On Tuesday she will take on the federal government by passing the ACT's same-sex marriage legislation in the face of a promise to challenge in the High Court.

''Marriage equality is something we have campaigned for over four different elections … I see Tuesday as the end of that work,'' Ms Gallagher said.

But in a jurisdiction like the ACT, where the responsibilities vary enormously from the big picture ''nation building'' projects to local council issues, the vast array of responsibility makes it hard for Ms Gallagher to pinpoint a greatest achievement in the past 365 days.

''You have to be across things like potholes on Flemington Road and be sitting next to the Prime Minister at a dinner talking about whatever national issue is on the menu - in that sense it's different to other [leaders] in other jurisdictions,'' Ms Gallagher said.

''I think it's been an unusual year in that we've been dealing with small projects and nation-building ones as well - the education reforms and disability care.''

Her government has started funding for 70 per cent of their election commitments and is making progress on major infrastructure upgrades at Majura and the light rail corridor.

As health minister, Ms Gallagher said she will continue to focus on improving emergency department wait times after opening a $7.5 million extension to the emergency department at Canberra Hospital.

''Whenever we are compared to a jurisdiction we are going to be up against it because we don't have those small hospitals to make it look better - to me, in the next 12 months, it will be just about improving the timeliness.''

The Towards Zero Growth obesity initiative is a long-term goal, she said. ''I think it will be important for the next 20 years … I see it as one of the major challenges facing government apart from finances … the obesity epidemic hits almost every area of government. We are building our infrastructure around an overweight population.''

She says the first year after winning an election and changes in ACT Liberal leadership have made for a relatively quiet year. ''It was hard for Jeremy [Hanson] while Zed [Seselja] was there on the backbench - I'd say he's taken a quiet and cautious approach. I think we'll have to wait a bit longer to see what kind of leader he will be,'' Ms Gallagher said.

But she is preparing for challenging times ahead. ''It's a really unusual job, but I really do enjoy it. It's a very privileged position so every time it gets hard I tell myself that not too many people get to be chief minister and so I've always got to stay focused on that.''

And even though she has no plans to leave politics, sometimes she wonders what life would be like outside the bullpen.

''What would life be like if I left politics? That's the sort of thing I think about not 'when I'm not chief minister' … I'm not sure what I'm qualified for any more after 10 or more years in politics.''