Coronavirus has cut short the ACT Assembly calendar. Could it delay the election?

Speaker Joy Burch said the three parties had agreed to the new arrangements, which were designed to balance the need to pass crucial legislation - including economic stimulus measures - while protecting the health of politicians and staffers and ensuring they can adhere to "social distancing" rules.

The announcement comes as Elections ACT establishes an expert team to assess what implications the COVID-19 pandemic might have on this year's territory election.

However, the prospect that the October 17 election could potentially be delayed appears to be the furthest thing from the minds of the ACT's political leaders amid the rapidly worsening health and economic emergency.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he had yet to cast his mind to the idea of moving the election date, while opposition leader Alistair Coe said "next week seems a long way off, let alone October."

The new calendar means MLAs are scheduled to sit just five times between now and the October 17 election - April 2, May 7, June 18, August 13 and August 27. No sitting days have been scheduled for after the election at this stage.

Ms Burch said retaining some sitting days meant that "urgent legislation" could still be passed, such as those related to the government's $137 million coronavirus stimulus package.

The Canberra Times understands that some parliamentary business, such as "matters of public importance" speeches, will likely be scrapped under the condensed format. However, there would still be opportunity for the opposition and crossbench to scrutinise and debate government bills.

Parliaments across Australia have in the past fortnight been adapting their proceedings to comply with "social distancing" requirements, including restricting the number of politicians allowed in the chamber at any one time.

The fast-moving pandemic could have further consequences for the ACT's democratic process if it isn't brought under control in the coming months.

ACT Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell said he had a established an expert team, which includes senior health officials, the chief police officer and solicitor-general, to examine the "electoral impacts" of the COVID-19 pandemic and "develop a range of appropriate contingency plans for the conduct of the election".

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He would not be drawn on whether it was planning for the possibility of a delayed election.

Mr Cantwell said his advice to government would include recommendations on whether it needed to pass new laws to allow the election to be conducted differently.

In order for the election to be delayed, the Assembly would have to agree to amend the ACT's Electoral Act, which dictates that a territory election must be held every four years on the third Saturday in October.

Asked on Thursday if the government was open to the possibility of delaying the election date, Mr Barr said: "Not at this stage".

With polling day still seven months away, he was hopeful that the election could safely go ahead as planned.

"Any decision to move the election date would require clear advice from the Electoral Commission that it was not possible to safely conduct an election," he said.

But he said it was likely that it would be conducted differently as a result of coronavirus, with the prospect of extra measures to ensure "physical distancing".

He added that it was fortunate the ACT already had laws which prevented people from handing out how-to-vote cards within 100 metres of polling booths.

The Queensland Electoral Commission is conducting local government elections this weekend, with a range of measures put in place to protect voters.

Opposition leader Alistair Coe said his mind was focused on the families and businesses suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, not the election.

"Our priority is protecting the health and employment of thousands of Canberrans, many of whom are now struggling to feed their families," Mr Coe said.

"I, nor any of the families, businesses or unemployed people I've spoken to in recent weeks are thinking about the ACT election.

"Next week seems a long way off, let alone October."

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said it might be too early to know if the election date should be moved.

"But of course if this is the safest decision for our community, we would support the move," he said.

"The most important thing is that we only undertake activities that are safe for our community."

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