who transfers what, when, and how , and expressly preserves certain continuities of personnel, rights of review, audit arrangements and financial flows while enabling conversion of pre‑existing Commonwealth instruments into Territory enactments.
Key mechanical points in the text include:
Transfer of Commonwealth assets and rights that “relate to Territory functions” to the Territory (s 5). Money is excluded from the general transfer category (s 5(2)(a)); estates in land are excluded except for particular kinds of interests (s 5(2)-(4)); where an estate transferred is derived from a contract, the Territory is substituted for the Commonwealth as party (s 5(5)).
Regulations to substitute the Territory for the Commonwealth as party to subsisting contracts that relate to Territory functions (s 6). The regulations power is limited to contracts in existence immediately before Self‑Government Day (s 6(2)).
Preservation and conversion of pre‑existing Ordinances and laws into Territory enactments, including power for the Governor‑General to make Ordinances modifying converted Acts before Self‑Government Day (s 8), Chief Minister powers to fix commencement days for uncommenced Commonwealth laws and Ordinances (ss 9-10), and rules for how a law becomes an enactment by 1 July 1990 (s 12).
Current sections
Direct links to the current provisions in A.C.T. Self-Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
54
Part I
Preliminary
Part I—Preliminary
1
Short title [see Note 1]
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
2
Commencement
2 Commencement
(1) Section 1 and this section commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2) The amendments of section 19 of the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972 commence on a day or days to be fixed by the Chief Minister by notice in the Territory Gazette.
(3) The remaining provisions of this Act (including the amendments made by Schedule 5) commence on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.
3
Definitions
3 Definitions
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for the financial year ending on 30 June 1989, and includes an Act making interim provision for such an appropriation.
Audit Act Account means:
(a) any of the following heads of account in the Trust Fund maintained under section 60 of the Audit Act 1901, namely:
Life Be In It Program in the Australian Capital Territory
Other Trust Monies
Canberra Public Library Service—Literacy Material for the Handicapped Trust Fund
Territories—Services for Other Governments and Non‑Departmental Bodies; or
(b) any of the following Trust Accounts established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901, namely:
Australian Capital Territory Community Development Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Forestry Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Housing Assistance Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Motor Vehicle Dealers’ Compensation Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Suspense Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Transport Trust Account.
enactment authority means a body, whether incorporated or not, established by or under an enactment.
modifications includes additions, omissions and substitutions.
Ordinance means an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910.
Planning Act means the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988.
public money of the Territory means revenues, loans and other money received by the Territory.
Self‑Government Act means the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Self‑Government Day means the day on which the Assembly is empowered to make laws.
teaching service means the service known on 1 November 1988 as the Commonwealth Teaching Service.
Territory audit law means the law in force in the Territory on and after Self‑Government Day relating to the audit of the public money of the Territory.
Territory function means a matter referred to in section 37 of the Self‑Government Act or Schedule 4 to that Act.
transitional authority staff means the staff of an enactment authority, other than an authority established by an enactment that provides for the appointment or employment of its staff outside the Public Service Act 1922, but does not include the members of the teaching service.
transitional staff means:
(a) transitional Territory staff; or
(b) transitional authority staff.
transitional Territory staff means the persons required for the conduct of the public administration of the Government of the Territory, other than members of the service referred to in section 54 of the Self‑Government Act.
4
Expressions to have same meaning as in Self‑Government Act
4 Expressions to have same meaning as in Self‑Government Act
Except so far as the contrary intention appears, expressions in this Act have the same meaning as in the Self‑Government Act.
Part II
Transitional Provisions
Part II—Transitional Provisions
5
Transfer of assets and rights of Commonwealth to Territory
5 Transfer of assets and rights of Commonwealth to Territory
(1) The Minister shall transfer or cause to be transferred to the Territory all assets and rights of the Commonwealth that, in his or her opinion, relate to Territory functions.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to:
(a) money; or
(b) any estate in land.
(3) The Minister shall transfer or cause to be transferred to the Territory all estates in land in the Territory of a kind referred to in subsection (4), being estates that, in his or her opinion, are held by the Commonwealth for purposes that relate to Territory functions.
(4) Subsection (3) applies to estates consisting of:
(a) interests under easements (including easements in gross), rights of way or mortgages; or
(b) interests as lessee or sub‑lessee.
(5) Where an estate transferred to the Territory under subsection (3) is an estate derived from a contract, the Territory is, by force of this subsection, substituted for the Commonwealth as a party to the contract.
6
Transfer of rights and obligations of Commonwealth under contracts
6 Transfer of rights and obligations of Commonwealth under contracts
(1) The regulations may provide for:
(a) the substitution of the Territory for the Commonwealth as a party to any contract; and
(b) matters connected with any such substitution.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only to a contract:
(a) which is subsisting immediately before Self‑Government Day;
(b) to which the Commonwealth is a party; and
(c) which relates to a Territory function.
8
Ordinances modifying converted Acts
8 Ordinances modifying converted Acts
(1) The power of the Governor‑General to make Ordinances extends to making, before Self‑Government Day, Ordinances modifying Acts referred to in Schedule 2 to the Self‑Government Act, being modifications arising from, connected with or consequential upon the establishment of the Territory as a body politic under the Crown.
(2) The modifications shall not take effect before Self‑Government Day.
(3) On Self‑Government Day, an Ordinance made under this section shall be taken to be an enactment, and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
9
Uncommenced Acts
9 Uncommenced Acts
(1) In this section:
Commonwealth law means an Act, or a Part of an Act, specified in Schedule 2 to the Self‑Government Act.
(2) Where:
(a) a provision of a Commonwealth law is to commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation; and
(b) at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, a day has not been fixed for the commencement of the provision;
then, on or after that Day, the Chief Minister may, by notice in the Territory Gazette, fix a day for the commencement of that provision.
10
Uncommenced Ordinances
10 Uncommenced Ordinances
(1) In this section:
Ordinance means an Ordinance made before Self‑Government Day, other than an Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, specified in Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act.
(2) Where:
(a) an Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, is to commence on a day to be fixed by notice in the Commonwealth Gazette; and
(b) at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, a day has not been fixed for the commencement of the Ordinance or provision;
then, on or after that Day, the Chief Minister may, by notice in the Territory Gazette, fix a day for the commencement of that Ordinance or provision.
(3) An Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, made before Self‑Government Day but not in force immediately before that Day shall, on that Day, be taken to be an enactment, and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
11
Ordinances not to be treated as inconsistent with Acts
11 Ordinances not to be treated as inconsistent with Acts
Where:
(a) an Ordinance is made before Self‑Government Day about a subject that, when the Ordinance is made, is dealt with by an Act;
(b) the Ordinance does not commence before that Day; and
(c) when the Ordinance commences, it is capable of operating concurrently with the Act as then in force;
the Ordinance is not invalid merely because, at the time when it is made, it is inconsistent with the Act.
12
Laws converted into enactments by 1 July 1990
12 Laws converted into enactments by 1 July 1990
(1) In this section:
law includes a part of a law.
(2) If, immediately before 1 July 1990, any laws specified in subsection (5) have not been omitted from Schedule 3 of the Self‑Government Act, the laws are omitted from that Schedule on that date by force of this subsection and shall be taken to be enactments and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
(3) Where:
(a) an Ordinance has been made with respect to the subject matter of a law specified in Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act; and
(b) the law is omitted from that Schedule at a time when the Ordinance is in force;
the Governor‑General may make regulations providing that the Ordinance, or specified parts of the Ordinance (being parts relating to that subject matter), with such modifications (if any) as are specified in the regulations, shall be taken to be an enactment and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
(4) The definition of enactment in section 3 of the Self‑Government Act shall be read as including a law, Ordinance or part of an Ordinance that is taken to be an enactment because of subsection (2) or (3).
(5) The laws referred to in subsection (2) are the laws specified in the various Parts of Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act as follows:
PART 1
audit appointment means an appointment made under section 34 of the Audit Act 1901, so far only as the appointment empowers the appointee to exercise powers in relation to the Territory.
audit delegation means a delegation made under section 70A of that Act of powers under section 20, 34, 37B, 62B or 70C of that Act, so far only as those powers relate to the Territory.
(2) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, a person holds an audit appointment, the appointment continues in effect on and after that Day as if it had been made under the corresponding provision of the Territory audit law.
(3) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, an audit delegation is in effect, the delegation continues in effect on and after that Day as if it had been made by the Chief Minister under the corresponding provision of the Territory audit law.
14
Auditor‑General
14 Auditor‑General
On and after Self‑Government Day, and until otherwise provided by enactment, the Auditor‑General for the Commonwealth shall be the Auditor‑General for the Territory and each Territory authority and, for those purposes, shall exercise such powers as are provided by enactment.
15
Transfer of Audit Act Accounts
15 Transfer of Audit Act Accounts
(1) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, an Audit Act Account was in existence, a Trust Account shall, on that Day, be taken to be established under the Territory audit law for the same purposes as those of the Audit Act Account.
(2) An amount standing to the credit of an Audit Act Account at the beginning of Self‑Government Day shall be paid into the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection (1).
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), money standing to the credit of the Trust Fund under a head of account that constitutes an Audit Act Account as defined by this Act shall be taken to be money standing to the credit of the Account.
(4) Where, at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, an amount is payable, but has not been paid, into an Audit Act Account, the amount is payable into the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection (1).
16
Transfer of appropriations for Audit Act Accounts
16 Transfer of appropriations for Audit Act Accounts
(1) Where an Appropriation Act has appropriated, or appropriates, money for the purposes of a Trust Account that is an Audit Act Account as defined by this Act, the Act shall be taken to have appropriated, or to appropriate, the money for the purposes of the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection 15(1).
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to money that has been spent for the purposes of the Audit Act Account before Self‑Government Day.
17
Abolition of Australian Capital Territory Trust Account
17 Abolition of Australian Capital Territory Trust Account
(1) In this section:
Account means the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901.
Consolidated Revenue Fund means the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Territory established under the Territory audit law.
(2) An amount standing to the credit of the Account at the beginning of Self‑Government Day shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(3) Where, at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, an amount is payable, but has not been paid, into the Account, the amount is payable into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(4) Where an Appropriation Act has appropriated, or appropriates, money for the purposes of the Account, the Act shall be taken to have appropriated, or to appropriate, the money for the purposes of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to money that has been spent for the purposes of the Account before Self‑Government Day.
18
Closure of Accounts
18 Closure of Accounts
After the money standing to the credit of an Account has been paid under section 15 or 17, the Account shall be closed.
19
Territory audit law to apply to new Accounts
19 Territory audit law to apply to new Accounts
Nothing in this Act prevents a Trust Account established by this Act from being dealt with, or being closed, under the Territory audit law.
20
Territory to reimburse Commonwealth for certain development costs
20 Territory to reimburse Commonwealth for certain development costs
(1) In this section:
development costs, in relation to land, means costs of development of the land, other than costs that have been recouped by payments out of the Trust Account.
Territory Land has the same meaning as in the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988.
Trust Account means the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901.
(2) Where:
(a) before Self‑Government Day, the Commonwealth incurred development costs in relation to any land in the Territory;
(b) immediately before that Day, the land was not subject to a leasehold interest and was, or was intended to be, available to be:
(i) leased; or
(ii) used by the Territory for commercial purposes; and
(c) on that Day, the land becomes Territory Land;
the Territory shall pay to the Commonwealth a reasonable amount as reimbursement of those costs.
(3) Where:
(a) before Self‑Government Day:
(i) the Commonwealth incurred development costs in relation to any land in the Territory; and
(ii) a leasehold interest in the land has been sold; and
(b) the proceeds of the sale have:
(i) been paid into the Trust Account before that Day; or
(ii) become payable to the Territory on or after that Day;
the Territory shall pay to the Commonwealth a reasonable amount as reimbursement of those costs.
21
Staff from Australian Public Service
21 Staff from Australian Public Service
(1) Until an enactment provides that this subsection is to cease to have effect, transitional staff shall be persons appointed or employed under the Public Service Act 1922 (in this section called the Act).
(2) The Head of Administration has all the powers of a Secretary under the Act, so far as they relate to the branch of the Australian Public Service comprising the transitional staff as if that branch were a separate Department.
(3) Section 25 of the Act applies for the purposes of subsection (2) as if:
(a) subsections (1), (1A) and (2) were omitted;
(b) in subsection (6), the reference to the Minister administering the Department were a reference to the Chief Minister; and
(c) subsections (7), (8) and (9) were omitted.
(4) The Chief Minister shall cause a copy of a report received by him or her under subsection 25(6) of the Act applying as provided by subsection (3) to be laid before the Assembly within 15 sitting days of the Assembly after the day on which the Chief Minister receives the report.
(6) A reference in the Self‑Government Act to a public servant includes a reference to a member of the transitional staff.
(7) The Commonwealth and the Territory shall consult with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Professional Associations and any other organisation that the Minister wishes to include in the consultation, in relation to the initial terms and conditions of employment of:
(a) members of the transitional staff who are to be appointed to an office, or employed, in accordance with an enactment; and
(b) other persons who are to be members of the staff of an enactment authority.
22
Transitional application of Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act
22 Transitional application of Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act
(1) In this section:
Territory staff means:
(a) the Head of Administration;
(b) an Associate Head of Administration;
(c) the transitional Territory staff;
(d) the members of the teaching service;
(e) the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and members of the Australian Capital Territory Fire Brigade under the Fire Brigade (Administration) Act 1974 of the Territory; and
(f) persons employed under the Legislative Assembly (Members’ Staff) Act 1989 of the Territory.
