From mid-2023, Canberra residents will have access to free medical and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks' gestation.
The ACT government said the decision to remove out-of-pocket costs for abortion services ensured that Canberrans who became pregnant could "make decisions about their healthcare based on what [was] best for them and their bodies".
"This means that individuals will be supported to make a choice about having an abortion without being influenced by financial barriers," ACT Minister for Women Yvette Berry said.
"It also means that having an abortion can occur in a time-sensitive manner without being delayed due to an inability to pay."
These services will be accessible to people without a Medicare card and all those who use abortion services will also be eligible to receive free, long-lasting, reversible contraceptives at the time of abortion, which the government said had been shown to reduce demand for abortions in the future.
The initiative to remove out-of-pocket costs will cost the government $4.6 million over four years and aims to improve access to affordable, accessible health services as part of the ACT Women's Plan 2016-26.
Ms Berry said it was the latest in a string of actions to improve access to safe, accessible abortion services after the procedure was decriminalised in the ACT in 2002.
One more-recent change included banning protesters outside abortion clinics in 2016.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said she was proud of the latest commitment from the government.
"With one in three women estimated to experience an unexpected pregnancy in their lifetime, it is essential that these services are safe, affordable and accessible, regardless of how much money you have," she said.
Free services to be available by mid-2023
The Marie Stopes clinic is the only organisation in the ACT that provides abortions, outside of the Canberra Hospital system.
The clinic's acting nurse unit manager, Melissa Ryan, said the government's decision was a long time coming.
"Cost is a huge, huge barrier [to abortion]," Ms Ryan said.
"People without Medicare or here on temporary visas don't have any funding at all.
"[Abortion] is essential to the health of women and all pregnant people — even accessing contraception should be made much easier than it is and that will help prevent unwanted pregnancies."
She said it was important for Australia to provide greater access to abortion services, given the global discussion sparked by the decision to overturn Roe v Wade by the United States Supreme Court.
"I'd like to think that it did play a part in this funding," she said.
"I think, as a nation, we should be proving that we are more interested in women's health and putting women and pregnant people as a priority."
The executive director of Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, Tim Bavinton, said there was a lot of misinformation around the access and costs for abortion services.
"Sometimes people who may look like they have financial resources don't, because they know that their partner or family won't support termination of pregnancy," he said.
"Similarly for young people, whose family or parents wouldn't support abortion — maybe they think they shouldn't have been having sex anyway — they can't raise the issue and ... the young person can't access the resources of the family to pay for abortion."
The ACT government said it would work with service providers on the specific arrangements to cover the out-of-pocket costs for accessing abortion services in the territory.
It said this consultation work was expected to be completed during the first half of 2023.
