Australian Capital Territory
Age of Majority Act 1974
A1974-46
Republication No 5
Effective: 1 March 2011
Republication date: 1 March 2011
Last amendment made by A2011-3
Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel
Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au
About this republication
The republished law
This is a republication of the Age of Majority Act 1974 (including any amendment made under
the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 1 March 2011. It also
includes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting the republished law to 1
March 2011.
The legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3
and 4.
Kinds of republications
The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the
ACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):
authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies
unauthorised republications.
The status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.
Editorial changes
The Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial
amendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.
Editorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made
by an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117).
The changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law
into line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.
This republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).
Uncommenced provisions and amendments
If a provision of the republished law has not commenced or is affected by an uncommenced
amendment, the symbol U appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the
uncommenced provision or amendment appears only in the last endnote.
Modifications
If a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M
appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision appears
in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see Legislation Act 2001, section 95.
Penalties
At the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $110 for
an individual and $550 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).
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contents 1
Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au
Australian Capital Territory
Age of Majority Act 1974
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
5 Age of majority 18 years 2
6 Construction of laws and instruments made on or after 1 November
1974 2
7 Construction of wills made before 1 November 1974 3
8 Distribution on intestacy 3
9 Money payable under judgments etc 3
11 Savings 3
Endnotes
1 About the endnotes 4
2 Abbreviation key 4
3 Legislation history 5
Contents
Page
contents 2 Age of Majority Act 1974
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4 Amendment history 6
5 Earlier republications 7
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Australian Capital Territory
Age of Majority Act 1974
An Act relating to the age of majority
Section 1
page 2 Age of Majority Act 1974
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1 Name of Act
This Act is the Age of Majority Act 1974.
5 Age of majority 18 years
(1) Subject to this Act, a person attains full age for all purposes of the
law of the Territory when the person attains the age of 18 years.
(2) A person who has attained the age of 18 years is not subject to any
want of legal capacity only because of the person’s age.
(3) If, on 1 November 1974, a person had attained the age of 18 years
but had not attained the age of 21 years, the provisions of this Act
apply to, and in relation to, the person as if the person had attained
the age of 18 years on 1 November 1974.
6 Construction of laws and instruments made on or after
1 November 1974
(1) This section applies to—
(a) a law in force in the ACT on, or at any time after, 1 November
1974; and
(b) an instrument (including a will or codicil) executed on or after
that date.
(2) Subject to section 7 (2), the expressions majority, full age, sui juris,
minor, minority, infant, infancy, nonage, and any similar
expressions, when used in a law or instrument to which this section
applies, are to be interpreted in accordance with section 5.
(3) Nothing in this Act affects a reference in a law or instrument to an
age expressed in years.
(4) Nothing in this Act—
(a) affects the validity or operation of a settlement or disposition
of property made before 1 November 1974; or
Section 7
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(b) affects the operation of any rule of law by which the validity or
operation of such a settlement or disposition is to be
determined.
7 Construction of wills made before 1 November 1974
(1) Nothing in this Act affects the construction of a will or codicil made
before 1 November 1974.
(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a codicil made on or after
1 November 1974, being a codicil to a will made before that date, is
to be interpreted as if this Act had not been made.
8 Distribution on intestacy
If a person died intestate before 1 November 1974, the administrator
of the estate of the intestate is not, only because of this Act, obliged
to distribute any part of the estate to a person before that person
attains the age of 21 years.
9 Money payable under judgments etc
An order or direction in force immediately before 1 November 1974
in relation to money recovered by a minor in proceedings in a court
or payable to a minor as a result of proceedings in a court has effect,
on and after that date, as if a reference to the attainment by a minor
of the age of 21 years (however expressed) were a reference to the
attainment of the age of 18 years.
11 Savings
(1) Nothing in this Act affects a want of legal capacity arising otherwise
than because of the age of a person.
(2) Nothing in this Act affects the construction or operation of an
industrial award or agreement.
(3) Nothing in this Act affects the rights or obligations arising from a
contract of employment made before 1 November 1974.
Endnotes
1 About the endnotes
page 4 Age of Majority Act 1974
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Endnotes
1 About the endnotes
Amending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the
amendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished
law but are set out in the endnotes.
Not all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are
annotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be
obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
Uncommenced amending laws and expiries are listed in the legislation history and
the amendment history. These details are underlined. Uncommenced provisions
and amendments are not included in the republished law but are set out in the last
endnote.
If all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered
provisions gives details of previous and current numbering.
The endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.
2 Abbreviation key
A = Act NI = Notifiable instrument
AF = Approved form o = order
am = amended om = omitted/repealed
amdt = amendment ord = ordinance
AR = Assembly resolution orig = original
ch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph
CN = Commencement notice pres = present
def = definition prev = previous
DI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously
dict = dictionary pt = part
disallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule
Assembly reloc = relocated
div = division renum = renumbered
exp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No
Gaz = gazette RI = reissue
hdg = heading s = section/subsection
IA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule
ins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision
LA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law
LR = legislation register sub = substituted
LRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced
mod = modified/modification or to be expired
Endnotes
Legislation history 3
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3 Legislation history
This Act was originally a Commonwealth ordinance—the Age of Majority
Ordinance 1974 No 46 (Cwlth).
The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth), s 34 (4)
converted most former Commonwealth ordinances in force in the ACT into ACT
enactments. This allowed the ACT Legislative Assembly to amend and repeal the
laws. This Act was converted into an ACT enactment on 11 May 1989 (self-
government day).
As with most ordinances in force in the ACT, the name was changed from
Ordinance to Act by the Self-Government (Citation of Laws) Act 1989 A1989-21,
s 5 on 11 May 1989 (self-government day).
Before 11 May 1989, ordinances commenced on their notification day unless
otherwise stated (see Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cwlth),
s 12).
After 11 May 1989 and before 10 November 1999, Acts commenced on their
notification day unless otherwise stated (see Australian Capital Territory (Self-
Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth) s 25).
Legislation before becoming Territory enactment
Age of Majority Act 1974 A1974-46
notified 24 October 1974
commenced 1 November 1974 (s 2)
as amended by
Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1978 Ord1978-46
notified 28 December 1978
commenced 28 December 1978
Legislation after becoming Territory enactment
Statute Law Revision (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 A1992-23
sch 1
notified 4 June 1992 (Gaz 1992 No S71)
commenced 4 June 1992
Endnotes
4 Amendment history
page 6 Age of Majority Act 1974
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Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001 A2001-44 pt 10
notified 26 July 2001 (Gaz 2001 No 30)
s 1, s 2 commenced 26 July 2001 (IA s 10B)
pt 10 commenced 12 September 2001 (s 2 and see Gaz 2001 No S65)
Statute Law Amendment Act 2011 A2011-3 sch 3 pt 3.1
notified LR 22 February 2011
s 1, s 2 commenced 22 February 2011 (LA s 75 (1))
sch 3 pt 3.1 commenced 1 March 2011 (s 2)
4 Amendment history
Commencement
s 2 om A2001-44 amdt 1.122
Administration
s 3 om Ord1978-46
Age attained on anniversary of birthday
s 4 om A1992-23
Age of majority 18 years
s 5 am A2011-3 amdts 3.1-3.3
Construction of laws and instruments made on or after 1 November 1974
s 6 am A2011-3 amdt 3.4
Construction of wills made before 1 November 1974
s 7 am A2011-3 amdt 3.5
Repeal
s 10 om A2001-44 amdt 1.122