Probate Checklist Australia: How to Apply, State by State

Applying for probate in Australia runs in the same broad order everywhere: publish a notice saying you intend to apply, wait out the period your state sets, then file with that state's Supreme Court and pay the filing fee. Almost every detail inside that order changes at the border. The wait after publishing is 14 days in New South Wales and 15 days in Victoria. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The court fee moves further still: on a $300,000 estate it was $418 in Western Australia and $2,038 in South Australia at the date this was checked.

This page is the doing version. If you are still working out what probate is and whether the estate needs it, start with what probate is and whether your family will need it. Below is the application checklist in order, the difference between the two notices people mix up, what each state uses to file, the court fees for all eight states and territories, and what happens once the grant arrives. Court fee scales in Australia generally change on 1 July each year, so treat every figure here as correct at the date noted beside it and check the registry's own page before you write the cheque.

The probate application checklist, in order

Eleven steps. The detail behind each one, and where your state does it differently, is in the sections underneath.

1. Find out whether a grant is needed at all. The court will not tell you. The Supreme Court of Victoria says plainly that it does not determine whether or not probate is required to deal with a person's estate. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
2. Ring each bank, super fund and share registry and ask whether they want to see a grant. The Northern Territory registry recommends contacting each asset holder to find out if they require a grant to release money held in the deceased's name. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
3. Locate the original will and any codicils.
4. Work out the gross value of the estate, because in most states that number sets the court fee.
5. Publish the notice of intention to apply, on whichever system your state uses.
6. Wait out your state's notice period. It differs in every jurisdiction that publishes one.
7. Prepare the documents: the originating process, the executor's affidavit, and a statement of assets and liabilities.
8. File the application and pay the court fee.
9. Send the original will to the registry where your state requires it.
10. Answer any requisition the registry sends back, then wait for the grant.
11. Once the grant is in hand, gather the assets, pay the debts, then distribute, watching the waiting periods that apply where the estate is being administered.

Step 1 is the one people skip, and it is the one that saves the most money. An estate that does not need a grant does not pay a filing fee at all.

Notice of intention to apply, and notice of intended distribution

These are two different notices doing two different jobs, and confusing them is the most common way an executor loses months.

The notice of intention to apply comes first, before you file. It tells the world you are about to ask the court for a grant, so anyone holding a later will or a competing claim can speak up. In New South Wales, sections 42 and 109 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898 require that at least 14 days' notice must be given before a summons for probate, letters of administration or reseal is filed. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Victoria calls the same thing an advertisement: the Supreme Court of Victoria says the advertisement is also called a notice of intention to apply, and that it tells other people that you plan to apply to the Court. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The notice of intended distribution comes much later, after the grant, when you are about to hand money to the beneficiaries. It is a shield for you personally rather than a step in the application. The Supreme Court of New South Wales is explicit that, unlike the notice of intended application, publication of this notice is not mandatory, but that executors or administrators might choose to publish it because it may offer protection from personal liability in future claims about which they had no knowledge before distributing the estate. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

So: one is usually required and gets you into court. The other is usually optional and protects you on the way out. That is a New South Wales distinction drawn from New South Wales pages. Other states and territories run their own arrangements for advertising an intention to distribute, so check your own registry rather than following the NSW route.

The waiting period before you can file, state by state

Five of the eight jurisdictions publish a clear period. Three did not state one on the pages checked, and the honest answer there is to ask the registry rather than assume.

New South Wales: 14 days. At least 14 days' notice must be given before the summons is filed, under sections 42 and 109 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898, and the notice goes up via the NSW Online Registry website. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Victoria: 15 days. The advertisement goes on RedCrest-Probate, and the Supreme Court of Victoria says you must wait 15 days before you can submit your application. It also warns that re-advertising restarts the waiting period, which is worth knowing before you correct a typo. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Queensland: two clocks at once. The notice is published in the Queensland Law Reporter, and Queensland Courts say that after your notice appears in the Queensland Law Reporter you must wait 14 days to allow objections. Separately, a copy goes to the Queensland Public Trustee, and you must wait at least 7 days after the QPT receives the notice before filing your application. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The two periods run alongside each other, so in practice the 14 days is the one that governs.

