NSW New South Wales
Supreme Court of NSW — wills and probateOfficial services, state by state.
The office that handles each of these is different in every state and territory. This is the list, so the guides don't have to carry it. Every link goes to the office's own site.
Applying for probate
The Supreme Court in each state and territory grants probate. Not every estate needs it — small estates often do not. Every court below has a path for people applying themselves, without a solicitor.
VIC Victoria
Supreme Court of Victoria — wills and probateQLD Queensland
Queensland Courts — apply for a grantWA Western Australia
Supreme Court of WA — wills and probateSA South Australia
Courts SA — probateTAS Tasmania
Supreme Court of Tasmania — probateACT Australian Capital Territory
ACT Supreme Court — probateNT Northern Territory
Supreme Court NT — wills and probatePublic trustees
Public trustees hold wills, and can administer an estate if you ask them to. If the person who died had a will made through one, this is where it will be.
NSW New South Wales
NSW Trustee and GuardianVIC Victoria
State Trustees (Victoria's public trustee)QLD Queensland
Queensland Public TrusteeWA Western Australia
Public Trustee WASA South Australia
Public Trustee SATAS Tasmania
Public Trustee TasmaniaACT Australian Capital Territory
Public Trustee and GuardianNT Northern Territory
Public Guardian and TrusteeDeath certificates
The registry of births, deaths and marriages issues the certificate. The funeral director usually lodges the application for you. Most families need several certified copies.
NSW New South Wales
Death certificates — NSWVIC Victoria
Get a death certificate — VictoriaQLD Queensland
Register a death — QueenslandWA Western Australia
Death registration and certificates — WASA South Australia
Apply for a death certificate — SATAS Tasmania
Apply for a death certificate — TasmaniaACT Australian Capital Territory
Request a death certificate — ACTNT Northern Territory
Apply for a certificate — NTLand titles
The land titles registry records who owns a property, and updates it after a death. It is also where you check whether a property was held as joint tenants or tenants in common, which decides what happens to it.
NSW New South Wales
NSW Land Registry Services — an owner has diedVIC Victoria
Land Use Victoria — fees, guides and formsQLD Queensland
Titles QueenslandWA Western Australia
Landgate Changing property ownership after deathSA South Australia
Land Services SATAS Tasmania
Land Titles Office — TasmaniaACT Australian Capital Territory
Land title lodgements — Access CanberraNT Northern Territory
Land Titles Office — NTDuty on a transfer
Transferring property from an estate to a beneficiary, or to a surviving joint owner, is usually exempt from stamp duty or attracts only a nominal amount. Each revenue office sets out its own rules.
NSW New South Wales
Revenue NSW — transfer dutyVIC Victoria
State Revenue Office — deceased estates and dutyQLD Queensland
Queensland Revenue Office — transfer dutyWA Western Australia
Deceased estates: duty requirements — WASA South Australia
RevenueSA — stamp duty on landTAS Tasmania
State Revenue Office — property transfer dutiesACT Australian Capital Territory
ACT Revenue OfficeNT Northern Territory
Stamp duty — NTRenting — advice and rules
A lease does not end automatically when someone dies. Notice periods, who can take over a tenancy, and how the bond is returned are different in every state and territory.
NSW New South Wales
Renting a place to live — NSWVIC Victoria
Renting — Consumer Affairs VictoriaQLD Queensland
Residential Tenancies Authority — QueenslandWA Western Australia
Renting a home — Consumer Protection WASA South Australia
Renting and letting advice — SATAS Tasmania
Renting — Consumer, Building and Occupational ServicesACT Australian Capital Territory
Renting in the ACTNT Northern Territory
Renting in the NT — NT Consumer AffairsPublic and social housing
A public housing tenancy does not automatically pass to someone living in the home. Approved household members may be able to apply to take it over, and the timeframe is short — contact the authority early.
NSW New South Wales
Living in public housing — NSWVIC Victoria
Housing VictoriaQLD Queensland
Public and community housing — QueenslandWA Western Australia
Public housing — WASA South Australia
Public housing — SATAS Tasmania
Homes TasmaniaACT Australian Capital Territory
Public housing — ACTNT Northern Territory
Social housing — NT