{"id":"a-1974-46","name":"Age of Majority Act 1974","slug":"age-of-majority-act-1974","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"46 of 1974","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":23009,"registerId":"act-a-1974-46-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Age of Majority Act 1974","content":"Australian Capital Territory\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nA1974-46\nRepublication No 5\nEffective: 1 March 2011\nRepublication date: 1 March 2011\nLast amendment made by A2011-3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Age of Majority Act 1974 (including any amendment made under\nthe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 1 March 2011. It also\nincludes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting the republished law to 1\nMarch 2011.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the\nACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made\nby an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117).\nThe changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law\ninto line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced or is affected by an uncommenced\namendment, the symbol U appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the\nuncommenced provision or amendment appears only in the last endnote.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M\nappears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision appears\nin the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see Legislation Act 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $110 for\nan individual and $550 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR5\n01/03/11\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of Act 2\n5 Age of majority 18 years 2\n6 Construction of laws and instruments made on or after 1 November\n1974 2\n7 Construction of wills made before 1 November 1974 3\n8 Distribution on intestacy 3\n9 Money payable under judgments etc 3\n11 Savings 3\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 4\n2 Abbreviation key 4\n3 Legislation history 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Age of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\nR5\n01/03/11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history 6\n5 Earlier republications 7\n\nR5\n01/03/11\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nAn Act relating to the age of majority\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Age of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\nR5\n01/03/11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of Act\nThis Act is the Age of Majority Act 1974.\n5 Age of majority 18 years\n(1) Subject to this Act, a person attains full age for all purposes of the\nlaw of the Territory when the person attains the age of 18 years.\n(2) A person who has attained the age of 18 years is not subject to any\nwant of legal capacity only because of the person’s age.\n(3) If, on 1 November 1974, a person had attained the age of 18 years\nbut had not attained the age of 21 years, the provisions of this Act\napply to, and in relation to, the person as if the person had attained\nthe age of 18 years on 1 November 1974.\n6 Construction of laws and instruments made on or after\n1 November 1974\n(1) This section applies to—\n(a) a law in force in the ACT on, or at any time after, 1 November\n1974; and\n(b) an instrument (including a will or codicil) executed on or after\nthat date.\n(2) Subject to section 7 (2), the expressions majority, full age, sui juris,\nminor, minority, infant, infancy, nonage, and any similar\nexpressions, when used in a law or instrument to which this section\napplies, are to be interpreted in accordance with section 5.\n(3) Nothing in this Act affects a reference in a law or instrument to an\nage expressed in years.\n(4) Nothing in this Act—\n(a) affects the validity or operation of a settlement or disposition\nof property made before 1 November 1974; or\n\nSection 7\nR5\n01/03/11\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(b) affects the operation of any rule of law by which the validity or\noperation of such a settlement or disposition is to be\ndetermined.\n7 Construction of wills made before 1 November 1974\n(1) Nothing in this Act affects the construction of a will or codicil made\nbefore 1 November 1974.\n(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a codicil made on or after\n1 November 1974, being a codicil to a will made before that date, is\nto be interpreted as if this Act had not been made.\n8 Distribution on intestacy\nIf a person died intestate before 1 November 1974, the administrator\nof the estate of the intestate is not, only because of this Act, obliged\nto distribute any part of the estate to a person before that person\nattains the age of 21 years.\n9 Money payable under judgments etc\nAn order or direction in force immediately before 1 November 1974\nin relation to money recovered by a minor in proceedings in a court\nor payable to a minor as a result of proceedings in a court has effect,\non and after that date, as if a reference to the attainment by a minor\nof the age of 21 years (however expressed) were a reference to the\nattainment of the age of 18 years.\n11 Savings\n(1) Nothing in this Act affects a want of legal capacity arising otherwise\nthan because of the age of a person.\n(2) Nothing in this Act affects the construction or operation of an\nindustrial award or agreement.\n(3) Nothing in this Act affects the rights or obligations arising from a\ncontract of employment made before 1 November 1974.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 4 Age of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\nR5\n01/03/11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished\nlaw but are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws and expiries are listed in the legislation history and\nthe amendment history. These details are underlined. Uncommenced provisions\nand amendments are not included in the republished law but are set out in the last\nendnote.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR5\n01/03/11\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nThis Act was originally a Commonwealth ordinance—the Age of Majority\nOrdinance 1974 No 46 (Cwlth).