(2) Until the commencement of the amendments of the Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 made by this Act, that Act applies in relation to the members of the Territory staff as if:
(a) the Territory were a Commonwealth authority within the meaning of that Act;
(b) those members were employed by that authority under a law of the Commonwealth; and
(c) the principal officer in relation to that authority were the Head of Administration.
23
Transitional application of Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
23 Transitional application of Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
(1) In this section:
Territory staff means:
(a) the Head of Administration;
(b) an Associate Head of Administration;
(c) the transitional Territory staff; and
(d) the members of the teaching service.
(2) Until the commencement of the amendment of the definition of public authority of the Commonwealth in subsection 4(1) of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 (in this section called the Act) made by this Act, the Act applies in relation to the members of the Territory staff:
(a) as if those members were employed by the Commonwealth under a law; and
(b) subject to the modifications in Schedule 2.
(3) Decisions for the purposes of the Act made in relation to Territory staff by the Public Service Commissioner that were in effect at the commencement of this section continue in effect as if made by the Head of Administration.
24
Transitional application of Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
24 Transitional application of Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
(1) In this section:
Territory staff means:
(a) the Head of Administration;
(b) an Associate Head of Administration;
(c) the transitional Territory staff;
(d) the members of the teaching service; and
(e) persons who constitute, or are members of, an enactment authority.
(2) Until the commencement of the amendments of the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973 (in this section called the Act) made by this Act, the Act applies in relation to the members of the Territory staff:
(a) as if the Territory were a prescribed authority as defined by section 3 of the Act;
(b) as if those members were employed by that authority under a law of the Commonwealth; and
(c) subject to the modifications in Schedule 3.
(3) Decisions for the purposes of the Act made in relation to Territory staff by the Public Service Commissioner that were in effect at the commencement of this section continue in effect as if made by the Head of Administration.
25
Transitional application of Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act
25 Transitional application of Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act
Until an enactment provides that subsection 21(1) ceases to have effect, the Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984 applies in relation to transitional staff subject to the modifications in Schedule 4.
ACT law means a law or provision that is, on Self‑Government Day, converted into an enactment by section 34 of the Self‑Government Act.
decision means a decision under an ACT law.
(2) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day:
(a) a person had a right to apply under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 for a review of a decision; and
(b) either:
(i) the person had not made such an application; or
(ii) the person had made such an application and proceedings under that Act arising from that right had not been finally disposed of;
then, on and after that Day, the person continues to have that right as if the amendments of that Act by this Act had not been made.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2):
(a) the decision shall be taken to have been made by the person who would have made the decision under the ACT law as in force on and after that Day; and
(b) in any proceedings under that Act arising from that right, the person referred to in paragraph (a) shall be substituted as a party for the person who actually made the decision.
27
Administrative Appeals Tribunal—savings
27 Administrative Appeals Tribunal—savings
(1) In this section:
ACT law means a law or provision that is, on Self‑Government Day, converted into an enactment by section 34 of the Self‑Government Act.
decision means a decision under an ACT law.
proceedings, in relation to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, includes a reference made to the Federal Court of Australia, or an appeal made to that Court or the High Court, arising out of proceedings under that Act.
(2) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day:
(a) a person had a right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of a decision; and
(b) either:
(i) the person had not made such an application; or
(ii) the person had made such an application and proceedings under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 arising from that right had not been finally disposed of;
then, on and after that Day, the person continues to have that right as if the amendments of that Act by this Act had not been made.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2):
(a) the decision shall be taken to have been made by the person who would have made the decision under the ACT law as in force on and after that Day; and
(b) in any proceedings under that Act arising from that right, the person referred to in paragraph (a) shall be substituted as a party for the person who actually made the decision.
28
ACT Ombudsman—interim arrangements
28 ACT Ombudsman—interim arrangements
(1) In this section:
ACT Ombudsman means the person appointed under enactment as Ombudsman, and includes the person to whom subsection (3) applies.
Commonwealth Act means the Ombudsman Act 1976.
Commonwealth Ombudsman means the person for the time being holding office as Ombudsman under the Commonwealth Act.
(2) If an enactment (in this section called the ACT law) provides for the appointment of an ACT Ombudsman, this section applies.
(3) The person for the time being holding office as Ombudsman (in this section called the Ombudsman) under the Commonwealth Act shall be taken to be the ACT Ombudsman until the appointment of the ACT Ombudsman is made under the ACT law.
(4) Subject to any arrangements in force between the Commonwealth and the Territory, the Commonwealth Ombudsman shall not be remunerated in relation to his or her duties as ACT Ombudsman under subsection (3).
(5) Where:
(a) before the commencement of the ACT law:
(i) a complaint has been made to the Commonwealth Ombudsman; or
(ii) the Ombudsman has commenced an investigation;
in relation to action taken by a Department or by an authority (being action in respect of which the ACT Ombudsman would have had power to investigate had the action been taken after the commencement of the ACT law); and
(b) the Commonwealth Ombudsman has not finally disposed of the matter at the commencement of the ACT law;
then:
(c) the Commonwealth Ombudsman shall transfer the complaint or investigation to the ACT Ombudsman, and forward to him or her any information or document, or a copy of, or extract from, a document, being information or a document relating to the complaint or the investigation; and
(d) the ACT Ombudsman shall deal with the complaint or investigation as if it had been made or commenced, as the case requires, under the ACT law.
29
Freedom of Information Act—transitional
29 Freedom of Information Act—transitional
(1) In this section:
agency has the same meaning as in the Act.
corresponding enactment means an enactment one of whose objects is to give members of the public rights of access to official documents of the Territory and its agencies.
the Act means the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
(2) Where:
(a) a corresponding enactment comes into force;
(b) before the commencement of that enactment, a person had made a request to an agency under section 15 of the Act for access to a document;
(c) the request had not been fully dealt with at the commencement of that enactment; and
(d) the document has been transferred to the Territory under this Act;
then:
(e) the agency shall transfer the request to the appropriate Territory agency; and
(f) any steps taken under the Act in relation to the request have effect as if they had been taken under that enactment.
29A
Judicial officers of the Supreme Court of the A.C.T.—savings
29A Judicial officers of the Supreme Court of the A.C.T.—savings
(1) If a person held office as:
(a) Chief Justice; or
(b) Judge; or
(c) additional Judge; or
(d) Master;
of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory immediately before 1 July 1992, the person continues to hold that office on and after that day as if he or she had been appointed under the Supreme Court Act 1933 of the Territory.
(2) If a person:
(a) held office as Chief Justice or as a Judge (other than an additional Judge) of the Supreme Court immediately before 1 July 1992; and
(b) continues to hold office on and after that day;
the person is to hold that office on terms and conditions (being terms and conditions determined under section 73 of the Self‑Government Act or under any enactment) that are not less favourable than those applicable to a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
(3) For the purpose of determining the seniority or precedence of a Judge to whom subsection (2) applies under any enactment, the date on which that Judge’s commission took effect is to be taken to be the date on which that Judge’s commission took effect under the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933 as in force before 1 July 1992.
29B
Proceedings in the Supreme Court etc.—savings
29B Proceedings in the Supreme Court etc.—savings
The enactment of the A.C.T. Supreme Court (Transfer) Act 1992 does not affect:
(a) the continuance on or after 1 July 1992 of proceedings pending in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory immediately before that day; or
(b) the operation or enforcement of a judgment or order entered or made before that day.
30
Appropriation
30 Appropriation
The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of this Act.
31
Regulations
31 Regulations
(1) The Governor‑General may make regulations making provision (including provision by way of modifications of an Act) in relation to:
(a) any matter arising from, connected with or consequential upon the establishment of the Territory as a body politic under the Crown; or
(b) any matter arising from, connected with or consequential upon the conversion of a law into an enactment.
(2) The power to make regulations extends to regulations expressed to take effect on and from a date earlier than the date of the making of the regulations, not being a date earlier than Self‑Government Day.
(3) Regulations relating to a matter specified in paragraph (1)(a) shall not be made after 31 December 1989.
(4) Regulations relating to a matter specified in paragraph (1)(b) shall not be made after the law becomes an enactment.
(5) In this section:
law includes:
(a) a part of a law; or
(b) an Ordinance or a part of an Ordinance.
Part III
Consequential Amendments of Acts
Part III—Consequential Amendments of Acts
32
Amendments of Acts
32 Amendments of Acts
The Acts specified in Schedule 5 are amended as set out in that Schedule.
3A
Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
3A Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
(1) ACT enactments are not enactments.
(2) The Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 and the Canberra Water Supply (Googong Dam) Act 1974 are not enactments.
(3) Part IV, sections 29 and 30, subsection 63(2), section 66 and Division 5 of Part X of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Management Act 1988 are not enactments.
(4) Where the whole of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under it is not an enactment.
(5) Where part of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be, is not an enactment unless made for the purposes of the other part of the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be.
3B
Members may be appointed to be members of Administrative Appeals Tribunal for the ACT
3B Members may be appointed to be members of Administrative Appeals Tribunal for the ACT
If an ACT enactment establishes a body or tribunal for the purpose of reviewing specified administrative decisions, nothing in this Act prevents:
(a) the President from being appointed to be the President (however described) of that body or tribunal; or
(b) a member other than the President from being appointed to be a member other than the President (however described) of that body or tribunal.
Paragraph 16(5)(a)
After “a State,” insert “the Australian Capital Territory,”.
Paragraph 16(5)(c)
After “a State” insert “, the Australian Capital Territory”.
ACT enactment means an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
After section 3
Insert the following section:
7AA
Appointments between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1992
7AA Appointments between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1992
(1) This section applies to an appointment made under section 7 on or after 1 July 1990 at a time when this Act has not become an enactment within the meaning of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
(2) Such an appointment shall not be made unless, before tendering advice to the Governor‑General, the Attorney‑General has consulted with the Australian Capital Territory Executive.
(3) This section ceases to have effect on 1 July 1992.
Paragraph 11(a)
After “Ordinance” insert or “enactment”.
Paragraph 11(b)
Omit “or by Ordinance”, substitute “, by Ordinance or by enactment”.
Paragraph 11(c)
After “Ordinance” insert “or enactment”.
Paragraph 12(1)(d)
After “Ordinance” insert “or enactment”.
Subsection 15(2)
After “Ordinance” insert “, to any enactment”.
Paragraph 20(1)(b)
After “Ordinance” insert “, any enactment”.
Section 27
After “Ordinance” insert “, an enactment”.
Paragraph 28(1)(d)
After “Ordinance” insert “or enactment”.
Subsection 31(1)
Omit “or Ordinance”, substitute “, Ordinance or enactment”.
Subsection 34(3)
After “Ordinance” insert “, an enactment”.
Subsection 35(1)
After “Ordinance” insert “, by enactment”.
Subsection 37A(1)
After “Ordinance” insert “, enactment”.
Section 38
Omit “or by an Ordinance”, substitute “by an Ordinance or by an enactment”.
Australian Federal Police Act 1979
Paragraph 8(1)(a)
Before “the provision “insert “subject to subsection (1A),”.
After subsection 8(1)
Insert the following subsections:
(1A) The Minister and the Australian Capital Territory may enter into arrangements for the provision of the police services in relation to the Australian Capital Territory that are in respect of Territory functions as defined by section 3 of the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988, and, where the arrangements have been entered into, the provision of those services shall be in accordance with the arrangements.
(1B) The Minister shall try to enter into the first such arrangement before 1 July 1990.
Paragraph 40(1)(e)
(a) After “State,” insert “the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory or”.
(b) Omit “or the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly”.
Australian National University Act 1946
Subsection 27A(3)
After “Territory” insert “(including an enactment as defined in section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988);”.
Broadcasting Act 1942
Subsection 4(1) (definition of Parliament)
After paragraph (b) insert the following paragraph:
(ba) the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory;
Canberra College of Advanced Education Act 1967
Subsection 21(3)
After “Territory” insert “(including an enactment as defined in section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988);”.
Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
Subsection 44(1)
Omit the subsection, substitute the following subsection:
(1) If the place of a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory becomes vacant before the expiration of his or her term of service, the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory shall choose a person to hold the place until the expiration of the term, but if the Legislative Assembly is not in session when the vacancy is notified, the Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory may appoint a person to hold the place until the expiration of 14 days from the beginning of the next session of the Legislative Assembly or the expiration of the term, whichever first happens
Paragraph 44(5)(a)
Omit “Governor‑General”, substitute “Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory”.
Subsection 44(6)
Omit the subsection, substitute the following subsection:
(6) The name of any senator chosen or appointed under subsection (1) or (2) shall be certified by the Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory or the Administrator of the Northern Territory, as the case may be, to the Governor‑General.
Subsection 123(1) (paragraph (d) of the definition of Parliamentary party)
Omit the paragraph, substitute the following paragraph:
(d) the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory.
Paragraph 164(c)
Omit the paragraph, substitute the following paragraph:
(c) the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory.
Subsection 353(3)
(a) Omit all words from and including “members of the Senate” to and including “Governor‑General” (first occurring), substitute “Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory”.
(b) Omit “Governor‑General” (second occurring), substitute “Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory”.
Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1973
After subsection 5(1)
Insert the following subsection:
(1A) References in this Act to the grant of special assistance to the Australian Capital Territory shall be read as references to the grant of financial assistance to that Territory for the purpose of making it possible for that Territory, having regard to the special circumstances arising from the location in it of the national capital and the seat of Government of the Commonwealth, by reasonable effort, to function in respect of matters for which the Australian Capital Territory Executive has responsibility, at standards not appreciably below the standards of the States and the Northern Territory.
