Wills and estate planning in the Australian Capital Territory

• Wills Act 1968 (ACT) (ACT)

  The principal Act. Section 9 sets out how a will must be signed and witnessed, section 11A gives the Supreme Court power to accept an informal will, sections 16A to 16I allow a court authorised will for a person without testamentary capacity, sections 20 and 20A deal with marriage, civil unions, civil partnerships and their termination, and section 32 lets the Supreme Court registrar deposit wills with the Public Trustee and Guardian.

• Powers of Attorney Act 2006 (ACT) (ACT)

  Creates an enduring power of attorney that can cover property, personal care, health care and medical research matters. Section 19 sets the signing and witnessing rules, section 21 says who can be a witness, section 23 requires each attorney to accept the appointment by signing, and sections 58 and 59 revoke an attorney's appointment after some changes in the principal's relationships.

• Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT) (ACT)

  Allows the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal to appoint a guardian or a manager of property for an adult with impaired decision-making ability, and to give directions about, suspend or revoke an enduring power of attorney (section 62). It also lets a health attorney, such as a domestic partner, carer, close relative or close friend, consent to medical treatment for a person who cannot decide (sections 32B and 32D).

• Administration and Probate Act 1929 (ACT) (ACT)

  Governs grants of probate and letters of administration, the duties of executors and administrators, the public notice to claimants an executor can give before distributing (section 64), and the distribution of the estate of a person who dies without a will (Part 3A).

• Family Provision Act 1969 (ACT) (ACT)

  Allows eligible people, including a partner, a child, a person who was in a domestic relationship with the deceased continuously for two years or more, and in defined circumstances a stepchild, grandchild or parent, to apply to the Supreme Court for provision out of a deceased person's estate (section 7). Section 9 sets the time limit for applying.

• Medical Treatment (Health Directions) Act 2006 (ACT) (ACT)

  Lets an adult make a health direction refusing, or requiring the withdrawal of, medical treatment. Section 8 sets the rules for a written direction, section 9 for an oral direction, and section 19 decides which document an attorney follows if a health direction and an enduring power of attorney conflict.

• Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (CTH)

  Commonwealth law governing superannuation, including death benefits. Together with regulation 6.17A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (Cth), it controls who a fund can pay a death benefit to and when a binding nomination is effective. It applies in the ACT.

• Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory

  Its registrar grants probate and letters of administration on the papers. The Court also hears informal will applications under section 11A of the Wills Act 1968 (ACT), court authorised will applications under Part 3A of that Act, and family provision claims. A notice of intention to apply for a grant must be published on the Court's website at least 14 days and no more than 3 months before the application is filed.

• ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal

  Appoints guardians and managers of property for adults with impaired decision-making ability, and can give directions about, suspend or revoke an enduring power of attorney, or declare what it means, under section 62 of the Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT).

• Public Trustee and Guardian (ACT)

  An independent Territory authority under the Public Trustee and Guardian Act 1985 (ACT). It keeps the ACT Will Register, acts as executor and administrator of deceased estates, acts as guardian and financial manager when appointed by ACAT, and administers unclaimed money. It no longer prepares wills or enduring powers of attorney itself.

• Access Canberra land titles services

  Registers a power of attorney when it will be used for a land or conveyancing transaction. Registration is needed before a dealing with ACT land by the attorney can be registered, and the original is lodged in person, by appointment, at the Land Titles office in Dickson.

1. 01List your assets and how they are held

   Record real property in the ACT and elsewhere and whether it is held as joint tenants or tenants in common, bank accounts, shares, superannuation and insurance inside super, business and trust interests and overseas assets. Property you own as a joint tenant passes to the surviving owner rather than under your will, and superannuation and insurance generally do not form part of your estate.

   Typical timeframe: 1-2 weeks

2. 02Choose your executor and decide the structure

   Decide who administers the estate, who inherits, what happens if a beneficiary dies before you, and whether a testamentary trust is warranted. Consider who could claim under the Family Provision Act 1969 (ACT).

   Typical timeframe: 1-2 weeks

3. 03Draft the will and the enduring power of attorney

   Prepare the will together with an enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2006 (ACT), choosing which of property, personal care, health care and medical research matters it covers, and whether attorneys act together or separately.

   Typical timeframe: 1-3 weeks

4. 04Execute the will

   Sign the will, or acknowledge your signature, in front of two witnesses who are present at the same time. Each witness then signs in your presence and in the presence of the other witness (section 9 of the Wills Act 1968). The temporary COVID-era arrangements for remote witnessing have ended, so sign in person.

   Typical timeframe: 1 day

5. 05Sign and witness the enduring power of attorney

   You sign, then two adult witnesses sign in your presence and each other's and complete the witness certificate (sections 19 and 22). An attorney cannot be a witness, only one witness can be a relative of you or an attorney, and one witness must be authorised to witness statutory declarations (section 21). Each attorney must accept by signing (section 23). Register it with Access Canberra only if the attorney will deal with land.

   Typical timeframe: 1-4 weeks

6. 06Consider a health direction

   If you want to refuse, or have withdrawn, medical treatment in advance, make a health direction under the Medical Treatment (Health Directions) Act 2006 (ACT). A written direction uses the approved form and is witnessed by two people. The free ACT Advance Care Planning team can help. Give copies to your attorney, GP and hospital.

   Typical timeframe: 2-6 weeks

7. 07Refresh your superannuation nomination

   Ask your fund which nomination types it offers and lodge a new one. A binding nomination made under the standard Commonwealth rule lapses after three years unless you confirm or renew it, and many funds also offer non-lapsing nominations.

   Typical timeframe: 2-6 weeks

8. 08Store the original and review

   Keep the signed original somewhere safe, such as with your lawyer, in bank safe custody or in the Public Trustee and Guardian's Will Register, and tell your executor where it is. Depositing a will in the Will Register costs $228 from 1 July 2026, or nothing if your will appoints the Public Trustee and Guardian as executor or alternative executor. The ACT Law Handbook suggests reading your will every two or three years, and reviewing it after any major change in your family or finances.

   Typical timeframe: Every 2-3 years

Law firms set their own fees, and complex wills, such as those involving a blended family, a business, a family trust or a beneficiary with special needs, cost more than standard wills. Owning NSW property as well can add to the work. The Public Trustee and Guardian (PTG) no longer prepares wills or enduring powers of attorney itself. It refers eligible people on low incomes to law firms that cap their fees. You may be eligible if your main income is a pension such as the age or disability support pension, if you hold a health care card, or if your gross income (with that of a spouse or partner you live with) is $50,000 a year or less, plus $10,000 for each dependent child, and your assets, including superannuation but not your home, one vehicle per adult, home contents and personal effects, total less than $25,000. Under the PTG's arrangement with those firms, based on the Public Trustee and Guardian (Fees) Determination 2026 that applies from 1 July 2026, the cap is $702 for one person's will and $879 for a will and enduring power of attorney. Wills are free for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the PTG. Depositing a will in the PTG Will Register costs $228 from 1 July 2026, or nothing if your will appoints the PTG as executor or alternative executor. Probate filing fees are published by the ACT Courts and depend on the gross value of the estate. Contested Supreme Court applications under sections 11A and 16A of the Wills Act and family provision claims can cost far more, and the court decides who pays. Ask for a written costs estimate before engaging anyone.