Making a will in the ACT

Wills in Canberra and the rest of the ACT are governed by the Wills Act 1968 (ACT), and dying without a will by the Administration and Probate Act 1929 (ACT).

What makes a will valid in the ACT?

Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1968, a will must be:

• in writing, typed or handwritten
• signed at the foot or end by you, or by someone else in your presence and at your direction
• signed, or your signature acknowledged, in front of two or more witnesses who are present at the same time
• signed by the witnesses in your presence and in the presence of each other

The ACT is the only jurisdiction whose wills law requires the witnesses to sign in front of each other as well. So all three of you should stay together until everyone has signed.

No form of attestation is required (s 9(2)), and a signature placed beside or under the end of the will can still count if it's clear you meant it to give effect to the will (s 10). Anything written below or after your signature isn't part of the will (s 10(3)), so sign at the very end.

Who can witness a will in the ACT?

The Act sets no minimum age for witnesses. An executor can witness (s 19), and a witness doesn't need to know the document is a will (s 13). Choose two adults who can see you sign and would be easy to contact later.

A gift isn't void because the person receiving it, or their domestic partner (which includes a spouse), witnessed the will (s 15). That's different from NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and the NT, where a gift to a witness can be lost.

It's still best avoided, because a beneficiary who watched you sign makes it easier for someone to argue you were pressured. Use two people who inherit nothing and aren't partnered with anyone who does. Our guide on who can witness a will compares every state.

Who can make a will in the ACT?

A will made by someone under 18 isn't valid (s 8). The exceptions are:

• a person under 18 who is or has been married or in a civil union can make and revoke a will (s 8(2))
• a will made in contemplation of a marriage or civil union becomes valid when that marriage or civil union takes place (s 8(3))
• the Supreme Court can authorise a person under 18 to make a will in specific terms, if it's satisfied they understand it and it's reasonable (s 8A)

You also need testamentary capacity. Legal Aid ACT puts it simply: you must understand what a will is, what you own and who you want to give your assets to. If someone has lost capacity, the Supreme Court can authorise a will for them (ss 16A to 16I).

Does marriage or divorce cancel a will in the ACT?

Yes for marriage. Marrying, or entering a civil union or civil partnership, revokes your will unless it was expressed to be made in contemplation of that marriage, civil union or partnership (s 20). In the ACT the will itself needs to say so.

Moving in with a partner doesn't revoke a will, so an older will may leave your partner out.

When a marriage, civil union or civil partnership ends by divorce, annulment or formal termination, gifts to your former partner and their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian are revoked, and the will works as if they had died before you (s 20A). That doesn't apply if the court is satisfied you didn't intend it, or you re-made the will afterwards. Separation alone changes nothing, and the end of an unregistered domestic partnership isn't covered, so update your will when a relationship ends.

What if a will wasn't signed properly?

The Supreme Court can treat a document as a will even if it wasn't signed and witnessed as the Act requires, if it's satisfied the person intended it to be their will (s 11A). It can look at how the document was signed and what the person said about it.

This is a last resort: someone has to apply with evidence, at a cost and with no certainty of success. Signing correctly avoids all of it.

What happens if you die without a will in the ACT?

Part 3A and Schedule 6 of the Administration and Probate Act 1929 decide who inherits:

• Partner, no children: your partner takes the whole estate.
• Partner and children: your partner takes your personal chattels and, if the estate is A$200,000 or less, everything. Otherwise your partner takes A$200,000 plus interest at 8% a year from your death, and a share of the balance: half if you leave one child, a third if you leave more. Your children share the rest.
• Children, no partner: your children share equally, with grandchildren taking a deceased child's share.
• No partner or children: your parents, then brothers and sisters, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, with the children of a deceased sibling, aunt or uncle taking their parent's share.
• No relatives: the estate goes to the Territory.

The A$200,000 figure is fixed in Schedule 6, as at October 2026. A partner includes a spouse, civil union partner or civil partner, and a domestic partner of two years or more or who is the parent of your child under 18 (s 44). Your partner can also choose to take your interest in the home you shared, within a year of the grant (s 49G).

The Public Trustee and Guardian's page on dying without a will has a flowchart of these rules, and our guide to dying without a will compares the states.

Where should you keep your will in the ACT?

The Public Trustee and Guardian (PTG) runs the ACT's Will Register. Anyone can deposit a will with it, whether or not the PTG is the executor. Depositing costs A$228 as at 1 July 2026, and there's no fee if the PTG is your executor.

The Supreme Court stopped storing wills on 11 June 2025 and moved the wills it held to the PTG, so a will lodged with the court years ago is now on the register. Other options are your lawyer, if a law firm drew up the will, or a fireproof place at home with a note telling your executor where to look.

To find a will, families can ask the PTG to search its register (a fee applies), check with the person's bank, solicitor or accountant, and place a notice in the ACT Law Society's Hearsay publication. Whoever holds a will must let an interested person inspect it or get a copy, at that person's cost (Administration and Probate Act 1929 s 126).

How much does a will cost in the ACT?

The PTG's Making a Will page says it doesn't prepare wills in house. It points people to discounted law firms if they're eligible, to estate planning lawyers for complex wills, and to online will services for simple ones. See how much a will costs for a fuller comparison.

How does probate work in the ACT?

Probate is the court's confirmation that a will is valid and the executor can deal with the estate. In the ACT the Registrar of the Supreme Court grants it on the papers. Before applying, the executor must publish a notice of intention on the court's website between 14 days and 3 months before filing. Our executor guide explains the rest of the job.

Making your will online in the ACT with Willies

Willies wills are written for ACT law, including the ACT's own signing page. You answer about 10 minutes of plain-English questions and pay nothing until the end: A$149 for an Essential Will, or A$399 for a Complete Will if you need testamentary trusts, a family trust or SMSF, business interests, overseas assets or blended-family provisions.

A real person checks every will within 2 business days. Yours arrives as a PDF with step-by-step signing instructions. The first year of the Willies Plan is included (storage, unlimited updates and an encrypted digital legacy plan), then it's A$49 a year if you keep it.

How to sign your will in the ACT

1. Read your will from start to finish. If anything is wrong or missing, tell us before you sign.
2. Choose two witnesses aged 18 or over who can see you sign. Don't choose anyone who receives something under your will, or the husband, wife or partner of anyone who does. In the ACT the gift isn't lost, but it can lead to the will being challenged.
3. With both witnesses watching at the same time, sign the signing page at the end of your will in pen, and write the date.
4. Each witness then signs while you and the other witness watch, and writes their full name, address and the date. All three of you must stay together until everyone has signed.
5. Sign the foot of every other page (good practice, not a legal requirement). Once it's signed, don't unstaple, write on or change the will: ask us for an updated one instead.
6. Keep the signed original somewhere safe, tell your executor where it is, and upload a photo or scan of every page to your vault.

Your witnesses need to be with you in person. The ACT allowed video witnessing during COVID-19, but that measure expired in December 2022.