Wills and Probate in Australia: A Guide by State and Territory

Australia has no single national law of wills and probate. Eight separate state and territory systems set their own probate fees, family provision deadlines and enduring power of attorney rules, and this hub maps every one of them, with a dedicated guide for each jurisdiction.

Australia's Eight Succession Systems at a Glance

Australia has no national Wills Act, Probate Act or family provision statute. Each state and territory legislates its own succession law: who can make a valid will, which court grants probate, how much that grant costs, how long an eligible person has to contest the will for inadequate provision, and what an enduring power of attorney is called and requires. The eight regimes share a broadly similar structure, since most descend from similar historical English models, but the details, especially fees, deadlines and the trigger date for those deadlines, diverge in ways that matter enormously to a family managing a death or a person planning ahead. The table below summarises the governing Acts, the FY2026-27 probate fee, the family provision time limit and its trigger, and the enduring power of attorney instrument for each jurisdiction.

A death that touches more than one jurisdiction, for example a deceased person who lived in one state but owned land in another, can require separate consideration of each jurisdiction's rules for the assets located there, since a single grant of probate does not automatically operate everywhere in Australia without a further step such as resealing. Each jurisdiction has its own detailed probate guide covering the exact registry, required forms and local procedure: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

Making a Will in Australia

Every state and territory requires a will to be in writing, signed by the person making it (the testator) and witnessed by two people present at the same time, though the exact wording of these formalities, and the age at which a person can make a will (generally 18, with exceptions for a married or court-authorised minor), is set out separately in each jurisdiction's Wills Act. All eight jurisdictions also give a court power to recognise a document that does not meet the formal requirements as a valid will, known as the informal will dispensing power, provided the document shows the deceased intended it to be their will. Tasmania's version of this power is unusually strict: the court must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, not just on the balance of probabilities used elsewhere. For the full state-by-state formalities, witnessing rules and dispensing power test, see Making a Will in Australia.

Applying for a Grant of Probate

A grant of probate is a Supreme Court order confirming a will is valid and authorising the named executor to deal with the deceased's assets. Every state and territory grants probate through its Supreme Court (or, for very small estates in some jurisdictions, a simplified registry or Public Trustee process), and the registry checks the will, the death certificate and the executor's application before issuing the grant. A 'Nil' fee tier, which several jurisdictions apply to small estates, waives the filing fee only; it does not mean the estate can skip probate altogether, since a bank or the land titles office can still require a grant before releasing significant assets. For the registry, required documents and fee-payment process in each jurisdiction, see How to Apply for Probate in Australia.

Probate Fees Across Australia

Probate fees are set separately by each state and territory and are reviewed, often re-indexed, on 1 July each year. For FY2026-27, flat fees apply in Queensland ($847.60), Western Australia ($418.00) and the Northern Territory ($1,585), while New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory charge a tiered fee that rises with the estate's gross value, from a nil or low-value tier up to a top tier for estates worth several million dollars or more. These fees are for the court filing itself and do not include a solicitor's or Public Trustee's professional fees for preparing and lodging the application. See Probate Fees in Australia for the full FY2026-27 tables for every jurisdiction.

Who Inherits Without a Will

When a person dies without a valid will, known as dying intestate, each state and territory's intestacy rules decide who inherits, usually the spouse first, then children, then a widening circle of other relatives if there is no surviving spouse or child. A surviving spouse is generally entitled to a statutory legacy, a fixed first share of the estate, before anything is divided with children, and the amount of that legacy differs enormously between jurisdictions, from Queensland's fixed $150,000 (not adjusted for inflation) to sums indexed annually or quarterly elsewhere. See Who Inherits Without a Will in Australia for the statutory order and the current legacy figures that can be safely cited in each state.

Contesting a Will: Family Provision Claims

A person who believes a will (or the intestacy rules) has not made adequate provision for them can bring a family provision claim, but every jurisdiction imposes a strict time limit, and the starting point for that clock is not the same everywhere. Only New South Wales and Queensland count from the date of death; Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory all count from the date the grant of probate (or letters of administration) issues, and Tasmania gives just 3 months from the grant, the shortest window in the country. Confusing a date-of-death jurisdiction with a date-of-grant jurisdiction, or vice versa, can cost a genuinely eligible person their claim. Courts can extend these deadlines in limited circumstances, but an extension is generally unavailable once the estate has been fully distributed, so acting well before the deadline matters regardless of which jurisdiction applies. See Contesting a Will in Australia for the full eligibility rules and time limits by jurisdiction.