Australian Capital Territory: a window, not a minimum. The ACT Supreme Court says that from 1 March 2022 a notice of intention to apply for probate must be published on the ACT Supreme Court website not less than 14 days and not more than 3 months before the day the application is filed in Court. (Source: courts.act.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Miss the far end of that window and the notice goes stale.

Northern Territory: 14 days on the court website. The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory says a Notice must be published on the Supreme Court website for 14 days before an application for a grant of representation can be filed, and that you publish it by filing the appropriate notice by email to the Probate Officer. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. The registry pages read for this article did not set out an advertising requirement or a waiting period for these three. That is not the same as saying there is none, so do not read it that way. Ask the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Courts SA or the Supreme Court of Tasmania directly, or a solicitor in that state.

Which system your state files through, and what goes in

Every jurisdiction has moved most of this online, and each one picked a different platform.

New South Wales has made online the default. The Supreme Court of NSW states that from 1 August 2023 most applications for an uncontested grant of representation must be applied for and filed online. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Victoria runs on RedCrest-Probate, and it is a hybrid. You file electronically, then post paper: if your application is for probate, letters of administration with will annexed, or a reseal, the Court tells you to print the Originating Motion and send it to the Probate Office together with the original will, any codicil or document to be resealed. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The Court keeps that original will once probate is granted. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Queensland is fussy about the format. Queensland Courts require Form 103, the Notice of intention to apply for grant, and say that all forms must be completed electronically, not handwritten. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Western Australia publishes the clearest document list of any registry: a Motion for a grant of probate or letters of administration, an Affidavit of executors, a Statement of assets and liabilities, the Will where there is one, and the original death certificate. (Source: supremecourt.wa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) A useful rough guide to what any state will want, though the forms and their names differ.

South Australia runs applications through CourtSA, and the original will travels separately. Courts SA says to lodge the original Will and any codicils, marked in accordance with rule 356.5, either in person or by registered post to the Probate Registry. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The Australian Capital Territory requires the original will to be filed with an application for probate or for letters of administration with the will, and an original foreign grant for a reseal. (Source: courts.act.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The Northern Territory takes the notice by email to the Probate Officer before the application itself can be filed. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

What the registry does with the original will in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania was not stated on the pages read, so ask those registries rather than assuming the Victorian or South Australian practice carries across.

What probate costs: the court fee in every state and territory

Read this section with the date attached to it. Australian court fee scales generally change on 1 July each year, and Queensland Courts confirm the pattern on their own fees page: their fees and charges typically increase on 1 July each year, and the page describes the 1 July 2026 change as being in line with the Government's indexation policy. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Every figure below was read off the registry's own published schedule on 26 September 2026, against schedules that state they took effect on 1 July 2026. Before you pay anything, open the fee page linked in the row and check the number yourself.

Most states band the fee by the gross value of the estate. Three do not. Here is what the same estate, a straightforward $300,000, cost to lodge at the date this was checked.

Same job, same paperwork, and close to five times the fee depending on which side of a state line the person lived. That gap is worth knowing about, and there is nothing an executor can do to change it.

The full bands, as at 26 September 2026:

• New South Wales. The schedule headed Filing Fees as at 1 July 2026 charges nil under $100,000, $960 from $100,000 to under $250,000, $1,303 from $250,000 to under $500,000, and up to $7,399 at $5,000,000 or more. Publishing an online notice cost $59, and the schedule notes that court fees are GST exempt. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Victoria. $0.00 under $250,000, $544.00 from $250,000 to under $500,000, rising to $17,770.80 at $7,000,000 or more. The heading matters: the fee is calculated on the gross value of Victorian assets only. Posting the notice on RedCrest-Probate cost $38.00. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Queensland. $847.60, flat, whatever the estate is worth. Advertising in the Queensland Law Reporter is charged separately by the publisher rather than the court, and that amount is not on the court's fee page. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Western Australia. $418.00, flat. On the figures checked, WA is the cheapest jurisdiction in the country by a wide margin. (Source: supremecourt.wa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• South Australia. $1,020.00 where the gross value is $200,000 or less, $2,038.00 where it is more than $200,000 but less than or equal to $500,000, $2,715.00 up to $1 million, and $4,075.00 above that. No free band, which is why a modest South Australian estate pays more than a large Victorian one. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Tasmania. Set in fee units, on the gross value of the estate in Tasmania: $548.80 under $50,000, $991.76 to under $250,000, $1,074.08 to under $500,000, rising to $2,338.28 at $5,000,000 and above. (Source: supremecourt.tas.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Australian Capital Territory. No charge under $50,000, $1,164 to under $250,000, $1,471 to under $500,000, $2,224 to under $1,000,000, and $2,961 at $1,000,000 or more. Publishing the notice cost $63. (Source: courts.act.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)
• Northern Territory. As at 1 July 2026 the registry stated the total Court fee is $1,585, made up of a $1,548 filing fee and a $37 search fee. A reseal was $1,542. There is no fee payable for lodging a caveat. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Court fees only. A solicitor's fee sits on top, and no registry publishes that.