After section 16A
Insert the following section:
16AA
Inquiries relating to the Australian Capital Territory
16AA Inquiries relating to the Australian Capital Territory
The Commission shall inquire into and report to the Minister upon:
(a) any application made by the Australian Capital Territory to the Commission for a grant of special assistance to that Territory;
(b) any matters, being matters relating to a grant of financial assistance made by the Commonwealth to the Australian Capital Territory, that are referred to the Commission by the Minister; and
(c) any matters, being matters relating to the making of a grant of financial assistance by the Commonwealth to the Australian Capital Territory, that are referred to the Commission by the Minister.
Section 16B
Omit the section.
Subsection 25(2)
After “16A” insert “, 16AA”.
Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972
Paragraphs 19(3)(b) and (5)(b)
Omit the paragraphs.
Division 9 of Part III
Omit the Division.
Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1973
Subsection 3(1)
Omit the subsection.
Commonwealth Teaching Service Amendment Act 1988
Subsection 4(1)
Omit the subsection.
Coral Sea Islands Act 1969
Subsection 2(1)
Insert the following definitions:
Act does not include an enactment.
enactment has the same meaning as in the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Freedom of Information Act 1982
Subsection 4(1) (definition of Department)
Add at the end “but does not include the branch of the Australian Public Service comprising the transitional staff as defined by section 3 of the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.”.
Subsection 4(1) (definition of enactment)
(a) After “means” insert “, subject to section 4A”.
(b) Add at the end “and includes an enactment as amended by another enactment.”.
Subsection 4(1) (definition of Ordinance)
After “enactment” insert “(other than a law that is, or provisions that are an ACT enactment)”.
Subsection 4(1) (definition of State)
After “includes” insert “the Australian Capital Territory and”.
Subsection 4(1)
Insert the following definition:
ACT enactment means an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Subparagraph 4(3)(a)(i)
Omit “Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly”, substitute “Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory”.
After section 4
Insert the following section:
4A
Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
4A Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
(1) ACT enactments are not enactments.
(2) The Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 and the Canberra Water Supply (Googong Dam) Act 1974 are not enactments.
(3) Part IV, sections 29 and 30, subsection 63(2), section 66 and Division 5 of Part X of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Management Act 1988 are not enactments.
(4) Where the whole of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under it is not an enactment.
(5) Where part of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be, is not an enactment unless made for the purposes of the other part of the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953
Section 2
Insert the following definitions:
Act does not include an enactment.
enactment has the same meaning as in the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Subsection 9(2)
(a) After “Ordinance” (first occurring) insert “or enactment”.
(b) After “Ordinance” (second occurring) insert “or enactment, as the case may be”.
Industrial Relations Act 1988
Subsection 4(1) (definition of public sector employment)
After paragraph (b) insert the following paragraphs:
(ba) under a law of the Australian Capital Territory relating to employment by that Territory, including a law relating to the Australian Capital Territory Government Service;
(bb) by or in the service of:
(i) an enactment authority as defined by section 3 of the A.C.T. Consequential Provisions Act; or
(ii) a body corporate incorporated under a law of the Australian Capital Territory and in which the Australian Capital Territory has a controlling interest;
other than a prescribed authority or body;
Subsection 4(1)
Insert the following definitions:
A.C.T. Consequential Provisions Act means the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
Australian Capital Territory Government Service means the service established by the Public Sector Management Act 1994 of the Australian Capital Territory.
Section 6
(a) Omit “and each of the States”, substitute “, each of the States, the Australian Capital Territory”.
(b) Omit “or a State”, substitute “, a State, the Australian Capital Territory”.
Subsection 121(2) (definition of relevant law)
Omit “Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988”, substitute “Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988”.
After subsection 149(1)
Insert the following subsection:
(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Australian Capital Territory Government Service is taken to be the successor to the business of the Australian Capital Territory in relation to the transitional staff within the meaning of the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915
After section 2
Insert the following section:
2A Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Act does not include an enactment.
enactment has the same meaning as in the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Ordinance means an Ordinance made under this Act.
Territory means the Jervis Bay Territory.
Subsections 4(2) and (3)
Omit the subsections.
After section 4
Insert the following sections:
4B
Powers and functions under adopted laws
4B Powers and functions under adopted laws
(1) Subject to subsection (2), where, by a law of the Australian Capital Territory in force in the Territory because of section 4A, a power or function is vested in a person or authority (not being a court), that power or function is, in relation to the Territory, vested in, and may be exercised or performed by, that person or authority.
(2) The Governor‑General may direct that a power or function vested in a person or authority (not being a court) by a law of the Australian Capital Territory in force in the Territory because of section 4A shall, in relation to the Territory, be vested in, and may be exercised or performed by, such other person or authority as the Governor‑General specifies.
4C
Ordinance may amend or repeal adopted laws
4C Ordinance may amend or repeal adopted laws
A law in force in the Territory because of section 4A may be amended or repealed by an Ordinance or by a law made under an Ordinance.
4D
Supreme Court of Australian Capital Territory to have jurisdiction in Territory
4D Supreme Court of Australian Capital Territory to have jurisdiction in Territory
(1) The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory has jurisdiction in and in relation to the Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933 and the practice and procedure of that court for the time being in force apply in the Territory as if the Territory formed part of the Australian Capital Territory.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a reference in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933 to an Ordinance or enactment is a reference to an Ordinance or enactment, as the case may be, in force under this Act.
4E
Supply of water or electricity to persons outside the Territory
4E Supply of water or electricity to persons outside the Territory
The Minister may, on such terms and conditions as are agreed upon, supply water or electricity from the Territory to any person outside the Territory.
4F
Ordinances
4F Ordinances
(1) The Governor‑General may make Ordinances for the peace, order and good government of the Territory.
(2) Notice of the making of an Ordinance shall be published in the Gazette, and an Ordinance shall, unless the contrary intention appears in the Ordinance, come into operation on the date of publication of the notice.
4G
Tabling of Ordinances in Parliament
4G Tabling of Ordinances in Parliament
(1) An Ordinance shall be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the making of the Ordinance, and, if it is not so laid before each House of the Parliament, ceases to have effect.
(2) If either House of the Parliament, in pursuance of a motion of which notice has been given within 15 sitting days after an Ordinance has been laid before that House, passes a resolution disallowing the Ordinance or a part of the Ordinance, the Ordinance or part so disallowed thereupon ceases to have effect.
(3) If, at the expiration of 15 sitting days after notice of a motion to disallow an Ordinance or part of an Ordinance has been given in a House of the Parliament, being notice given within 15 sitting days after the Ordinance has been laid before that House:
(a) the notice has not been withdrawn and the motion has not been called on; or
(b) the motion has been called on, moved and seconded and has not been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of;
the Ordinance or part, as the case may be, specified in the motion shall thereupon be deemed to have been disallowed.
(4) If, before the expiration of 15 sitting days after notice of a motion to disallow an Ordinance or part of an Ordinance has been given in a House of the Parliament:
(a) the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires, or the Parliament is prorogued; and
(b) at the time of the dissolution, expiry or prorogation, as the case may be:
(i) the notice has not been withdrawn and the motion has not been called on; or
(ii) the motion has been called on, moved and seconded and has not been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of;
the Ordinance shall, for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), be deemed to have been laid before that first‑mentioned House on the first sitting day of that first‑mentioned House after the dissolution, expiry or prorogation, as the case may be.
(5) Where an Ordinance is disallowed, or is deemed to have been disallowed, under this section or ceases to have effect by virtue of the operation of subsection (1), the disallowance of the Ordinance or the operation of subsection (1) in relation to the Ordinance, as the case may be, has the same effect as a repeal of the Ordinance.
(6) Where:
(a) an Ordinance (in this subsection called the relevant Ordinance) is disallowed, or is deemed to have been disallowed, under this section or ceases to have effect by virtue of the operation of subsection (1); and
(b) the relevant Ordinance repealed, in whole or in part, another Ordinance or any other law that was in force immediately before the relevant Ordinance came into operation;
the disallowance of the relevant Ordinance or the operation of subsection (1) in relation to the relevant Ordinance, as the case may be, has the effect of reviving that other Ordinance or law, as the case may be, from and including the date of the disallowance or the date on which the relevant Ordinance ceased to have effect by virtue of that operation of subsection (1), as the case may be, as if the relevant Ordinance had not been made.
(7) A reference in subsection (5) or (6) to an Ordinance shall be read as including a reference to a part of an Ordinance and a reference in subsection (6) to a law has a corresponding meaning.
4H
Ordinance not to be re‑made while required to be tabled
4H Ordinance not to be re‑made while required to be tabled
(1) Where an Ordinance (in this section called the original Ordinance) has been made, no Ordinance containing a provision being the same in substance as a provision of the original Ordinance shall be made during the period defined by subsection (2) unless both Houses of the Parliament by resolution approve the making of an Ordinance containing a provision the same in substance as that provision of the original Ordinance.
(2) The period referred to in subsection (1) is the period starting on the day on which the original Ordinance was made and ending at the end of 7 days after:
(a) if the original Ordinance has been laid, in accordance with subsection 4G(1), before both Houses of the Parliament on the same day—that day;
(b) if the original Ordinance has been so laid before both Houses on different days—the later of those days; or
(c) if the original Ordinance has not been so laid before both Houses—the last day on which subsection 4G(1) could have been complied with.
(3) If a provision of an Ordinance is made in contravention of this section, the provision has no effect.
4J
Ordinance not to be re‑made while subject to disallowance
4J Ordinance not to be re‑made while subject to disallowance
(1) Where notice of a motion to disallow an Ordinance has been given in a House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days after the Ordinance has been laid before that House, no Ordinance containing a provision being the same in substance as a provision of the first‑mentioned Ordinance shall be made unless:
(a) the notice has been withdrawn;
(b) the Ordinance is deemed to have been disallowed under subsection 4G(3);
(c) the motion has been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of; or
(d) subsection 4G(4) has applied in relation to the Ordinance.
(2) Where:
(a) because of subsection 4G(4), an Ordinance is deemed to have been laid before a House of the Parliament on a particular day; and
(b) notice of a motion to disallow the Ordinance has been given in that House within 15 sitting days after that day;
no Ordinance containing a provision being the same in substance as a provision of the first‑mentioned Ordinance shall be made unless:
(c) the notice has been withdrawn;
(d) the Ordinance is deemed to have been disallowed under subsection 4G(3);
(e) the motion has been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of; or
(f) subsection 4G(4) has applied again in relation to the Ordinance.
(3) If a provision of an Ordinance is made in contravention of this section, the provision has no effect.
(4) This section does not limit the operation of section 4H or 4K.
(5) In this section:
Ordinance includes a part of an Ordinance.
4K
Disallowed Ordinance not to be re‑made unless resolution rescinded or House approves
4K Disallowed Ordinance not to be re‑made unless resolution rescinded or House approves
If an Ordinance or a part of an Ordinance is disallowed, or is deemed to have been disallowed, under section 4G, and an Ordinance containing a provision being the same in substance as a provision so disallowed, or deemed to have been disallowed, is made within 6 months after the date of the disallowance, that provision has no effect, unless:
(a) in the case of an Ordinance, or a part of an Ordinance, disallowed by resolution—the resolution has been rescinded by the House of the Parliament by which it was passed; or
(b) in the case of an Ordinance, or a part of an Ordinance, deemed to have been disallowed—the House of the Parliament in which notice of the motion to disallow the Ordinance or part was given has approved, by resolution, the making of a provision the same in substance as the provision deemed to have been disallowed.
4L
Regulations, rules and by‑laws
4L Regulations, rules and by‑laws
(1) All regulations made under an Ordinance shall be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the day on which the regulations are made and, if they are not so laid before each House of the Parliament, have no effect.
(2) Sections 4G, 4H, 4J and 4K apply in relation to regulations laid before a House of the Parliament as if, in those provisions, references to an Ordinance were references to regulations and references to a provision of an Ordinance were references to a regulation.
(3) In this section:
regulations includes rules and by‑laws.
Judiciary Act 1903
Subsection 55E(3)
Omit “or a law of a Territory other than the Northern Territory” (wherever occurring), substitute “(other than the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988) or by a law of a Territory (other than the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory)”.
Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976
Subsection 4(1) (definition of public authority of the Commonwealth)
After “Territory” insert “, other than an ACT enactment”.
Subsection 4(1)
Insert the following definitions:
ACT enactment means an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
ACT teaching service means the service known on 1 November 1988 as the Commonwealth Teaching Service.
Subsection 4(8)
After “Territory” insert “, other than an ACT enactment”.
Subsection 6(2)
Omit “the Northern Territory were a State”, substitute “the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory were States”.
Subsection 7(4)
Omit “the Northern Territory were a State”, substitute “the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory were States”.
Paragraph 10(6)(d)
After “Territory” (first occurring) insert “, in the ACT teaching service”.
After paragraph 10(6)(e)
Insert the following paragraph:
(ea) who is temporarily transferred to the service of the Commonwealth from the service of the Australian Capital Territory or an authority of that Territory, or whose services are temporarily loaned to the Commonwealth by that Territory or an authority of that Territory;
Paragraph 11(2)(c)
After “Territory” (first occurring) insert “, the ACT teaching service”.
