Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration

A grant of probate is a state or territory Supreme Court order confirming that the executor named in a valid will can deal with the deceased person’s assets. Your practice checks the grant before relying on court-confirmed authority to act for the estate.

What is a Grant of Probate, and Why Your Practice Waits for It

The executor’s authority comes from the will at death. Probate proves that authority to organisations holding estate assets. Banks, share registries and land titles offices commonly need the grant before releasing funds or registering a transfer.

A grant of representation identifies who can administer an estate. Probate and letters of administration are the two grant categories. A will naming someone as executor and a court grant confirming that appointment are different documents.

Obtaining probate is legal work for the executor or their lawyer. Your practice supplies financial records, checks the issued grant and keeps a copy. You can agree to preparatory work while probate is pending, but an engagement alone does not give you access to protected ATO information.

Probate or Letters of Administration?

Use the presence of a valid will and an acting named executor to distinguish the routes.

Estate circumstances	Usual grant	Capacity recorded on the grant
Valid will and a named executor who acts	Probate	Executor
No acting executor, including an estate without a will	Letters of administration	Administrator

Both routes produce a grant of representation. A will can exist even when letters of administration are needed. Record the capacity shown on the issued grant, not the capacity someone assumes from being a beneficiary. The letters of administration guide covers that separate route.

Grant of Probate in NSW, Qld, Victoria (Vic) and WA

Each Supreme Court has its own filing and notice requirements. Your practice checks the lawyer’s progress and the resulting documents. The lawyer handles the application.

Jurisdiction and registry	Filing route	Notice and waiting period
Supreme Court of NSW, Probate Registry	Most uncontested applications use the NSW Online Registry	Publish a notice of intended application on the Online Registry. Allow the prescribed 14-day period before applying.
Supreme Court of Queensland, registry handling the estate application	Legal firms use the Queensland Courts and Tribunals Online Services Portal. Personal applicants lodge with a Supreme Court registry.	Advertise in the Queensland Law Reporter and send the notice to the Queensland Public Trustee. Wait 14 days after publication and at least seven days after the Public Trustee receives it.
Supreme Court of Victoria, Probate Office	RedCrest-Probate handles advertisements and applications	Advertise for 14 clear days. RedCrest describes this as filing at least 15 days after the advertisement.
Supreme Court of Western Australia, Probate Registry	File in person or by post. The Probate Wizard helps prepare documents.	The court’s ordinary application instructions do not include the online advertisement step used in NSW or Victoria. Follow the WA filing requirements for the particular application.

Keep a copy of the notice where required and record when filing becomes possible. An advertisement records an intended application. Wait for the issued grant before treating the appointment as court-confirmed.

For NSW, use the court’s probate guidance, notice requirements and filing fees. Queensland publishes its application requirements and Supreme Court fees.

Victoria’s RedCrest-Probate help explains the advertising period, with charges in the Probate Office fee schedule. WA publishes its filing instructions and probate fees. Use the relevant estate value and application type when obtaining a cost from the lawyer. Court fees and legal fees are separate.

South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory

These Supreme Courts also issue grants of representation. Keep the relevant registry and notice evidence on the estate file.

Jurisdiction and registry	Application and notice position
Supreme Court of South Australia, Probate Registry	Apply through CourtSA and lodge the original will with the registry. The ordinary application guide sets out document lodgement without a general pre-filing advertisement step. See the grant requirements.
Supreme Court of Tasmania, Probate Registry	Publish the notice on the court website and wait 14 days before filing. The registry guide distinguishes a notice from a filed application.
ACT Supreme Court, Registry	Publish the notice on the court website at least 14 days and no more than three months before filing. The probate guide identifies the required documents.
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Probate Registry	Send the notice to the Probate Officer for publication on the court website. It must be published for 14 days before filing. The court’s probate guidance explains the notice and filing arrangements.

An estate with assets in another jurisdiction may need a reseal, registration of the interstate grant or a separate grant. South Australia distinguishes registration of an interstate grant from resealing an overseas grant. Ask the lawyer which authority covers each asset before treating the first grant as sufficient everywhere.

What the Grant Lets the Executor, and Your Practice, Do

The executor presents the issued grant to prove authority over estate assets and debts. The bank or registry still needs its own release or transfer forms. Property settlements can also require evidence accepted by the land titles office.