Does the estate need a grant at all?

Often not, and no registry read for this article publishes a dollar figure at which probate becomes compulsory. There is no national threshold to look up.

The Northern Territory registry gives the clearest statement of the test. It says the requirement will generally depend on a number of factors, including the nature and amount of the assets, whether the deceased owned real property solely, as a joint tenant or as a tenant in common, and the requirements of a superannuation fund paying out a death benefit. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

In practice the institutions decide. Western Australia's court puts it plainly: banks and other financial institutions, Landgate and share registries will often require a copy of the grant, or to see the original, when dealing with the executor or administrator. (Source: supremecourt.wa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) So the cheapest thing you can do in week one is a round of phone calls. One institution asking for a grant settles the question for the whole estate. Nobody asking may save you a fee and several weeks. There is more on the question itself in what probate is and whether your family will need it.

How long the grant takes

Two registries publish a figure. The rest did not on the pages read, and guessing on someone else's behalf is not worth doing.

Victoria publishes a target and was openly behind it at the date this was checked. The Probate Office states that applications are taking longer than the published processing time of 5 to 10 working days. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) So the published number is the floor in a good month, not the expectation.

South Australia is more generous with itself. Courts SA says this can vary on the complexity of each application, however, if the grant application is not complex and has been lodged in the correct form, it should issue in under 4 weeks. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

For New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, no current turnaround figure was available from the pages checked. Ring the registry and ask what they are currently reviewing, because that answer beats any published target.

What makes the difference is rarely the court's speed. It is whether the application goes in clean. A requisition, which is the registry writing back to ask for something missing, sends you to the back of the queue, and the usual cause is a gap in the statement of assets and liabilities rather than anything legal.

After the grant: what changes and what to watch

The grant is permission, not completion. The Supreme Court of Tasmania describes the job that follows as identifying, collecting and gathering in all the assets of the deceased, paying any outstanding debts and necessary expenditure such as funeral expenses, and distributing the estate to the persons entitled to it. (Source: supremecourt.tas.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Two things worth knowing before you start handing money out.

The will becomes public. In South Australia at least, Courts SA states that once a grant has issued it becomes a public document, and this includes any will and codicils. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Whether the same applies in the other seven jurisdictions was not confirmed on the pages read.

There is a waiting period before distributing, and it is state based. New South Wales sets the clearest one in legislation. Section 92 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898 protects an executor who distributes at least 6 months after the death, having given notice of an intention to distribute after a specified time, where that time is not less than 30 days after the notice is given and has expired. (Source: legislation.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Those are New South Wales figures under New South Wales law. Other states and territories set their own, so check the registry where the estate is being administered before you fix a date with the beneficiaries.

The Northern Territory adds a deadline of its own in the other direction: an Affidavit of Delay must be filed if you are applying for a grant of representation 6 months or more after the death. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Leaving the application in the too-hard pile has a paperwork cost there.

The wider order of the job, tax and debts included, is in the executor checklist.

The part that actually decides how long this takes

Not the court. The hunting.

Look back at the checklist and notice how much of it assumes you can answer questions like which banks, which super fund, whether there was a second insurance policy, and where the original will is. The application cannot be filed until the statement of assets and liabilities is complete, and that statement is a list of things somebody has to find first. Most executors start that search from nothing, because the information lived in one person's head and in a drawer nobody has opened.

A solicitor is worth paying for the legal corner. A contested estate, an unusual will, a foreign asset: that is their work and they are good at it. The map of where everything is, though, is a kitchen table job, and it costs a fraction of what guided help costs.

