Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, and is the territory's primate city. The Australian Capital Territory is located in southeastern Australia as an enclave surrounded by the state of New South Wales. The territory was excised from New South Wales in 1911 to serve as the seat of government for the Commonwealth, in accordance with Section 125 of the Australian Constitution. Today, the ACT hosts a number of important political and cultural institutions, including the Parliament of Australia and High Court of Australia, as well as the headquarters of many federal departments and agencies.

On 1 January 1901, the self-governing Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Section 125 of the Australian Constitution provided that a tract of land, situated in New South Wales and not less than 100 miles (160 km) from Sydney, would be ceded to the new federal government. Following discussion and exploration of various sites within New South Wales, the Seat of Government Act 1908 was passed in 1908, and specified a capital in the Yass-Canberra region. The territory was transferred to the federal government by New South Wales on 1 January 1911, and on 12 March 1913, the city of Canberra was officially proclaimed as the nation’s capital.