Record the executor named in the grant before accepting instructions that depend on that appointment. For dealings with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), distinguish the executor’s appointment from your appointment as tax agent. The ATO’s authorised-contact guidance identifies a court-appointed executor or administrator as the estate’s legal personal representative.

The ATO does not record an executor without probate as an authorised contact on the deceased person’s record. Its notification form permits evidence of a will-named executor while probate is pending, but warns that information and asset access remain restricted. Supply the certified grant when probate has issued, together with the evidence the ATO requests for the notification. Keep your authority from the representative on file.

Confirm the required authority before adding the deceased person or estate in Online services for agents. A planned sale can stall if the necessary grant is unavailable. NSW expressly says it will not expedite probate because an executor sold property before obtaining a grant. Do not rely on the sale proceeds until the lawyer confirms the settlement evidence.

Small Estates Where the Bank Releases Funds Without a Grant

A bank can release a modest balance without probate under its deceased-estate procedure. The bank commonly asks for a death certificate, the will where there is one and a signed release or indemnity. It also identifies the executor or next of kin making the request.

CommBank and NAB publish their own document requirements. Their requirements depend on the balances, liabilities and representative’s circumstances. There is no single national bank-balance threshold. Use the bank’s written acceptance for that estate, not another institution’s limit. The Australian Banking Association’s Banking Code also addresses how banks deal with deceased-estate representatives.

Keep the bank’s acceptance and the authority documents on your file. Record who gives instructions and the work you agree to do before any grant issues. A bank’s release does not establish an authorised contact on the deceased person’s ATO record.

Land, shares and larger balances commonly still need a grant or separate transfer evidence. Assets passing by survivorship need their own treatment. A released bank account does not establish that every remaining asset can be transferred without probate.

Documents to Collect From the Executor at Onboarding

Ask for the documents that establish the appointment and identify the person instructing your practice.

• The issued probate grant, with certification or court authentication required by the recipient.
• The will and any codicils included in the grant.
• The death certificate.
• Identity documents for each acting executor you must verify.
• The executor’s contact details and written authority for your work.
• Any reseal or registration needed for assets in another jurisdiction.

Compare the deceased person’s name and death date across the grant and death certificate. Check the issuing court, grant date and executor names. Read any limit on the appointment. Resolve a mismatch with the executor’s lawyer before using the document.

Certification and court authentication are different. An institution might accept a verified digital grant, require a certified copy or need a court-issued exemplification. NSW provides a digital-grant verification service.

Tasmania’s registry instructions explain court-certified copies and exemplifications. Confirm the recipient’s accepted format and the jurisdiction’s certification rules before arranging copies. Do not assume your own certification as tax agent is accepted.

Where several executors are named, record how they authorise instructions and who communicates with your practice. One contact person does not automatically replace the other executors’ authority. Apply your identity and authority checks and have the appropriate representative sign the engagement letter.

Collect copies through your practice’s secure document channel. Keep original wills intact and leave court lodgement to the executor or lawyer. Tax-return work belongs in the deceased-estate tax return guide, with separate records for a testamentary trust created by the will.

How Long a Grant Takes, and What the Practice Can Do While It Waits

Probate timing includes document preparation, any notice period and the court’s assessment queue. A requisition is the court’s request to correct or explain the application. Answering it can extend the wait.

WA’s filing guidance states an aim of processing applications within four weeks of receipt. Complex applications and delays can take longer. NSW publishes the filing dates its registrars are assessing in its processing queue. That queue is not a promised grant date.

Victoria’s Probate Office guidance reports delays beyond its usual processing period. Use the court’s queue and the lawyer’s application status when scheduling work.

While probate is pending, gather the records the executor’s lawyer needs. These can include bank balances at death, shareholding statements and business accounts. Identify property valuations the lawyer needs from a valuer. Keep liabilities and ownership details beside the assets, including assets held jointly or through a separate entity.

In a fictional example, an executor’s lawyer asks your practice for balances to support the asset statement. You reconcile two bank accounts to statements at death and supply the company accounts already held by your practice. You identify a missing property valuation and send the request to the executor. The lawyer can prepare the application from those records, but your delivery does not fix the court’s assessment date.

Agree on the preparatory work now. Set the next estate instruction and ATO access check against the grant and recorded authority when they become available.