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The Prime Minister is backing moves to allow the ACT Legislative Assembly to determine its own size.
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher says Julia Gillard has written to Minister for the Territories Simon Crean asking for legislation to be drawn up to give MLAs the power over their numbers.
Currently only the Federal Government can change the numbers in the 17 member Assembly.
Ms Gallagher says the current number is too small for the workload involved.
"We were 17 members when self-government started, the population was half the size it is now," she said.
"The job has got bigger and I think to deliver good government there is an acceptance that we need to increase the size."
Ms Gallagher says she would like to see the Assembly increased to 25 members at the next election in 2016.
"The Northern Territory has 25, their population is less than ours. Tasmania has 25, their population is slightly more than ours. My own view is 25 would be appropriate," she said.
"How that was carved up into electorates is something we'd want to take some further advice on."
Ms Gallagher says she will commission an independent report on the best way forward.
"I would prefer that the politicians stay out of that," she said.
Canberra Liberals Leader Zed Seselja supports the idea but does not want further studies.
"I think in the end this is going to come down to a negotiation between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party as to what size the Assembly should be," he said.
But Mr Rattenbury says a report is the best way to go and he supports increasing the number of MLAs.
"The approach we're taking of having the experts look at it and do some of the demographic and geographic work to actually determine what's the best size is the best approach," he said.
"It's not about each party trying to determine what's the best political outcome for them but rather having the experts identify what's the best outcome for Canberra."
Meanwhile, Ms Gallagher has unveiled her new-look Cabinet, with Mr Rattenbury given five portfolios including Territory and Municipal Services, Corrections and Housing.
Canberra Business Council CEO Chris Faulks is pleased progress is being made on the issue.
She says it is something she has been calling for since 2010.
"The ACT Government has responsibilities for both municipal and state, and it's really very difficult for a small number of ministers and a small Legislative Assembly to get across all of those issues and to make sure that they're governing appropriately.
"The council has supported the expansion both of the Assembly and the ministry."
But Ms Faulks says there must be consultation on the number of MLAs.
"21 and 25 have been bandied about, both of them have implications under our voting system so consultation would be critical, right across the Canberra community, the business community," she said.
Topics: state-parliament, states-and-territories, act, canberra-2600
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