The Probate process in Australia is a legal process in which the Supreme Court of the relevant state or territory confirms the validity of a deceased person’s Will and authorises the executor to administer the estate.
Most people only encounter the probate process in Australia when settling a deceased person’s estate. And often when time pressure is already significant. In short, probate is the Supreme Court’s formal confirmation that a Will is valid and that the named executor has the authority to administer the estate. Not every estate needs it, but when an asset holder, typically a bank or property registry, requires it, there is no workaround.
No law in Australia mandates probate for every estate. Whether it is required depends on what the estate contains and what the asset holders demand. As a general guide:
• Real property: Most state and territory land title offices require a grant of probate (or letters of administration) before they will transfer real estate into a beneficiary’s name.
• Large bank accounts: Most banks have a threshold (commonly $50,000 to $100,000) above which they require probate before releasing funds.
• Shares and investments: Share registries and fund managers typically require probate for holdings above a minimum value.
• Small estates: Where an estate consists only of modest bank balances, personal property, and no real estate, many asset holders will release funds to an executor without probate.
1. Lodge a notice of intended application: In most states, you must advertise your intention to apply for probate to allow creditors and interested parties to come forward.
2. Prepare the application: This includes the original Will, a death certificate, an Executor’s Affidavit, and an inventory of the estate’s assets and liabilities.
3. File with the Supreme Court: Applications are filed in the Supreme Court of the state or territory where the deceased ordinarily lived.
4. Court issues the grant: If satisfied the Will is valid and the executor is appropriate, the court issues a Grant of Probate.
In most states, the process takes six to twelve weeks from the time the application is filed, assuming the documents are in order. Delays occur when the Will is contested, when there are creditors requiring investigation, or when the estate includes property in multiple states. Each of which may require its own application.
Complex estates (those involving trusts, businesses, or assets in multiple countries) can take considerably longer, sometimes well over a year.
Court fees for probate vary by state and are generally scaled to the gross value of the estate. In NSW in 2026, fees range from approximately $1,071 for smaller estates to over $6,000 for estates above $1 million. Victorian fees follow a similar scale. Executor fees and legal fees for preparing the application are additional.
One of the most serious mistakes is distributing assets before confirming probate is actually required. Or before it’s been granted where it is required. If a creditor or a contesting party comes forward afterwards, the executor can be personally exposed to the shortfall, even where the mistake was made in good faith.
Skipping or delaying the notice of intended application is another common misstep, since it can hold up the whole process later once the court checks it’s been done correctly, a step that’s easy to overlook when an executor is juggling grief with practical administration.
Losing track of the original Will causes more delay than almost anything else. As noted above, proving the Will’s contents without the original document is considerably harder. So keep it somewhere safe and tell your executor exactly where. A photocopy or a scan is rarely accepted as a substitute by the court.
Executors also sometimes underestimate how long the process takes and make promises to beneficiaries about timing that they can’t keep. Setting realistic expectations early, based on the estate’s actual complexity, avoids unnecessary friction with family members waiting on a distribution.
Locate the original Will and the death certificate. These are the two documents you can’t get anywhere else, and everything else in the process depends on having them in hand.
Put together a preliminary list of the estate’s assets and liabilities, even if it’s incomplete at this stage. This helps you and any advisers understand roughly what you’re dealing with before diving into the formal application.
Contact each asset holder (the bank, the land titles office, the share registry) and ask directly whether probate will be required to release or transfer that specific asset. Their answers can vary even within the same estate.
Get a quote for having the probate application prepared professionally, so you know the fixed cost upfront before committing your time to the paperwork, and so you can plan around the court filing fees and advertising
Probate is the Supreme Court’s formal confirmation that a Will is valid and that the executor has authority to administer the estate. It is required whenever a major asset holder (such as a bank, share registry, or land titles office) demands it before releasing or transferring assets.
Yes, for small estates without real property and below bank thresholds (typically $50,000–$100,000). In these cases, many asset holders will release funds to the executor on production of the death certificate and Will alone.
Only the executor (or executors) named in the Will can apply. If there’s more than one executor, they usually apply jointly, though arrangements can vary depending on whether all named executors are willing and able to act.
If the named executor is unwilling or unable to act, or if there is no valid Will, the court may grant letters of administration to an eligible person instead.
Without a valid Will, there is no executor and no probate. Instead, an eligible person, typically the next of kin or close family member — the surviving spouse or adult child — applies to the Supreme Court for letters of administration. The estate is then distributed according to the intestacy laws of the relevant state or territory.
It’s a similar process to probate but follows a different set of rules for who’s entitled to apply and how the estate is then distributed under intestacy rules.
Yes. A person can lodge a caveat to prevent probate being granted, typically on the grounds that the Will is invalid: for example, due to lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence. The court then determines whether probate should be granted.
AussieLegal’s fixed-fee probate service prepares the complete Grant of Probate application: every affidavit, every advertisement, every required form. Court filing fees and advertisement costs are excluded and disclosed upfront. Call 1300 728 200 or visit our probate page to begin.
If you’re unsure whether probate is even required for the estate you’re managing, call 1300 728 200 first. It’s one of the most common questions our team helps with, and the answer depends entirely on what assets are in the estate.
Most executors begin the probate process without knowing exactly what’s required, which documents, which advertisements, which registry, and in what order. Getting one step wrong can add months at a time when the family is already under pressure.
AussieLegal can assist with probate applications and estate administration. Call us today to start your executor journey.
