Chief Minister Andrew Barr said any legal barriers to expanding the ACT's border will be overcome as he confidently proclaimed the border will be changed.
Formal discussions are officially under way between NSW and the ACT government about the move. A series of legislative changes will be needed to enable the expansion in Canberra's north-west.
It was suggested NSW may require a change to its constitution for the move and a referendum in the state could be needed, however, Mr Barr said he had received advice that this would not be necessary.
"That's one of the things that has been floated but, no, I think it's more straight-forward than that," he said.
The border will be moved to incorporate the Parkwood land in NSW, which is part of the Yass Valley Council. Parkwood will be part of the ACT government's joint venture Ginninderry development.
The territory government has pushed for the border to change for years and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet gave the go-ahead for discussions to begin last month.
Mr Barr initially told The Canberra Times the NSW Premier had indicated in-principle support for the move but used stronger language on Friday, saying the move would happen and any legal barriers would be overcome.
He said work had been under way for five years on the matter and the verbal go-ahead from Mr Perrottet was simply an "inevitable step along the journey".
"I'm pleased that it's now got the formal tick of approval from the Premier directly to me, so I take him absolutely at his word and our officials will now make it happen," Mr Barr said.
"Any of the legislative changes that may or may not be required will occur.
"There's no opposition to this. It's going to happen. We're just now going through the steps legally to make it so."
The ACT government either already owns or has entered into agreements to buy some of the land that will be incorporated in the territory. The rest of the land is owned by Riverview, the territory's joint venture partner in the Ginninderry development.
The land can only be accessed via the territory as there are no direct roads from NSW.
Parkwood was rezoned in 2020 to allow residential development of about 5000 homes. This followed a recommendation from the Yass Valley Council. A spokeswoman from the Yass Valley Council said the council resolved in 2017 to consider the feasibility of moving the border. She said the council welcomed the discussions.
"Council has had many collaborative discussions with the ACT government regarding the unique infrastructure and servicing challenges of the Parkwood development, as it is only physically accessible via the ACT," she said.
"Council welcomes Premier Perrottet commencing discussions regarding the potential border relocation and we look forward to being a part of the discussion and negotiations with both the NSW and the ACT government."
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