After paragraph 11(2)(ca)
Insert the following paragraph:
(cb) any service of an authority of the Australian Capital Territory, not being employment at a time when the authority was a public authority of the Commonwealth;
After section 24
Insert the following section:
24A
Commonwealth Teaching Service—transitional
24A Commonwealth Teaching Service—transitional
(1) In this section, unless the contrary intention appears:
long service leave includes long leave, furlough, extended leave and any other leave in the nature of long service leave (however described).
member of the Service has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972 as in force on 1 November 1988.
prescribed teacher means:
(a) a member of the Service who became such a member after 13 September 1973 and before 1 January 1974 and was, immediately before becoming such a member:
(i) employed in the teaching service of New South Wales and engaged in teaching duties in a Commonwealth school in the Australian Capital Territory; or
(ii) employed in the teaching service of South Australia and engaged in teaching duties in a Commonwealth school in the Northern Territory; or
(b) a member of the Service who became such a member after 31 December 1976 and before 1 April 1977 and was, immediately before becoming such a member, employed in the teaching service of New South Wales and engaged in full‑time teaching duties in the Australian Capital Territory in connection with the provision of technical and further education, that is to say, education provided by way of a course of instruction or training:
(i) that is, or that is preparatory to, a course of a kind relevant to a trade, technical or other skilled occupation; or
(ii) that otherwise meets the educational needs of persons who are not enrolled in a full‑time course of education at a primary school, a secondary school or a secondary college.
relevant date means:
(a) in relation to a prescribed teacher referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of prescribed teacher—1 January 1974; and
(b) in relation to a prescribed teacher referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition—1 April 1977.
relevant State means, in relation to a prescribed teacher, the State in the teaching service of which he or she was employed immediately before becoming a member of the Service.
Service means the Commonwealth Teaching Service established by the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972.
(2) Where, at any time, in the application to or in relation to a prescribed teacher of this Act, the period of long service leave to which he or she would, but for this section, be entitled, or the amount of pay in lieu of long service leave that would, but for this section, be payable to or in relation to him or her, under this Act is less than the period of leave to which he or she would be entitled, or the amount that would be payable to or in relation to him or her, as the case may be, if the scale of accrual of long service leave that would have been applicable in relation to him or her under the law of the relevant State as in force on the relevant date if he or she had continued to be employed in the teaching service of the relevant State were substituted for the scale of accrual of long service leave applicable to him or her at that time under this Act, the period of long service leave to which he or she is entitled, or the amount of pay in lieu of long service leave payable to or in relation to him or her, as the case may be, shall be determined in accordance with the first‑mentioned scale of accrual.
(3) This section ceases to apply on the commencement of the amendment of the definition of public authority of the Commonwealth in subsection 4(1) of this Act by the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973
Paragraph 5(1)(a)
Omit “or the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972”.
Paragraph 5(1)(b)
After “other than” insert an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 or a law of”.
Paragraph 5(2)(b)
After “other than” insert “an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 or a law of”.
After paragraph 5(3)(a)
Insert the following paragraph:
(aa) a person who holds an office defined by section 73 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 or an office established by or under an enactment as defined by section 3 of that Act;
Paragraph 11(1)(c)
Omit the paragraph.
Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984
Subsection 3(1) (definition of Commonwealth authority)
(a) Omit “(other than the Northern Territory)” (wherever occurring).
(b) Add at the end:
“but does not include:
(a) an enactment authority as defined by section 3 of the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988, incorporated or established for a public purpose; or
(b) a body corporate incorporated, or an authority or body (not being a body corporate), incorporated or established for a public purpose by or in accordance with a law of the Northern Territory, being a body or authority employing staff otherwise than under the Public Service Act 1922;”.
Section 6
(a) Omit from paragraph (e) and (last occurring).
(b) Add at the end the following paragraphs and subsection:
(g) to provide to Secretaries of Departments services in connection with the establishment, constitution and operation of Joint Selection Committees under section 50DA or 50DB of the Public Service Act 1922; and
(h) with the consent of the Minister, to enter into an arrangement with the Australian Capital Territory or an authority of the Territory under which the Agency will perform, for the Territory or the authority, as the case may be, functions conferred by an enactment and similar, or substantially similar, to functions performed by the Agency under this Act.
(2) An arrangement referred to in paragraph (1)(h) may include provisions for payment by the other party to the arrangement for the performance of functions by the Agency in accordance with the arrangement.
Paragraph 59(4)(b)
After “State” (wherever occurring) insert “, of the Australian Capital Territory”.
Subparagraph 85(2)(k)(ii)
Omit the subparagraph.
Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991
Subsection 5(1) (definition of Commonwealth authority)
Omit from paragraph (a) “other than”, substitute “other than the Australian Capital Territory,”.
Subparagraph 9(2)(c)(ii)
Omit “other than”, substitute “other than the Australian Capital Territory,”.
Ombudsman Act 1976
Subsection 3(1) (definition of Department)
Add at the end “but does not include the branch of the Australian Public Service comprising the transitional staff, as defined by section 3 of the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988;”.
Subsection 3(1) (definition of Deputy Ombudsman for the Australian Capital Territory)
Omit the definition.
Subsection 3(1) (definition of enactment)
After “means” insert “, subject to section 3AA”.
Subsection 3(1) (definition of Ordinance)
After “enactment” insert “(other than a law that is, or provisions that are, an ACT enactment)”.
Subsection 3(1)
Insert the following definition:
ACT enactment means an enactment as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Paragraph 3(7B)(a)
(a) After “including” insert “a reference to the Australian Capital Territory and”.
(b) Omit “and”.
Paragraph 3(7B)(b)
After “including” insert “a reference to an ACT enactment and”.
Subsection 3(7B)
Add at the end the following word and paragraph:
“; and (c) a reference to a Department or authority of a State, in relation to the Ombudsman of a State, shall be read as including a reference to:
(i) the Australian Capital Territory; or
(ii) a Territory authority as defined by section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988;
as the case requires.”.
After section 3
Insert the following section:
3AA
Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
3AA Certain legislation relating to Australian Capital Territory not to be enactment
(1) ACT enactments are not enactments.
(2) The Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 and the Canberra Water Supply (Googong Dam) Act 1974 are not enactments.
(3) Part IV, sections 29 and 30, subsection 63(2), section 66 and Division 5 of Part X of the Australian Capital Territory Planning and Land Management Act 1988 are not enactments.
(4) Where the whole of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under it is not an enactment.
(5) Where part of an Act or Ordinance is not an enactment, an instrument made under the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be, is not an enactment unless made for the purposes of the other part of the Act or Ordinance, as the case may be.
Section 9
Add at the end the following subsection:
(7) In this section:
State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
Paragraph 9(3)(b)
(a) Omit “or of the Northern Territory” (first occurring).
(b) Omit “or of the Northern Territory, as the case may be”.
Paragraph 19(1)(a)
(a) Omit “, including operations referred to in paragraph (b)”.
(b) Omit “and”.
Paragraph 19(1)(b)
Omit the paragraph.
Subsections 19(3), (3A) and (3B)
Omit the subsections.
Subsection 19(6) and (7B)
Omit “or (b)”.
Subsection 19(8)
Omit “, (2) or (3)”, substitute “or (2)”.
Subsection 19(9)
Omit the subsection.
Paragraph 23(1)(a)
Omit the paragraph.
Subsections 23(2) and (4)
Omit the subsections.
Public Service Act 1922
Subsection 7(1) (paragraph (a) of the definition of Commonwealth authority)
Insert “an enactment within the meaning of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 or a law of” after “other than”.
Subparagraph 47C(1)(a)(i)
After “State,” insert “of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory,”.
Subparagraph 82B(1)(a)(i)
After “State,” insert “of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory,”.
After paragraph 87(3)(a)
Insert the following paragraph:
(aa) employment as the holder of an office or appointment in the service of the Australian Capital Territory, being an office or appointment prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph;
Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973
Subsection 3(1)
Insert the following definition:
ACT office means:
(a) an office or appointment specified in any of paragraphs (fc) to (fh) of subsection 3(4), as modified by regulations in force under the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988; or
(b) an office or appointment specified in subsection 73(1) of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Subsection 3(3)
Omit the subsection, substitute:
(3) A reference in this Part to an office includes a reference to an office that, within the meaning of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988, is an office of member of the Assembly or Minister and any office in or in connection with that Assembly that can be held only by a member of that Assembly.
Subsection 7(6)
Omit the subsection, substitute:
(6) The Tribunal must give the Minister a copy of every determination made by the Tribunal, other than a determination that relates to an ACT office.
(6A) The Tribunal must give the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory a copy of every determination made by the Tribunal in relation to an ACT office.
Subsection 7(7)
After “determination” (first occurring), insert “, other than a determination that relates to an ACT office,”.
After subsection 7(8)
Insert:
(8A) If the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory, within 30 sitting days of the Assembly after a copy of a determination that relates to an ACT office is given to the Chief Minister, passes a resolution disapproving of the determination, then:
(a) if the determination has not come into operation—the determination does not come into operation; or
(b) if the determination has come into operation—the determination does not have any force or effect after the day on which the resolution is passed.
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
Subsection 4(1) (paragraph (b) of the definition of Commonwealth authority)
After “other than” insert “an ACT enactment or a law of”.
Subsection 4(1) (subparagraph (c)(ii) of the definition of Commonwealth authority)
After “other than” insert “the Australian Capital Territory or”.
Subsection 4(1) (definition of Commonwealth authority)
Add at the end the following word and paragraph:
“or (e) if a declaration is in force under section 4A, the Australian Capital Territory;”.
Subsection 4(1)
Insert the following definitions:
ACT enactment means an enactment as defined by section 3 of the ACT Self‑Government Act.
ACT Self‑Government Act means the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Section 4
Add at the end the following subsection:
(14) In spite of the definition of principal officer in subsection (1), if the Australian Capital Territory is a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of this Act, the following rules have effect:
(a) if there is in force a written declaration by the Minister, made at the written request of the Chief Minister for the Territory, that a specified person is to be taken to be the principal officer of the Territory, this Act has effect accordingly;
(b) if there is no such declaration in force, the Chief Minister of the Territory is to be taken to be the principal officer of the Territory.
After section 4
Insert the following section:
2A
Interpretation
2A Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
enactment has the same meaning in the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Section 4
After “such law” insert “(other than such law that is an enactment)”.
Subsection 5(3)
(a) After “this Act” insert “or by an enactment”.
(b) After “made” insert “or passed”.
Subsection 5(4)
After “this Act” insert “or an enactment”.
Subsection 12(1)
Omit the subsection, substitute the following subsections:
(1) Subject to subsection, (1B) the Governor‑General may make Ordinances for the peace, order and good government of the Territory with respect to:
(a) the establishment, jurisdiction, practice and procedure of courts;
(b) the classification of materials for the purposes of censorship;
(c) evidence;
(d) National Land as defined by the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988;
(e) companies;
(f) close corporations;
(g) foreign companies;
(h) the acquisition of shares in bodies corporate;
(j) the regulation of the securities industry and the futures industry; and
(k) the subject matter of laws specified in Schedule 3 to the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
(1A) An Ordinance made under paragraph (1)(d) has no effect to the extent that it is inconsistent with the National Capital Plan in effect under the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988, but an Ordinance shall be taken to be consistent with the Plan to the extent that it is capable of operating concurrently with the Plan.
(1B) Subject to subsection (1C), paragraphs (1)(a), (1)(c) and (1)(k) cease to have effect on and after 1 July 1990 or after regulations made in the manner referred to in the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988 come into effect, whichever sooner occurs.
(1C) Paragraph (1)(k) does not cease to have effect on and after 1 July 1990 in regard to any matter referred to in Schedule 5 to the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Omit the subsection, substitute the following subsection:
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: authority means:
(a) except in sections 6 and 7—a body corporate established for a public purpose by or under a law of a Territory; and
(b) in sections 6 and 7—a body corporate established for a public purpose by or under a law of a Territory, other than an enactment within the meaning of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Subsections 9(4) and (5)
Omit the subsections.
Schedule (Part II)
Omit “Canberra Commercial Development Authority”.
Source text: opening excerpt
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Part I Preliminary
Part I—Preliminary
1 Short title [see Note 1]
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the A.C.T. Self‑Government (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.
2 Commencement
2 Commencement
(1) Section 1 and this section commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2) The amendments of section 19 of the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972 commence on a day or days to be fixed by the Chief Minister by notice in the Territory Gazette.
(3) The remaining provisions of this Act (including the amendments made by Schedule 5) commence on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation.
3 Definitions
3 Definitions
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Appropriation Act means an Act appropriating money for the financial year ending on 30 June 1989, and includes an Act making interim provision for such an appropriation.
Audit Act Account means:
(a) any of the following heads of account in the Trust Fund maintained under section 60 of the Audit Act 1901, namely:
Life Be In It Program in the Australian Capital Territory
Other Trust Monies
Canberra Public Library Service—Literacy Material for the Handicapped Trust Fund
Territories—Services for Other Governments and Non‑Departmental Bodies; or
(b) any of the following Trust Accounts established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901, namely:
Australian Capital Territory Community Development Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Forestry Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Housing Assistance Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Motor Vehicle Dealers’ Compensation Fund Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Suspense Trust Account
Australian Capital Territory Transport Trust Account.
enactment authority means a body, whether incorporated or not, established by or under an enactment.
modifications includes additions, omissions and substitutions.
Ordinance means an Ordinance made under section 12 of the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910.
Planning Act means the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988.
public money of the Territory means revenues, loans and other money received by the Territory.
Continuity and transitional arrangements for audit, accounts and appropriations: appointments under the Commonwealth Audit Act continue under the Territory audit law (s 13), the Commonwealth Auditor‑General is to be the Territory Auditor‑General until otherwise provided (s 14), multiple Audit Act Accounts are treated as Trust Accounts under Territory audit law and corresponding amounts are paid into them (ss 15-16), and the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account is abolished and amounts moved into the Territory Consolidated Revenue Fund (ss 17-18).
A defined reimbursement duty for the Territory to pay the Commonwealth reasonable development cost amounts in specified circumstances (s 20).