Enduring Power of Attorney

An enduring power of attorney lets a person (the principal) appoint someone (their attorney, not a lawyer) to make financial and, in some jurisdictions, personal decisions on their behalf if they lose capacity, and it continues to operate after that loss of capacity, unlike an ordinary power of attorney. The instrument's name, scope and formalities differ sharply by jurisdiction: New South Wales and Western Australia require a separate document for personal and health decisions, Queensland combines financial and personal authority into a single enduring power of attorney requiring only one witness, and the Northern Territory has replaced the concept altogether with a single Advance Personal Plan. Tasmania is the only jurisdiction where registering the document with the Recorder of Titles is mandatory for it to have legal effect at all. See Enduring Power of Attorney in Australia for the instrument, formalities and witnessing rules in each jurisdiction, and each state's own machinery in detail, including forms, fees, registration and revocation, in the state guides: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT.

Enduring Guardianship and Health Decisions

Separately from financial decision-making, most Australian jurisdictions let a person appoint someone to make personal, lifestyle and health care decisions on their behalf if they lose capacity, under names including Enduring Guardianship (New South Wales), Enduring Power of Guardianship (Western Australia), Advance Care Directive (Victoria and South Australia) and Advance Health Directive (Queensland). Queensland's Advance Health Directive additionally needs a treating doctor's or nurse practitioner's certificate confirming the person understood what they were signing. See Enduring Guardianship and Health Decisions in Australia for who can be appointed and the witnessing rules in each jurisdiction. Planning for incapacity alongside death is worth doing at the same time as a will, since both an enduring power of attorney and enduring guardianship only work if they are signed and, where required, registered while the principal still has capacity to make them.

Free calculators

• Australia probate fee calculator: estimates the Supreme Court probate filing fee for an estate value in any of the eight states and territories.
• Australia enduring power of attorney checker: checklists each state and territory's witnessing, acceptance and registration requirements for an enduring power of attorney.

This article provides general legal information about wills, probate, intestacy and powers of attorney in Australia. It is not legal advice and does not take into account your individual circumstances. Succession law, court procedure and fees differ between New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, and figures such as probate fees and statutory legacies are reviewed and re-indexed regularly. This information was last verified on 20 July 2026. For advice about your own situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there one probate law that applies across Australia?

No. Each of the eight states and territories has its own Wills Act, its own probate procedure through its own Supreme Court, its own fee schedule and its own family provision (contesting a will) time limit. There is no Commonwealth probate law.

How much does probate cost in Australia?

It depends entirely on the state or territory and, in most of them, the size of the estate. FY2026-27 fees range from a flat $418.00 in Western Australia to a flat $1,585 in the Northern Territory, with tiered scales elsewhere. See Probate Fees in Australia for the full breakdown.

How long do I have to contest a will in Australia?

It depends on the jurisdiction and, critically, on what the clock runs from. New South Wales gives 12 months from the date of death, Queensland gives 9 months from the date of death, and the other six jurisdictions run from the date of the grant of probate, ranging from Tasmania’s 3 months up to 12 months in the Northern Territory.

What happens if someone dies without a will in Australia?

Their estate is distributed under the intestacy rules of the state or territory where they died, or where their assets are located, which generally give a surviving spouse a statutory legacy plus a share of the remainder, with children and other relatives inheriting according to a fixed statutory order. See Who Inherits Without a Will in Australia.

Do small estates in Australia skip probate entirely?

Only sometimes, and never automatically. Several jurisdictions offer simplified small-estate processes or Public Trustee shortcuts below a set dollar threshold, but these are procedural shortcuts, not exemptions, and the Australian Capital Territory has no statutory small-estate mechanism at all. A ‘Nil’ fee tier waives the filing fee; it does not mean a grant is unnecessary.

Is an enduring power of attorney the same document in every state?

No. The name, scope and witnessing requirements differ by jurisdiction. Some states split financial authority from personal and health authority into two documents, Queensland combines them into one, and the Northern Territory uses a different instrument entirely, called an Advance Personal Plan.

What is the difference between an enduring power of attorney and enduring guardianship?

An enduring power of attorney generally covers financial and legal decisions. Enduring guardianship, or its equivalent such as an Advance Care Directive or Advance Health Directive, covers personal, lifestyle and health care decisions. In some jurisdictions these are separate documents; in Queensland and the Northern Territory they are combined.

Who is "the attorney" in an Australian power of attorney document?

The person appointed to act, not a legal practitioner. In Australian usage, "attorney" means the holder of a power of attorney, a distinct meaning from usage elsewhere where "attorney" commonly refers to a lawyer.