Abortion in Australia is legal. It has been fully decriminalised in all jurisdictions, starting with Western Australia in 1998 and lastly in South Australia in 2021. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 14 to 24 weeks or pregnancy, although with no limit on gestational term in the Australian Capital Territory; later term abortions generally require the approval of two doctors, though are prohibited in the Northern Territory after 24 weeks unless it is required to save the women's life, and are heavily restricted in Western Australia after 20 weeks.