Where to Store and Register Your Advance Personal Plan in the NT

Why Registration and Storage Matter

An Advance Personal Plan that sits in a filing cabinet at home is legally valid — but practically useless in an emergency. If your decision-maker cannot locate the document, or a hospital cannot verify it exists, the plan might as well not exist. The difference between a registered APP and an unregistered one often shows up at 2am in a Darwin hospital when your family needs to make medical decisions.

The Two Registration Pathways

The Northern Territory runs a dual-registration system for APPs. Each serves a different purpose; PGT registration is voluntary, while LTO registration is required for real-property dealings.

Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) Registration

Cost: Free.

What it does: The PGT scans your executed APP into a central database. This database is accessible by hospital registries and emergency clinicians across the NT. When you present at a hospital without capacity, staff can look up your plan, see your appointed decision-makers, and check your binding medical directives.

How to register: Download the voluntary registration form from the PGT website (pgt.nt.gov.au), attach the original executed APP, and mail or deliver it in person to the PGT office in Darwin.

Who may benefit: Anyone with an APP who wants health-care providers to find it quickly.

Land Titles Office (LTO) Registration

Cost: Approximately $171 (115 revenue units at the FY 2026–2027 rate of $1.49 per unit).

What it does: Records the APP for land-title purposes, enabling your decision-maker to buy, sell, mortgage, or transfer real property on your behalf.

How to register: Submit the original executed APP to the LTO in Darwin (GPO Box 3021, Darwin NT 0801) or Alice Springs, along with the registration fee.

Who needs it: Anyone whose decision-maker needs to use the APP for real-property dealings. Without LTO registration, your decision-maker cannot sign land transfer forms or deal with real estate — even if the APP clearly authorises it.

Critical paper requirements: The LTO mandates 80 gsm minimum paper weight, white A4, printed double-sided. Single-sided submissions are rejected or attract a $35 requisition fee.

Linking to My Health Record

Your My Health Record (the national digital health record) can include your Advance Personal Plan — or at least a note that one exists and where it is registered. This provides another access point for healthcare providers anywhere in Australia, not just the NT.

To add it, ask your GP to upload the APP details at your next appointment, or log in to your My Health Record through myGov and add a document reference in the Advance Care Planning section. While My Health Record does not replace PGT registration (clinicians in NT hospitals primarily check the PGT database), it provides a backup that works when you are interstate or in a private facility.

Safe Storage Options

Beyond registration, you need physical and digital copies in the right hands:

• Original: Registered with the PGT and/or LTO. If both registrations are done, keep the original in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box.
• Certified copies: Give one to each appointed decision-maker. They will need certified copies when presenting the plan to banks, aged care facilities, and hospitals.
• Digital scan: Keep a high-resolution scan on your phone and in cloud storage. While digital copies are not accepted for property transactions, they allow a decision-maker to demonstrate authority quickly while the certified copy is being located.
• Decision-maker notification: Every person named in the plan should know they have been appointed, understand their responsibilities, and know where to find their copy. An APP that surprises the decision-maker defeats the purpose.

What Happens If You Don't Register

Without PGT registration, your healthcare directives may not be accessible in an emergency. Hospital staff may use the statutory hierarchy (including a spouse or partner, primary carer, close relative, or friend) rather than your chosen decision-makers.

Without LTO registration, your decision-maker cannot complete real-property dealings until the APP is registered. If you lose capacity and your house needs to be sold to fund aged care, the decision-maker can still register the original APP and pay the fee; if the original has been lost, an NTCAT application may be needed to confirm the plan.

The Northern Territory Power of Attorney Kit includes step-by-step registration guides for both the PGT and LTO pathways, along with a storage tracker to ensure every copy is accounted for and every decision-maker is notified.

See more Northern Territory guides →