Staffing and labour law transitions: transitional staff remain appointed under the Commonwealth Public Service Act until the Territory enactment provides otherwise and the Head of Administration gets Secretary powers for the transitional staff branch (s 21); transitional application of Commonwealth workplace statutes to Territory staff is preserved for specific Acts (ss 22-25).
Savings for existing administrative review and tribunal processes: persons with outstanding ADJR or AAT rights immediately before Self‑Government Day continue to have them (ss 26-27). Interim arrangements for Ombudsman and FOI requests are provided (ss 28-29).
A broad power for the Governor‑General to make regulations to deal with matters arising from the establishment of the Territory and conversion of laws, with time limits on those delegated regulation powers (s 31).
Part III and Schedule 5 effect targeted consequential amendments to a long list of Commonwealth statutes. Those amendments include inserting a concept of “ACT enactment”, excluding ACT enactments from certain Commonwealth statutory definitions of “enactment”, adapting definitions of “State”, “Department” or “Commonwealth authority” to recognise the Territory, and adding procedural rules for appointments and representation where the Territory is now the relevant political unit (see Schedule 5 amendments reflected in the many textual insertions and substitutions set out in Part III).
The Act is therefore procedural and structural rather than policy‑setting in content. It sets up substitution, commencement and continuity mechanisms and creates an extensive web of definitional and cross‑reference changes across Commonwealth statutes so that the Territory and its institutions function coherently in the post‑Self‑Government legal order. The Act also creates a number of temporal and procedural limits: some powers and adaptations are expressly temporary (for example, certain provisions cease to have effect at a date specified or until a Territory enactment provides otherwise; see ss 2(2)-(3), 12(2)-(4), 21(1), 31(3)-(4) and others).
Main concepts
The Act operates through a handful of recurring legal concepts and mechanisms. Each concept appears repeatedly and with precise boundaries in the text.
Transfer and substitution
Asset and rights transfer: s 5 obliges the Minister to transfer Commonwealth assets and rights that “in his or her opinion” relate to Territory functions. The Act draws distinctions between asset classes: money is excluded (s 5(2)(a)), and only certain estates in land are transferred (s 5(3)-(4)). Where a transferred estate derives from a contract, the Territory is substituted for the Commonwealth as party (s 5(5)). For contracts generally, the regulations may provide for substitution (s 6).
Contract substitution is limited to contracts subsisting immediately before Self‑Government Day, to which the Commonwealth is a party, and which relate to Territory functions (s 6(2)). The substitution power is delegated to the regulations (s 6(1)) rather than being automatic.
Conversion and commencement
Conversion of existing Ordinances and laws into Territory enactments is achieved by dates and formal processes: the Governor‑General may make Ordinances to modify Acts before Self‑Government Day (s 8); the Chief Minister may fix commencement days for uncommenced Commonwealth laws and pre‑Self‑Government Ordinances (ss 9-10); s 12 imposes an automatic conversion mechanism for laws that remain listed in Schedule 3 of the Self‑Government Act by 1 July 1990 and also allows the Governor‑General to make regulations to bring Ordinances into enactment with modifications (s 12(3)).
Several provisions create new definitions and carve‑outs to prevent an ACT enactment being treated as a Commonwealth “enactment” for the purposes of various federal Acts (for example, the inserted s 3A in the Administrative Decisions Act, inserted s 4A in the Freedom of Information Act, s 3AA in the Ombudsman Act, and the Act’s own s 3A at Part III). Those “not an enactment” provisions are a recurring legal device in the consequential amendments.
Continuity of personnel and rights
Audit appointments and delegations under the Commonwealth Audit Act continue under Territory audit law (s 13). The Commonwealth Auditor‑General acts as Territory Auditor‑General on and after Self‑Government Day until a Territory enactment says otherwise (s 14).
Transitional staff remain Commonwealth public servants under the Public Service Act until a Territory enactment provides otherwise (s 21(1)). The Head of Administration receives Secretary‑level powers for transitional staff (s 21(2)), and the Act prescribes consultation requirements for initial terms and conditions with unions and professional associations (s 21(7)).
Existing rights of review and pending ADJR/AAT proceedings are preserved and continued under the converted ACT laws, with substitution of the decision‑maker party where needed (ss 26-27). For FOI requests and Ombudsman complaints, the Act requires transfers of files and continuance of processes to Territory agencies once the corresponding Territory law commences (ss 28-29).
Financial continuity and account reallocation
Audit Act Accounts and specified Trust Accounts in the Trust Fund are transferred into corresponding Territory Trust Accounts under Territory audit law (s 15). Amounts standing to the credit of those Accounts are to be paid into the corresponding Trust Account (s 15(2)). Appropriations that were for Audit Act Accounts are treated as appropriations for the corresponding Territory Trust Account (s 16), except for sums already spent (s 16(2)).
The Australian Capital Territory Trust Account is abolished with amounts credited to the Territory Consolidated Revenue Fund (ss 17-18). The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated as necessary for the purposes of the Act (s 30).
Reimbursement duty
Section 20 imposes a duty on the Territory to pay the Commonwealth a “reasonable amount” for development costs incurred by the Commonwealth in relation to Territory land before Self‑Government Day where particular conditions obtain; the duty depends on whether the land became Territory Land and whether proceeds of sale have been paid into the Trust Account (s 20(2)-(3)).
Delegated regulation and time limits
The Governor‑General gets an expansive regulations power to deal with matters arising from the establishment of the Territory and conversion of laws (s 31(1)). That power may be exercised retrospectively to no earlier than Self‑Government Day (s 31(2)). The power is time‑limited: regulations under s 31(1)(a) cannot be made after 31 December 1989, and regulations under s 31(1)(b) must not be made after the relevant law becomes an enactment (s 31(3)-(4)).
Structural definitional changes across Commonwealth statutes
Part III lists targeted insertions and substitutions into many federal Acts so that their reference points (for example, to “State”, “Department”, “Commonwealth authority”, “enactment”) expressly recognise the Territory or exclude ACT enactments where appropriate. This creates a coordinated network of definitional adjustments across federal statutes (examples include the Administrative Decisions Act, Freedom of Information Act, Ombudsman Act, Audit Act, Public Service Act and many others).
Together these mechanisms create a coordinated transitional architecture that preserves legal continuity while enabling the practical transfer of functions, assets and regulatory relationships to the Territory. The Act is therefore a technical statute that privileges legal continuity, substitution and definitional precision as the tools for shifting governmental responsibility.
Who it affects
The Act affects multiple groups and institutions, and these effects are concentrated rather than evenly distributed.
Primary institutional actors:
The Territory Executive (Chief Minister and relevant Territory officers): the Chief Minister is given specific powers to fix commencements of some laws and Ordinances (ss 2(2), 9-10), to receive copies of Tribunal/Tribunal‑adjacent determinations (e.g. Remuneration Tribunal amendments in Part III), and to request written declarations in respect of the Territory under certain Commonwealth statutes as amended in Part III (for example, Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, s 4A). The Chief Minister therefore acquires administrative and coordination duties during the transition period.
Commonwealth Ministers and the Governor‑General: the Minister (federal) must transfer assets and rights (s 5) and may make declarations or enter arrangements under amended Commonwealth Acts (see Part III amendments such as Audit Act insertions and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act s 4A). The Governor‑General retains power to make Ordinances and regulations for the transitional period (ss 8, 31).
Transitional staff and Head of Administration: Persons identified as transitional staff remain appointed under the Commonwealth Public Service Act until Territory arrangements are enacted (s 21). The Head of Administration gains Secretary powers in relation to the transitional staff branch (s 21(2)), which centralises administrative control of the transitional public service function in the Territory apparatus.
Public sector bodies and authorities:
Enactment authorities and bodies established under enactments; the Act uses the term enactment authority and transitional authority staff (s 3 definitions). The staff, appointments and powers of many Territory authorities are affected by the broad redefinition and the transfer of powers and assets.
Commonwealth bodies with operations in the ACT: many Commonwealth statutes are amended in Part III so that references to “State”, “Department” or “Commonwealth authority” encompass the Territory or make specific adjustments (examples are numerous: Administrative Decisions Act, Audit Act, Ombudsman Act, Public Service Act and others). That changes legal relationships for bodies whose mandates previously focused on States.
Private parties and contract counterparties:
Parties to contracts between the Commonwealth and third parties that relate to Territory functions and subsist immediately before Self‑Government Day are affected: the regulations under s 6 may substitute the Territory for the Commonwealth as contractual party, changing counterparty and potentially choice of governing law, payment arrangements and notice contacts.
Landholders and developers with land that becomes Territory Land before or on Self‑Government Day may acquire rights or obligations under the reimbursement provision (s 20), and the status of land‑derived interests (leases, easements, mortgages, sub‑leases) is addressed in s 5(3)-(4).
Litigants, complainants and review applicants:
Persons who had outstanding applications for judicial review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 or for review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal immediately before Self‑Government Day retain their rights and have those rights continued under the converted ACT law (ss 26-27). The Act substitutes the decision‑maker party so the proceedings continue against the person who would have made the decision under the ACT law (ss 26(3)(a), 27(3)(a)-(b)).
Complainants to the Commonwealth Ombudsman in respect of matters that would be within ACT Ombudsman jurisdiction once the ACT law commences are affected by the transfer rule in s 28(5)(c)-(d).
Financial stakeholders:
The Audit Act Accounts, Trust Fund heads and the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account are directly affected (ss 15-18). Money standing to credit in those accounts is transferred to corresponding Territory Trust Accounts or to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, altering where funds are held and who controls appropriation flows (ss 15-17).
Trade unions and staff associations:
The Commonwealth and the Territory must consult with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Professional Associations and any other organisation the Minister wishes to include, about initial terms and conditions for transitional staff and staff of enactment authorities (s 21(7)). That creates a defined consultation obligation with potentially material consequences for employment terms.
Administrative agencies and regulators:
Agencies that implement federal laws amended to recognise the Territory must adapt to new definitions and procedures set out in Part III. For example, the Freedom of Information Act is amended to exclude transitional public service branch from Department definition and to add a special s 4A about ACT enactments (s 29 and Part III Freedom of Information amendments). Regulators tasked with administering Commonwealth workplace and safety laws are affected by the transitional inclusions in ss 22-25 and corresponding Part III change to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.
Who pays and who decides
The Territory will pay for some transferred obligations: s 20 creates an explicit obligation for the Territory to reimburse the Commonwealth “a reasonable amount” for certain development costs. Appropriation consequences follow the transfer of accounts to Territory Trust Accounts (ss 15-17). The Minister and Governor‑General retain decision roles about transfers, substitutions and regulations (ss 5-6, 8, 31); the Chief Minister has commencement and declaratory roles (ss 2(2)-(3), 9-10, s 31’s time limits affect the Chief Minister’s planning).
In short, the Act is focused on institutions: the Commonwealth executive, the Chief Minister, the Head of Administration, transitional staff, financial officers managing Trust Accounts, contract counterparties and the administrative tribunals and Ombudsman. The immediate impacts are administrative and financial rather than programmatic; the Act reassigns legal positions and process ownership, not substantive policy on public services.
Key duties and rights
The Act creates or preserves several categories of duties and rights. Many are transfers or continuity protections rather than novel obligations.
Duties to transfer and substitute
Ministerial duty to transfer relevant assets and rights: s 5(1) requires the Minister to transfer to the Territory “all assets and rights of the Commonwealth that, in his or her opinion, relate to Territory functions.” The duty is framed in terms of opinion (“in his or her opinion”), which gives the Minister an evaluative step before transfer.
Limited duty to transfer particular estates in land: s 5(3) requires transfer of estates in land “of a kind referred to in subsection (4)”, namely easements (including easements in gross), rights of way, mortgages, and interests as lessee or sub‑lessee, where the Minister is of the opinion they are held for purposes that relate to Territory functions. Subsection (5) substitutes the Territory as party to any contract from which the estate is derived.
Regulations power to substitute parties to contracts: s 6 authorises regulations to provide for substitution of the Territory for the Commonwealth as contracting party and for related matters. The power applies only to subsisting contracts immediately before Self‑Government Day, to which the Commonwealth is a party and that relate to Territory functions (s 6(2)).
Financial duties and appropriations
Transfer and payment into Territory Trust Accounts: s 15(2) requires amounts standing to the credit of an Audit Act Account immediately before Self‑Government Day to be paid into the corresponding Trust Account established under Territory audit law. Subsection (1) treats a Trust Account as established on that Day for the same purposes. Section 16 carries through appropriations: an Appropriation Act that appropriated money for an Audit Act Account is to be read as appropriating money for the corresponding Territory Trust Account, except for amounts already spent for the Audit Act Account (s 16(1)-(2)).
Abolition and payment into the Consolidated Revenue Fund: s 17(2)-(3) requires amounts standing to the credit of the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account to be paid into the Territory Consolidated Revenue Fund; s 18 requires the Trust Account to be closed after payments under s 15 or s 17.
Reimbursement obligation
Section 20 imposes on the Territory the duty to reimburse the Commonwealth a reasonable amount in two scenarios where the Commonwealth incurred development costs before Self‑Government Day:
if the land becomes Territory Land and was intended to be leased or used for commercial purposes (s 20(2)); or
where a leasehold interest was sold and proceeds have been, or become payable into the Trust Account (s 20(3)). The Act does not prescribe a method for calculating the “reasonable amount”; it creates an obligation contingent on the facts in the subsections.
Continuity rights and protections
Continuation of audit appointments and delegations: s 13(2)-(3) continues audit appointments and delegations in effect immediately before Self‑Government Day as if made under corresponding provisions of the Territory audit law.