\nThe Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth), s 34 (4)\nconverted most former Commonwealth ordinances in force in the ACT into ACT\nenactments. This allowed the ACT Legislative Assembly to amend and repeal the\nlaws. This Act was converted into an ACT enactment on 11 May 1989 (self-\ngovernment day).\nAs with most ordinances in force in the ACT, the name was changed from\nOrdinance to Act by the Self-Government (Citation of Laws) Act 1989 A1989-21,\ns 5 on 11 May 1989 (self-government day).\nBefore 11 May 1989, ordinances commenced on their notification day unless\notherwise stated (see Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cwlth),\ns 12).\nAfter 11 May 1989 and before 10 November 1999, Acts commenced on their\nnotification day unless otherwise stated (see Australian Capital Territory (Self-\nGovernment) Act 1988 (Cwlth) s 25).\nLegislation before becoming Territory enactment\nAge of Majority Act 1974 A1974-46\nnotified 24 October 1974\ncommenced 1 November 1974 (s 2)\nas amended by\nOrdinances Revision Ordinance 1978 Ord1978-46\nnotified 28 December 1978\ncommenced 28 December 1978\nLegislation after becoming Territory enactment\nStatute Law Revision (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 A1992-23\nsch 1\nnotified 4 June 1992 (Gaz 1992 No S71)\ncommenced 4 June 1992\n\nEndnotes\n4 Amendment history\npage 6 Age of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\nR5\n01/03/11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nLegislation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001 A2001-44 pt 10\nnotified 26 July 2001 (Gaz 2001 No 30)\ns 1, s 2 commenced 26 July 2001 (IA s 10B)\npt 10 commenced 12 September 2001 (s 2 and see Gaz 2001 No S65)\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2011 A2011-3 sch 3 pt 3.1\nnotified LR 22 February 2011\ns 1, s 2 commenced 22 February 2011 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 3 pt 3.1 commenced 1 March 2011 (s 2)\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om A2001-44 amdt 1.122\nAdministration\ns 3 om Ord1978-46\nAge attained on anniversary of birthday\ns 4 om A1992-23\nAge of majority 18 years\ns 5 am A2011-3 amdts 3.1-3.3\nConstruction of laws and instruments made on or after 1 November 1974\ns 6 am A2011-3 amdt 3.4\nConstruction of wills made before 1 November 1974\ns 7 am A2011-3 amdt 3.5\nRepeal\ns 10 om A2001-44 amdt 1.122\n\nEndnotes\nEarlier republications 5\nR5\n01/03/11\nAge of Majority Act 1974\nEffective: 01/03/11\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications\nare marked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication No Amendments to Republication date\n1 Ord1978-46 30 April 1991\n2 A1992-23 30 April 1993\n3 A1992-23 30 November 1996\n4 A2001-44 10 July 2002\n© Australian Capital Territory 2011","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing 18 as the age of majority and managing the transition from the previous age of 21. The amendments since 1974 have been minor housekeeping (removing spent provisions, updating citations, removing the specific 'age attained on anniversary of birthday' section which became redundant). The Act has not expanded into adjacent areas like capacity law, guardianship, or age thresholds for specific activities (drinking, driving, voting) which are handled in other legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 7 operative sections (sections 1, 5-9, 11)","Minimal defined terms — relies on ordinary meaning of words","Straightforward conditional logic limited to transitional provisions (cut-off date of 1 November 1974)","Simple savings provisions protecting pre-existing rights","No cross-references to other complex legislative schemes except standard interpretation","Clear temporal boundaries (before/after 1 November 1974)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes 18 the age of majority in the Australian Capital Territory, so people who turn 18 are legal adults for ACT law. It affects young people and anyone dealing with wills, contracts, court orders and other legal instruments, and brings the Territory into line with modern practice.\n\nIt preserves pre‑1974 arrangements (wills, employment contracts, property settlements) and maintains protections for people under 18 who lack capacity for reasons other than age."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's core scope — declaring 18 as the age of majority for the Territory — remains unchanged. Later amendments and editorial revisions recorded in the endnotes clarified application and transitional arrangements (for example, treating instruments made on/after 1 Nov 1974 consistently and protecting pre‑1974 dispositions (ss5–9)), but they did not expand or narrow the class of persons to whom the majority rule applies."},"complexity_factors":["Single clear substantive rule setting majority at 18 (s5).","Transitional and savings provisions that preserve pre‑1 Nov 1974 settlements, wills and court orders (ss6(4), 7–9), adding limited interpretive complexity.","Interaction rule preserving explicit age references in other laws or instruments (s6(3)).","Miscellaneous savings for non‑age incapacity, industrial instruments and pre‑1974 employment contracts (s11), requiring cross‑checking with other statutes.","Legislative history and amendments (conversion from Commonwealth ordinance; A2011‑3, A2001‑44) create interpretive context but do not add substantive rules."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act fixes the age of majority in the ACT at 18 years: on turning 18 a person has full legal capacity and is not incapacitated by age (s5). It requires courts and officials to interpret laws and instruments made on or after 1 November 1974 on that basis, while preserving the effect of settlements, wills, intestacy distributions and pre‑1974 court orders (ss6–9). The practical effect is that private parties and courts must treat 18‑year‑olds as adults for legal capacity purposes."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974","history":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974/history","analysis":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/age-of-majority-act-1974/documents"}}