If you are the executor right now, the free Executor Toolkit lays out the first twelve months as a roadmap. If you are reading this because someone in your family should write it all down while they still can, The Estate Organiser is the book they fill in. It is completed on your own computer or printed and written by hand, so the account numbers and the wishes stay in the family rather than sitting on some company's website.

Common questions about applying for probate in Australia

How much does probate cost in Australia?

It depends on the state and, in most of them, on the value of the estate. On a $300,000 estate at the date this was checked, the court filing fee ran from $418.00 in Western Australia to $2,038.00 in South Australia, with Victoria at $544.00, Queensland at $847.60, Tasmania at $1,074.08, New South Wales at $1,303, the ACT at $1,471 and the Northern Territory at $1,585. (Source: supremecourt.wa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Queensland Courts state that their fees and charges typically increase on 1 July each year, so check your own registry's fee page for the current figure. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) These are court fees only, with any solicitor's fee on top.

Do I need probate?

Often not, and no registry checked for this article publishes a dollar threshold at which it becomes compulsory. The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory says a grant of representation is not always required, and that the requirement depends on factors including the nature and amount of the assets, whether the deceased owned real property solely, as a joint tenant or as a tenant in common, and the requirements of a superannuation fund paying out a death benefit. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The court will not decide it for you: the Supreme Court of Victoria says it does not determine whether or not probate is required to deal with a person's estate. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Ask each bank and fund holding an asset what they require. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

How long do you have to wait after advertising probate?

It is set by the state. New South Wales requires at least 14 days' notice before the summons is filed. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Victoria says you must wait 15 days before you can submit your application, and that re-advertising restarts the waiting period. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Queensland requires 14 days after the notice appears in the Queensland Law Reporter, and at least 7 days after the Public Trustee receives it. (Source: courts.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The ACT works as a window rather than a minimum: not less than 14 days and not more than 3 months before filing. (Source: courts.act.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The Northern Territory requires the notice to sit on the Supreme Court website for 14 days. (Source: supremecourt.nt.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

What is the difference between a notice of intention to apply and a notice of intended distribution?

The notice of intention to apply comes before you file, and it is usually required. In New South Wales, sections 42 and 109 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898 require at least 14 days' notice before the summons is filed. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Victoria calls it an advertisement and describes it as telling other people that you plan to apply to the Court. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The notice of intended distribution comes near the end, before you pay the beneficiaries. The Supreme Court of NSW says publication of it is not mandatory, but that executors might choose to publish because it may offer protection from personal liability in future claims they had no knowledge of before distributing. (Source: supremecourt.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) That is the NSW arrangement, and other jurisdictions have their own.

How long does probate take in Australia?

Only two registries checked publish a current figure. The Supreme Court of Victoria's Probate Office states that applications are taking longer than the published processing time of 5 to 10 working days. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Courts SA says an application that is not complex and has been lodged in the correct form should issue in under 4 weeks. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

For the other six states and territories no current turnaround was available from the pages read, so the registry itself is the place to ask.

What documents do you need to apply for probate?

The forms differ by state, though the shape is similar. The Supreme Court of Western Australia lists a Motion for a grant of probate or letters of administration, an Affidavit of executors, a Statement of assets and liabilities, the Will where there is one, and the original death certificate. (Source: supremecourt.wa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The original will often travels separately from the electronic filing. Victoria asks you to print the Originating Motion and send it to the Probate Office with the original will and any codicil. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) South Australia asks for the original will and codicils to be lodged in person or by registered post to the Probate Registry. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Does the court keep the original will after probate is granted?

In Victoria, yes. The Supreme Court of Victoria answers the question directly: the Court keeps the original will. (Source: supremecourt.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

In South Australia the original is lodged with the Probate Registry, and Courts SA states that once a grant has issued it becomes a public document, and this includes any will and codicils. (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) (Source: courts.sa.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) For the other six states and territories the pages read did not say, so check the registry where the application is being made rather than assuming the Victorian practice applies.

Related guides

• What is probate, and will your family need it?
• Executor checklist Australia: what to do, in order
• What to do when someone dies in Australia
• What does an executor actually do in Australia?

Educational content only. Not legal, financial or tax advice. Estate laws vary across Australian states and territories. Court fees change, generally on 1 July each year. Always consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.

Get the free Executor Toolkit

A Day 1 to Month 12 roadmap for anyone handling an estate, the mistakes that create personal liability, notification letters and an expense tracker. Free and instant.