Auditor‑General continuity: s 14 entitles the Commonwealth Auditor‑General to be the Territory Auditor‑General on and after Self‑Government Day and to exercise such powers as provided by enactment.
Preservation of review rights: s 26 protects persons who, immediately before Self‑Government Day, had a right to apply under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977; s 27 provides the same saving for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. Both sections continue rights of application and provide substitution rules for the decision‑maker in any subsequent proceedings.
FOI and Ombudsman savings: s 28(3) takes the Commonwealth Ombudsman to be the ACT Ombudsman until the ACT law appoints a different person; s 29 requires an agency that received an FOI request under the Commonwealth Act to transfer that request to the appropriate Territory agency if a corresponding enactment comes into force and the document has moved to the Territory (s 29(2)(e)-(f)).
Staffing and employment rules
Until a Territory enactment provides otherwise, transitional staff are to be persons appointed or employed under the Public Service Act 1922 and the Head of Administration has Secretary powers over the transitional staff branch (s 21(1)-(3)). Section 21(7) requires Commonwealth and Territory consultation with unions and associations about initial terms and conditions of employment for transitional staff and enactment authority staff.
Regulatory powers and limits
Governor‑General’s regulations power (s 31) authorises provision‑making and even modifications of Acts to handle matters arising from the creation of the Territory and conversion of laws. The power permits retroactive effect to a date no earlier than Self‑Government Day (s 31(2)). Time limits are imposed: regulations for matters arising from establishment cannot be made after 31 December 1989; regulations for conversion cannot be made after the law becomes an enactment (s 31(3)-(4)).
Procedural rights
The Act confers specific procedural entitlements, such as the Chief Minister’s receipt and tabling of certain reports (s 21(4)) and the preservation and substitution of parties in judicial review and AAT proceedings (ss 26-27), and the obligation to transfer FOI files and Ombudsman complaints (ss 28-29).
What the Act does not do directly
The Act does not set out substantive program policy for Territory services nor does it provide a method for valuing the “reasonable amount” owing under s 20. It does not create novel criminal offences or specify penalties within its main text. Penalties and enforcement mechanisms for specific subject matters remain governed by the statutes that the Act amends or preserves; the Act’s role is to relocate rights, duties and institutional ownership rather than to prescribe sanctions.
In practical terms, the Act places on Ministers, the Governor‑General and the Chief Minister duties of decision, implements financial transfer duties for accounting officers, makes the Auditor‑General and audit appointments functionally relevant to the Territory, preserves review rights for people engaged with federal administrative processes, and creates procedural duties to consult with unions about staff transitions. The Act therefore reassigns legal responsibilities and preserves procedural redress as the Territory becomes responsible for local matters.
Penalties and enforcement
The Act itself is principally transitional and consequential and contains very limited direct penalty provisions. Its enforcement architecture is indirect: it relies on the existing enforcement and compliance mechanisms of the Commonwealth and Territory statutes that it amends or converts. The Act therefore creates obligations whose enforcement will typically fall to those existing statutory regimes. Specific observations from the text:
No standalone criminal or civil penalty regime in the Act
The Act does not create specific criminal offences or civil penalties within its own provisions. Instead, it creates duties and powers (transfer of assets, substitution in contracts, payments into Trust Accounts, reimbursement duties, staff appointment rules and regulation‑making power) and leaves enforcement to the systems already established under the statutes it amends or converts.
Enforcement via existing administrative machinery
Audit and financial compliance: s 14 designates the Commonwealth Auditor‑General to be the Territory Auditor‑General until a Territory enactment provides otherwise. Enforcement of financial duties and compliance with audit outcomes will therefore be exercised by the Auditor‑General under the applicable audit law. The Act transfers Audit Act Accounts into Trust Accounts under Territory audit law (s 15) and provides for their subsequent dealing with or closure under the Territory audit law (s 19), which means audit remedies and compliance mechanisms reside in the Territory audit law.
Appropriations and account controls: ss 16-18 reallocate appropriations and require closure of Accounts after transfers. Where misapplication of funds or issues of appropriation arise, enforcement will be under the Territory’s financial management and audit statutes and the relevant Commonwealth statutes where pre‑existing appropriations are implicated.
Contractual enforcement: s 6 permits regulations to substitute the Territory as party to contracts. Once substitution occurs, the contractual remedies and enforcement (damages, specific performance, termination rights) are determined by the contract and the governing law. The Act does not set out special enforcement measures for substituted contracts.
Administrative review and tribunal protections continue
The Act preserves rights to judicial review and AAT review (ss 26-27). These rights are themselves enforcement mechanisms for administrative action. The preserving of rights ensures that individuals and affected parties retain access to the ADJR Act and AAT processes; any enforcement of administrative obligations or reversal of decisions will proceed under those Acts.
Regulation‑making and time limits
The Governor‑General’s regulation‑making power under s 31 can include provisions modifying Acts. Modifications by regulation will be subject to standard parliamentary oversight and disallowance procedures applicable to regulations (as modified by the Constitution and the enabling statutes). The Act imposes temporal limits on those regulation powers (s 31(3)-(4)), which constrains when liability‑creating or compliance obligations may be introduced by regulation for transitional matters.
Financial obligations with open standards
The reimbursement duty under s 20 requires payment of a “reasonable amount” in specified circumstances. The Act does not prescribe a calculation method or administrative process or specify a dispute resolution route for disagreements about what constitutes a “reasonable amount”. That leaves potential enforcement and dispute resolution to negotiation, the normal processes available in public law or contract law, or any process provided later by regulation or agreement between Commonwealth and Territory.
Dispute resolution and substitution in litigation
In preserved review proceedings, the Act provides for substitution of the decision‑maker party so litigation can continue against the person who would have made the decision under the ACT law (ss 26(3)(a) and 27(3)(a)-(b)). This is an enforcement utility: it avoids jurisdictional gaps that could otherwise permit defendants to evade judicial review by pointing to transformation of the legal framework.
Practical enforcement risks and burden
Because the Act leaves valuation questions (s 20) and many detailed administrative modalities to subsequent enactment, regulations or agreement, enforcement in early stages will rely heavily on inter‑governmental negotiation, audit scrutiny and administrative direction rather than on a fully developed statutory penalty or enforcement regime. That creates foreseeable legal friction where parties disagree over valuations, contract substitutions, or appropriations. The Act centralises many transitional decisions in the Minister, Governor‑General and Chief Minister (for commencements), which concentrates enforcement discretion in executive actors pending enactments that will create permanent enforcement regimes.
In summary, enforcement of the obligations created or preserved by the Act will be exercised through:
existing audit and financial management laws (for account transfers and appropriations);
normal contract and civil remedies (for substituted contracts);
administrative review and tribunal processes (for preservation of ADJR and AAT applications);
executive regulation and intergovernmental agreement (for procedural and valuation matters, particularly s 6 and s 20 disputes).
The Act itself provides the legal scaffolding; the practical enforcement is incumbent on the regime into which each particular obligation is folded.
How it interacts with other laws
The Act is expressly designed to operate as a node of interaction between Commonwealth law, pre‑existing Ordinances, the Self‑Government Act and the emerging body of Territory enactments. The statutory text makes repeated cross‑references and implements detailed consequential amendments to many Commonwealth Acts. Key interaction patterns and their mechanics are as follows.
Conversion and non‑conflation of “enactment” concepts
The Act creates the concept of “ACT enactment” and repeatedly instructs Commonwealth statutes not to treat ACT enactments as Commonwealth “enactments” for specified purposes. The Act inserts “not an enactment” provisions into multiple Commonwealth Acts (for example, Administrative Decisions Act s 3A inserted by Part III; Freedom of Information Act s 4A; Ombudsman Act s 3AA). The immediate legal effect is to prevent certain federal provisions that assume a Commonwealth enactment from automatically applying to legislative instruments that are ACT enactments. Those carve‑outs are repeated across multiple Acts in Part III. This interaction means that when reading a Commonwealth Act amended by this Consequential Provisions Act, one must check whether the Act treats ACT enactments as “enactments” (and where it expressly excludes them) to determine whether the federal provision applies to the Territory’s laws.
Federal statutes redefined to include or recognise the Territory
Several statutes are amended to insert the Australian Capital Territory in definitions of “State”, “Department”, “Commonwealth authority” or otherwise include the Territory in operational definitions. Examples:
Audit Act amendments add the Australian Capital Territory into definitions that previously referenced States and the Northern Territory.
The Freedom of Information Act is amended so that its Department definition excludes the branch of the Australian Public Service comprising transitional staff (see Part III amendments to FOI).
The Public Service Act and Merit Protection Act are amended to recognise ACT bodies and staff for the purposes of public service employment arrangements.
These amendments adjust federal statutes so that Commonwealth processes, grants, inquiries, appointments and tribunal membership rules can operate with the Territory as an identified political and administrative actor.
Preservation of pre‑existing review and tribunal processes
The Act preserves pending ADJR and AAT proceedings (ss 26-27) and provides substitution rules so that the entity answerable under the new ACT law is the appropriate party in subsequent proceedings. That avoids gaps where the legal subject of review is transformed by conversion of laws. The practical effect is to enable continuity in judicial review and tribunal oversight during transition.
Transitional application of workplace and benefits legislation
The Act makes detailed transitional provisions so that Commonwealth workplace statutes continue to apply to Territory staff in specific ways until amendments commence. Examples include:
Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act transitional application to Territory staff (s 22).
Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act transitional application (s 23) and related Schedule 2 modifications.
Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act transitional application (s 24) with Schedule 3 modifications.
Merit Protection Act application to transitional staff until the Public Service Act‑derived cessation (s 25).
These provisions temporarily bind the Territory workforce to Commonwealth workplace regimes, and Part III amendments to federal statutes reflect and reinforce those transitional linkages.
Audit and financial law interactions
The Act creates a network of financial interactions: Audit Act Accounts transfer (s 15), appropriations are reallocated (s 16), the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account is abolished and monies moved into the Territory Consolidated Revenue Fund (s 17). Part III amendments to the Audit Act and other financial statutes incorporate the Territory into existing federal audit and account frameworks. The Auditor‑General continuity under s 14 ties the audit oversight mechanism to an existing federal office until the Territory’s enactments provide otherwise.
Contract and property law effects
Section 5 provides that where estates in land of specified kinds are transferred to the Territory, and where those estates derive from contracts, the Territory is substituted for the Commonwealth as a contracting party (s 5(5)). Section 6 allows for regulations to effect substitution for other contracts. The effect is to change counterparty and hence the landscape of remedies, notices, taxation consequences tied to contracting parties and property ownership. The Act does not, however, automatically change the substantive rights under the contracts; rather it provides the legal device for substitution and connected adjustments through regulation.
Interaction with parliamentary oversight and tabling rules
Several Part III inserts adopt tabling and disallowance devices familiar from federal oversight (for example, in the Jervis Bay Territory amendments where the Governor‑General makes Ordinances that must be tabled and are disallowable under the Parliament’s procedures; see inserted ss 4F-4G). This creates cross‑jurisdictional oversight modalities whereby federal parliamentary procedures can limit or revoke certain Ordinances or regulations that operate in the transitional set‑up.
Time‑limited regulation and modification powers
Section 31’s regulation‑making powers interact with other laws by enabling the Governor‑General to make regulations that modify Acts to address transitional matters. The Act limits when those regulations may be made (s 31(3)-(4)), which interacts with the timetable for conversion of specific laws into enactments under s 12 and the Chief Minister’s power to fix commencement dates (ss 2(2)-(3), 9-10). That coordination is necessary to prevent overlapping authorities and to preserve legal certainty.
Inclusion of the Territory in Commonwealth grant and inquiry processes
Part III modifies the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act to insert the Territory in the special assistance/grants framework (inserting s 16AA and changes to s 5), meaning Commonwealth financial assistance apparatus can inquire about and make special grants to the Territory in recognition of its particular circumstances. This is an explicit point of interaction for fiscal transfers.
In sum, the Act’s central structural device is to implement a managed handover by altering cross‑statutory definitions, preserving review rights and administrative continuity, moving accounts and assets, and empowering regulation and substitution where necessary. It frequently interacts with Commonwealth law by inserting “ACT enactment” concepts and by carving out or including the Territory in definitions so as to confine or extend the application of federal provisions. For anyone interpreting federal statute after Self‑Government Day, a careful cross‑check against the consequential amendments inserted by this Act is necessary: a seemingly ordinary federal provision may have been modified to treat the Territory differently or exclude ACT enactments from its operation.
Amendment history
The text of the Act itself contains embedded commencement provisions and temporal limits, and it enacts numerous specific amendments to other Acts. The Act’s own internal amendment history is embodied in its commencement rules and in sunset or transitional expiry points stated in several provisions. The following are the concrete amendment and commencement features visible in the statute text provided.
Commencement sequencing and provisional day fixes
Section 2 sets a staged commencement pattern:
Section 1 (short title) and section 2 commence on the day the Act receives Royal Assent (s 2(1)).
Amendments of section 19 of the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972 commence on days to be fixed by the Chief Minister by Territory Gazette notice (s 2(2)).
The remaining provisions of the Act (including Schedule 5 amendments) commence on days to be fixed by Proclamation (s 2(3)). This staged approach gives the Chief Minister and Governor‑General discretion to manage the timing of significant transitions, and signals the Act was designed to be implemented in phases.
Automatic conversion deadline
Section 12 provides for the automatic omission of certain laws from Schedule 3 of the Self‑Government Act and their treatment as enactments on 1 July 1990 if they have not been omitted from Schedule 3 before that date (s 12(2)). This imposes a hard deadline for particular conversions and creates a legal expectation that certain pre‑existing laws will be brought into the Territory legal corpus by that date unless explicitly omitted earlier.
Transitional and temporary provisions
Several provisions are expressly temporary or are stated to continue until modified by later enactment:
Section 21(1) stipulates that, “until an enactment provides that this subsection is to cease to have effect”, transitional staff shall be persons appointed under the Commonwealth Public Service Act. That establishes the default transitional employment regime pending Territory legislation replacing it.
Section 12(3) empowers the Governor‑General to make regulations providing that pre‑existing Ordinances shall be taken to be enactments, but only with modifications specified in the regulations and only where the Ordinance relates to subject matter that overlaps with a law specified in Schedule 3 (s 12(3)).
Section 31(3) forbids regulations dealing with matters arising from establishment of the Territory (s 31(1)(a)) to be made after 31 December 1989. Section 31(4) forbids regulations dealing with conversion into enactments (s 31(1)(b)) to be made after the law becomes an enactment. Those are express temporal limits on delegated powers.
Inserted expiry dates in amendments to other Acts
Part III inserts temporary provisions in certain Acts:
The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933 receives a new s 7AA dealing with appointments between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1992, and that section expressly ceases to have effect on 1 July 1992 (Part III).
Several other transitional insertions in federal statutes are framed as temporary or transitional (for example, the transitional application of Commonwealth workplace Acts in ss 22-25 and the related modifications in Schedules 2-4 that apply until the Commonwealth amendments commence). The Act therefore maps an explicit temporal scaffolding for transition.
Extensive consequential amendments (Schedule 5 and Part III)
Part III states simply that the Acts specified in Schedule 5 are amended as set out in that Schedule (s 32). The text provided then lists numerous precise textual amendments to federal statutes, including additions of definitions, substitution of words, insertion of new subsections and new sections (for example, the insertion throughout of “ACT enactment” definitions and the insertion of new powers or duties in the Australian Federal Police Act, Commonwealth Electoral Act, Audit Act, Freedom of Information Act and many others). Those are the substantive consequential amendments. The Act therefore does not simply provide a procedural skeleton but implements hundreds of precise drafting changes across Commonwealth statute law.
Commencement dependency for other changes
Several amendments reference other commencement steps: for example, the transitional application of the Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (s 22) applies “until the commencement of the amendments of the Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 made by this Act.” That shows the Act anticipates a sequence where some amendments become the new permanent law and once they commence the transitional provisions cease.
No later amending Acts or case law are included in the text
The material provided does not include any subsequent amending Acts to this Act or judicial pronouncements interpreting its provisions. The Act’s own provisions, therefore, supply all temporal and amendment history visible in the provided text. Any later changes or repeals are outside the text supplied and must be checked in the consolidated statute or parliamentary records.
Operational consequences of the amendment architecture
The Act’s approach is to lock in short windows and clear dates for conversion (e.g. 1 July 1990) while leaving several transitional arrangements to remain in force until the Territory enacts its replacement laws; this dual approach creates both fixed deadlines and open transition paths. The practical effect is that some legal relationships were guaranteed to convert by a date certain (reducing long‑term uncertainty), while staffing, audit and other institutional transitions depended on future Territory enactments, thereby allowing tailored local design but prolonging a period of hybrid Commonwealth‑Territory legal relationships.
Anyone relying on the Act’s transitional rules should therefore map:
the commencement status of each consequential amendment (as many changes are staged by proclamation or Chief Minister notice under s 2);
whether a transitional provision continues until a Territory enactment (for which the date is not fixed in the Act text);
the interaction of s 12 automatic conversion on 1 July 1990 with any Governor‑General regulations under s 12(3) that might have already taken Ordinances to be enactments with modifications.
Litigation history
The text provided contains no litigation history, judicial decisions, or references to cases that have interpreted this Act or its consequential amendments. The statute itself is procedural and transitional, and the available material does not record any court proceedings, decisions, or scholarly adjudications. Consequently:
There are no court‑identified interpretations, constructions, or dispute outcomes recorded in the Act text supplied.
The Act anticipates litigation contexts where transfer and substitution might give rise to dispute (for example, s 5(5) substitutes the Territory as party to contracts deriving estates, s 6 allows substitution by regulation and s 20 imposes payment of a “reasonable amount” without specifying a valuation method). Such provisions are the kinds of provisions that, in practice, can trigger litigation where parties disagree on substitution effects, valuation or procedural compliance; however, the statute text does not report any actual cases.
Practical implications for those assessing litigation risk
Where the Act provides open standards (for example, “in his or her opinion” in s 5(1), or “reasonable amount” in s 20), those terms are common loci for judicial review and dispute about the standard applied. Absent interpretive case law in the text, practitioners must assume that disagreements could give rise to administrative law challenges (review of the Minister’s opinion under s 5(1)), contract disputes (about substitution under s 6) and contractual or equitable valuation disputes (under s 20).
Preservation of review rights under ss 26-27 avoids jurisdictional gaps for outstanding ADJR and AAT proceedings. That structure reduces procedural litigation risk in the immediate transition by ensuring continuity of standing and applicable procedural law, but it does not prevent new actions being commenced once the Territory becomes the proper decision‑maker or party.
Recommendation to users
Because the provided statutory text does not include any litigation history, anyone advising on a dispute arising from these transitions should search subsequent consolidated legislation and case law databases for judicial interpretation and post‑enactment adjustments. The Act sets out many standards susceptible to interpretation , opinion standards, reasonableness standards and substitution mechanisms , and those are the natural subjects of litigation if contested.
Gotchas
The Act contains many drafting features and transitional devices that create practical traps for the unwary. These are concrete operational complexities, not policy judgements, drawn from the statutory text.
“Enactment” vs “ACT enactment” distinctions
The Act (and many consequential amendments in Part III) inserts definitions that make “ACT enactments are not enactments” for the purposes of specified Commonwealth Acts (see the Act’s own s 3A and the inserted s 3A in the Administrative Decisions Act, s 4A in FOI, s 3AA in the Ombudsman Act, and the many mirrored provisions in Part III). The result is that when a Commonwealth Act uses the term “enactment”, the reader must check whether the Act has been amended to exclude ACT enactments. Failing to do so will lead to misapplication of federal provisions (for instance, wrongly assuming that an ACT instrument is a Commonwealth “enactment” attracting federal processes).
Minister’s evaluative language for transfers
Section 5(1) requires the Minister to transfer assets and rights that, in his or her opinion, relate to Territory functions. The statutory phrase “in his or her opinion” inserts an evaluative step that can produce litigation risk and uncertainty because the Act does not provide objective criteria for that opinion. Parties who believe the Minister erred may seek administrative review or raise contractual disputes about the timing and effect of substitution. Practitioners should note the potential for contests about the Minister’s exercise of that opinion power.
Money excluded from general transfer, but Trust Account transitions are complex
Section 5(2)(a) excludes money from the general transfer requirement, but subsequent sections (ss 15-17) require transfer of Audit Act Account balances into corresponding Territory Trust Accounts or the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This means money is not automatically transferred under s 5 but redirected under the specific financial account provisions. Failure to distinguish these mechanisms can cause accounting errors and misapprehensions about who controls funds during the transition.
Estates in land,only certain interests transferred
Section 5(3) limits estate transfers to interests under easements (including easements in gross), rights of way, mortgages, or as lessee or sub‑lessee. The substantive ownership of freehold estates and some other land interests is excluded in s 5(2)(b). That distinction matters for conveyancing, titling and property taxes: practitioners must verify whether an interest is of a kind captured by s 5(4) before assuming automatic transfer or substitution.
Contracts substitution limited to subsisting contracts and requires regulations
Section 6 permits substitution only where a contract is subsisting immediately before Self‑Government Day, the Commonwealth is a party and the contract relates to a Territory function (s 6(2)). Moreover, substitution is effected by regulations (s 6(1)), not automatically. Parties should not assume that mere passage of the Act automatically changes contractual parties; substitution may require a regulation to be made and may be selective.
“Reasonable amount” in s 20,valuation ambiguity
The Territory’s duty to reimburse the Commonwealth for development costs is framed as payment of “a reasonable amount” (s 20(2)-(3)). The Act does not prescribe a valuation methodology, timeframe, or dispute resolution mechanism. That leaves scope for disagreement about what is “reasonable”, and the mechanism for resolving disputes is not specified in s 20, requiring parties to rely on negotiation, later regulation, or litigation.
Temporal traps and deadlines
Some powers to make regulations are time‑limited (s 31(3)-(4)): regulations related to establishment matters cannot be made after 31 December 1989; regulations related to conversion cannot be made after the law becomes an enactment. The Act also contains dated automatic conversion for certain laws on 1 July 1990 (s 12). Those deadlines can create practical compliance burdens: agencies must act within the permitted windows or lose regulatory power. Practitioners advising on transitional regulation should map these windows carefully.
Transitional staff status creates mixed employment law landscape
Transitional staff remain appointed under the Public Service Act until a Territory enactment provides otherwise (s 21(1)). Simultaneously, ss 22-25 preserve the application of Commonwealth workplace statutes to Territory staff until specific amendments commence. For employers and employees, that creates a hybrid legal environment where some employment rights and obligations remain in federal law while administrative control shifts. That hybrid status can complicate HR decisions, industrial claims and leave entitlements.
FOI and Ombudsman transfers require active file movement
Sections 28 and 29 require transfer of complaints and FOI requests where the corresponding Territory enactment has come into force and the document or complaint relates to material transferred to the Territory. Agencies should not assume files automatically move; the Act prescribes transfer obligations. Failure to transfer or to process a transferred FOI request under the corresponding Territory law could produce procedural challenges.
Many consequential amendments change definitions across multiple Acts
Part III alters wording in many Commonwealth Acts , sometimes subtly (inserting “the Australian Capital Territory” after “State”) and sometimes more substantively (excluding ACT enactments). The sheer volume of textual substitutions is a practical hazard: users must cross‑check each relevant federal statute against the amendments to ensure the correct legal definitions apply. For example, phrase changes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act alter who may notify a Senate vacancy and who certifies senators for the ACT (Part III amendments to s 44). Missing those changes will produce procedural errors.
Delegation and discretion concentrated in a few actors
The Act concentrates many transitional decision points in the Minister, Governor‑General and Chief Minister (ss 5-6, 8, 9-10, 31). The concentration of discretion may create bottlenecks and political or administrative delays. Those delays can have legal consequences where time‑sensitive obligations exist (e.g. contract substitutions, commencement dates, account transfers).
Given these potential pitfalls, practitioners should undertake a detailed compliance mapping:
Identify which assets, contracts and accounts fall within the Act’s transfer/substitution rules.
Track all commencement notices and proclamations under ss 2, 9 and 10.
Confirm whether the “enactment” concept in relevant Commonwealth statutes applies to ACT enactments or has been modified.
Establish records of transfers, payments into Trust Accounts, and closures (ss 15-18).
Create a valuation and dispute plan for s 20 reimbursements.
Coordinate HR and union consultation obligations under s 21(7).
How to comply
The Act’s compliance requirements are largely administrative and procedural. The following is a practical compliance checklist drawn from the Act’s text for the principal actors: Commonwealth Ministers and departmental officers, the Chief Minister and Territory executive, transitional staff administrators, audit and finance officers, contracting parties and agencies handling FOI and Ombudsman matters.
For Commonwealth Ministers and departments (asset, contract and account handlers)
Inventory assets, rights and contracts: identify all Commonwealth assets, rights and contracts that relate to Territory functions as defined or as will be defined by the Self‑Government Act (s 5(1)). Pay attention to land interests and identify which estates are of the kind in s 5(4) (easements, rights of way, mortgages, lessee/sub‑lessee interests).
Prepare transfer packages and legal instruments: for estates in land derived from contracts, ensure documentation is prepared to substitute the Territory for the Commonwealth as a party to the contract (s 5(5)). For other contracts in scope, prepare to work with the regulations envisaged by s 6 to effect substitutions. Do not assume automatic substitution,regulations are the tool.
Account reconciliation and transfer of balances: reconcile Audit Act Accounts and ensure amounts standing to the credit of those Accounts at Self‑Government Day are identified and paid into corresponding Territory Trust Accounts (s 15(2)) or the Consolidated Revenue Fund where appropriate (s 17). Close the relevant old Accounts after transfer under s 18.
Identify appropriations affected: where Appropriation Acts appropriate money for Trust Accounts that are Audit Act Accounts, amend appropriation records to reflect that the appropriation is taken to be for the corresponding Territory Trust Account (s 16). Record any amounts already spent which are excluded (s 16(2)).
Document the basis for “opinion” decisions: where the Minister must form an opinion for transfers (s 5(1) and s 5(3)), document the reasoning and factual basis to guard against administrative law challenge.
For the Chief Minister and Territory executive
Use gazette powers and fix commencement dates where needed: exercise the power to fix commencement dates for specified provisions and uncommenced Commonwealth laws or Ordinances when appropriate (s 2(2), s 9, s 10). Publish those commencement notices in the Territory Gazette per the Act.
Prepare for account receipt and control: ensure the Territory Consolidated Revenue Fund and the relevant Trust Accounts are ready to receive transferred balances and to account for them under Territory financial law (ss 15-17). Arrange for audits under the Territory audit law, recognising the Commonwealth Auditor‑General acts as Territory Auditor‑General until altered by enactment (s 14).
Negotiate reimbursement claims: prepare to quantify any development costs the Commonwealth will assert under s 20 and plan for negotiation around “reasonable amount”. Consider establishing an intergovernmental mechanism or memorandum of understanding to set valuation standards and dispute resolution procedures.
Make staff transition arrangements: the Head of Administration will have Secretary powers over the transitional staff (s 21(2)); coordinate with the Commonwealth to ensure that the transitional branch is identified, roles are mapped and that consultation with unions and professional bodies occurs (s 21(7)). Ensure records of employment, leave entitlements and accrued rights are transferred or otherwise preserved.
Prepare Territory enactments where the Act contemplates eventual substitution: the Act leaves many transitional provisions in place until Territory enactment provides otherwise (s 21(1) and related transitional workplace provisions). Prepare and prioritise the Territory legislative program to take over the transitional arrangements in a timely manner.
For transitional staff administrators and HR
Identify transitional staff and confirm appointment basis: maintain records showing each transitional employee’s appointment under the Public Service Act 1922 (s 21(1)). Make sure the Head of Administration’s Secretary powers are respected in HR decisions affecting that branch (s 21(2)).
Comply with consultation obligations: consult with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Council of Professional Associations and other organisations specified by the Minister about initial terms and conditions for transitional staff and enactment authority staff (s 21(7)).
Preserve employee entitlements under transitional laws: ensure Commonwealth workplace statutes that continue to apply (ss 22-25 and the various consequential amendments) are applied correctly to transitional staff until Territory laws supersede them.
For auditors, finance officers and accounting staff
Transfer Trust Account balances: effect payments into corresponding Territory Trust Accounts for Audit Act Accounts (s 15) and into the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account (s 17). Close transferred Accounts as required (s 18).
Maintain audit continuity: work with the Auditor‑General (who continues as Territory Auditor‑General under s 14) to ensure audit trails, reporting and appropriation compliance are maintained through the transition.
Ensure appropriation records match legal reallocation: amend appropriation records and reporting lines to reflect s 16’s reallocation of appropriations from Audit Act Accounts to Territory Trust Accounts, excluding amounts already spent (s 16(2)).
For Commonwealth and Territory agencies handling FOI and Ombudsman matters
Transfer files and complaints: where a corresponding Territory enactment comes into force and a person had a pending FOI request or Ombudsman complaint under the Commonwealth legislation before that enactment, transfer the request or complaint and all relevant documents to the appropriate Territory agency or ACT Ombudsman (ss 28(5)(c)-(d), 29(2)(e)-(f)). Document the transfer and notify the applicant or complainant.
Preserve pending review rights and substitute parties in proceedings: where ADJR or AAT applications are pending at Self‑Government Day, ensure procedural continuity by substituting the person who would have made the decision under the ACT law as the party in subsequent proceedings (ss 26(3)(a) and 27(3)(a)-(b)). Coordinate with legal teams to file any necessary amendments to court or tribunal pleadings.
For contracting parties and property counterparties
Verify contract status and regulatory substitution: identify whether contracts are subsisting immediately before Self‑Government Day, whether the Commonwealth is a party, and whether the contract relates to Territory functions; if so, expect that regulations may be made under s 6 to substitute the Territory for the Commonwealth. Do not assume substitution will occur automatically; request confirmation from the relevant contracting authority and retain records of notices, amendments and any new performance or payment instructions.
For property interests, confirm whether the interest is the type described in s 5(4); if so, track transfer and substitution effects (s 5(3)-(5)).
For legal advisors and compliance officers
Check the amended definitions across Commonwealth statutes: Part III embeds numerous textual amendments to Commonwealth Acts that affect interpretation (for example, inserting “the Australian Capital Territory” after “State” or excluding ACT enactments). Always consult the versions of the federal Acts as amended by this Consequential Provisions Act to confirm whether a given federal provision applies to an ACT enactment or requires different treatment.
Document valuation bases and dispute resolution processes: for s 20 reimbursements and any contractual substitution disputes, prepare negotiation and dispute resolution strategies because the Act itself leaves valuation standards open.
Track commencement notices and proclamations: many crucial effects are tied to commencement dates and notices (ss 2, 9, 10, 12). Maintain a timeline of notices, Gazette publications and proclamations to determine exact dates when obligations, transfers and substitution become effective.
Record‑keeping and transparency
The Act’s mechanics create multiple traceable events (transfer instruments, gazette notices, payment of account balances, substitution regulations). Keep contemporaneous records of ministerial opinions (s 5), account reconciliation statements (ss 15-17), staff appointment records and consultation outcomes (s 21(7)), and any intergovernmental agreements. These records will be essential for compliance, audit and potential dispute resolution.
In sum, compliance under this Act is primarily an exercise in administrative organisation: inventories, documented ministerial decisions, reconciled financial transfers, gazetted commencement notices, consultation with unions, and coordinated transfers of FOI and Ombudsman material. The Act leaves valuation and some procedural detail to negotiation or later enactment, so active governance and preemptive drafting of Territory enactments and intergovernmental agreements are central to reducing transitional legal risk.
Self‑Government Act means the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
Self‑Government Day means the day on which the Assembly is empowered to make laws.
teaching service means the service known on 1 November 1988 as the Commonwealth Teaching Service.
Territory audit law means the law in force in the Territory on and after Self‑Government Day relating to the audit of the public money of the Territory.
Territory function means a matter referred to in section 37 of the Self‑Government Act or Schedule 4 to that Act.
transitional authority staff means the staff of an enactment authority, other than an authority established by an enactment that provides for the appointment or employment of its staff outside the Public Service Act 1922, but does not include the members of the teaching service.
transitional staff means:
(a) transitional Territory staff; or
(b) transitional authority staff.
transitional Territory staff means the persons required for the conduct of the public administration of the Government of the Territory, other than members of the service referred to in section 54 of the Self‑Government Act.
4 Expressions to have same meaning as in Self‑Government Act
4 Expressions to have same meaning as in Self‑Government Act
Except so far as the contrary intention appears, expressions in this Act have the same meaning as in the Self‑Government Act.
Part II Transitional Provisions
Part II—Transitional Provisions
5 Transfer of assets and rights of Commonwealth to Territory
5 Transfer of assets and rights of Commonwealth to Territory
(1) The Minister shall transfer or cause to be transferred to the Territory all assets and rights of the Commonwealth that, in his or her opinion, relate to Territory functions.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to:
(a) money; or
(b) any estate in land.
(3) The Minister shall transfer or cause to be transferred to the Territory all estates in land in the Territory of a kind referred to in subsection (4), being estates that, in his or her opinion, are held by the Commonwealth for purposes that relate to Territory functions.
(4) Subsection (3) applies to estates consisting of:
(a) interests under easements (including easements in gross), rights of way or mortgages; or
(b) interests as lessee or sub‑lessee.
(5) Where an estate transferred to the Territory under subsection (3) is an estate derived from a contract, the Territory is, by force of this subsection, substituted for the Commonwealth as a party to the contract.
6 Transfer of rights and obligations of Commonwealth under contracts
6 Transfer of rights and obligations of Commonwealth under contracts
(1) The regulations may provide for:
(a) the substitution of the Territory for the Commonwealth as a party to any contract; and
(b) matters connected with any such substitution.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only to a contract:
(a) which is subsisting immediately before Self‑Government Day;
(b) to which the Commonwealth is a party; and
(c) which relates to a Territory function.
8 Ordinances modifying converted Acts
8 Ordinances modifying converted Acts
(1) The power of the Governor‑General to make Ordinances extends to making, before Self‑Government Day, Ordinances modifying Acts referred to in Schedule 2 to the Self‑Government Act, being modifications arising from, connected with or consequential upon the establishment of the Territory as a body politic under the Crown.
(2) The modifications shall not take effect before Self‑Government Day.
(3) On Self‑Government Day, an Ordinance made under this section shall be taken to be an enactment, and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
9 Uncommenced Acts
9 Uncommenced Acts
(1) In this section:
Commonwealth law means an Act, or a Part of an Act, specified in Schedule 2 to the Self‑Government Act.
(2) Where:
(a) a provision of a Commonwealth law is to commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation; and
(b) at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, a day has not been fixed for the commencement of the provision;
then, on or after that Day, the Chief Minister may, by notice in the Territory Gazette, fix a day for the commencement of that provision.
10 Uncommenced Ordinances
10 Uncommenced Ordinances
(1) In this section:
Ordinance means an Ordinance made before Self‑Government Day, other than an Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, specified in Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act.
(2) Where:
(a) an Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, is to commence on a day to be fixed by notice in the Commonwealth Gazette; and
(b) at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, a day has not been fixed for the commencement of the Ordinance or provision;
then, on or after that Day, the Chief Minister may, by notice in the Territory Gazette, fix a day for the commencement of that Ordinance or provision.
(3) An Ordinance, or a provision of an Ordinance, made before Self‑Government Day but not in force immediately before that Day shall, on that Day, be taken to be an enactment, and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
11 Ordinances not to be treated as inconsistent with Acts
11 Ordinances not to be treated as inconsistent with Acts
Where:
(a) an Ordinance is made before Self‑Government Day about a subject that, when the Ordinance is made, is dealt with by an Act;
(b) the Ordinance does not commence before that Day; and
(c) when the Ordinance commences, it is capable of operating concurrently with the Act as then in force;
the Ordinance is not invalid merely because, at the time when it is made, it is inconsistent with the Act.
12 Laws converted into enactments by 1 July 1990
12 Laws converted into enactments by 1 July 1990
(1) In this section:
law includes a part of a law.
(2) If, immediately before 1 July 1990, any laws specified in subsection (5) have not been omitted from Schedule 3 of the Self‑Government Act, the laws are omitted from that Schedule on that date by force of this subsection and shall be taken to be enactments and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
(3) Where:
(a) an Ordinance has been made with respect to the subject matter of a law specified in Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act; and
(b) the law is omitted from that Schedule at a time when the Ordinance is in force;
the Governor‑General may make regulations providing that the Ordinance, or specified parts of the Ordinance (being parts relating to that subject matter), with such modifications (if any) as are specified in the regulations, shall be taken to be an enactment and may be amended or repealed accordingly.
(4) The definition of enactment in section 3 of the Self‑Government Act shall be read as including a law, Ordinance or part of an Ordinance that is taken to be an enactment because of subsection (2) or (3).
(5) The laws referred to in subsection (2) are the laws specified in the various Parts of Schedule 3 to the Self‑Government Act as follows:
PART 1
audit appointment means an appointment made under section 34 of the Audit Act 1901, so far only as the appointment empowers the appointee to exercise powers in relation to the Territory.
audit delegation means a delegation made under section 70A of that Act of powers under section 20, 34, 37B, 62B or 70C of that Act, so far only as those powers relate to the Territory.
(2) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, a person holds an audit appointment, the appointment continues in effect on and after that Day as if it had been made under the corresponding provision of the Territory audit law.
(3) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, an audit delegation is in effect, the delegation continues in effect on and after that Day as if it had been made by the Chief Minister under the corresponding provision of the Territory audit law.
14 Auditor‑General
14 Auditor‑General
On and after Self‑Government Day, and until otherwise provided by enactment, the Auditor‑General for the Commonwealth shall be the Auditor‑General for the Territory and each Territory authority and, for those purposes, shall exercise such powers as are provided by enactment.
15 Transfer of Audit Act Accounts
15 Transfer of Audit Act Accounts
(1) Where, immediately before Self‑Government Day, an Audit Act Account was in existence, a Trust Account shall, on that Day, be taken to be established under the Territory audit law for the same purposes as those of the Audit Act Account.
(2) An amount standing to the credit of an Audit Act Account at the beginning of Self‑Government Day shall be paid into the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection (1).
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), money standing to the credit of the Trust Fund under a head of account that constitutes an Audit Act Account as defined by this Act shall be taken to be money standing to the credit of the Account.
(4) Where, at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, an amount is payable, but has not been paid, into an Audit Act Account, the amount is payable into the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection (1).
16 Transfer of appropriations for Audit Act Accounts
16 Transfer of appropriations for Audit Act Accounts
(1) Where an Appropriation Act has appropriated, or appropriates, money for the purposes of a Trust Account that is an Audit Act Account as defined by this Act, the Act shall be taken to have appropriated, or to appropriate, the money for the purposes of the corresponding Trust Account established by subsection 15(1).
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to money that has been spent for the purposes of the Audit Act Account before Self‑Government Day.
17 Abolition of Australian Capital Territory Trust Account
17 Abolition of Australian Capital Territory Trust Account
(1) In this section:
Account means the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901.
Consolidated Revenue Fund means the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Territory established under the Territory audit law.
(2) An amount standing to the credit of the Account at the beginning of Self‑Government Day shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(3) Where, at the beginning of Self‑Government Day, an amount is payable, but has not been paid, into the Account, the amount is payable into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(4) Where an Appropriation Act has appropriated, or appropriates, money for the purposes of the Account, the Act shall be taken to have appropriated, or to appropriate, the money for the purposes of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to money that has been spent for the purposes of the Account before Self‑Government Day.
18 Closure of Accounts
18 Closure of Accounts
After the money standing to the credit of an Account has been paid under section 15 or 17, the Account shall be closed.
19 Territory audit law to apply to new Accounts
19 Territory audit law to apply to new Accounts
Nothing in this Act prevents a Trust Account established by this Act from being dealt with, or being closed, under the Territory audit law.
20 Territory to reimburse Commonwealth for certain development costs
20 Territory to reimburse Commonwealth for certain development costs
(1) In this section:
development costs, in relation to land, means costs of development of the land, other than costs that have been recouped by payments out of the Trust Account.
Territory Land has the same meaning as in the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988.
Trust Account means the Australian Capital Territory Trust Account established under section 62A of the Audit Act 1901.
(2) Where:
(a) before Self‑Government Day, the Commonwealth incurred development costs in relation to any land in the Territory;
(b) immediately before that Day, the land was not subject to
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.