Executor checklist for New South Wales: the tasks NSW bodies publish, in their own words
The general tasks after a death in New South Wales as the NSW registry, the Supreme Court of NSW, Service NSW and Transport for NSW, NSW Land Registry Services, NSW Trustee and Guardian, NSW Police, Services Australia, the ATO, the banks and the super funds publish them, each in that body's own words and with its own time where it gives one, laid out to print, and not a plan for any one estate.
General information · not legal advice · not a law firm.
§1What this checklist is, and what it is not
This page lists the general tasks that official bodies publish for the time after a death in New South Wales: the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Supreme Court of NSW, Service NSW and Transport for NSW, NSW Land Registry Services, Revenue NSW, NSW Trustee and Guardian, NSW Police, Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office, the free national notifier, the banks and the super funds.
Every row is one task as that body describes it, with the body's own time where it publishes one, and a link to the body's page or to the page on this site that explains it.
The rows are grouped by the body that publishes them, not numbered as steps. This page does not say which task comes first for you, which tasks apply to the estate you are dealing with, who the executor is, or whether a grant of probate or letters of administration is needed.
Each body can say what it asks for in a particular case, and a solicitor can look at the whole estate.
The word "executor" appears on this page because people search for it. No line on this page says what an executor must do. Where a body describes the role, the line is that body's own, and it is marked as such.
§2Registering the death and the certificate: what the NSW registry publishes
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages registers the death and issues the death certificate. It publishes who usually does this, its time, its fee and who can apply.
Registering the death
A funeral director normally registers the death within 7 days of the burial or cremation.
When there is no funeral director
If no funeral director is arranging the burial or cremation, the registry says the person arranging it can register the death. It asks them to contact it for a form.
The certificate
The funeral director normally orders the death certificate when they register the death.
Who the registry says can apply
The registry's published list of who can apply: the current spouse or de facto partner, a parent or a child of the person who died, if their details are on the certificate; the funeral director, within 30 days of registration; the executor of the estate; or the solicitor acting for the estate.
Ordering
For a death in NSW, a certificate can be ordered online, by post or at a Service NSW service centre. It is sent by registered post.
The fee
A death certificate costs A$70, or A$105 for priority service. This is the registry's published fee, and it includes postage.
How long it takes
An online order takes up to 3 weeks, or up to 2 weeks with priority, plus delivery time.
Why the certificate comes early
A death certificate must have been issued before ADNS can be used.
§3Once the certificate is issued: the free notifier, and Service NSW's guide
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) is a free, national service.
It is a NSW Government initiative.
Who it says can use it
ADNS says it can be used by anyone with legal authority to administer the estate, and that they may be asked for documents showing it.
How it works
It takes the details of the person who has died and sends them to the organisations you choose from its list.
How long it takes
ADNS says a notification takes 5 to 15 minutes.
The organisations' time to reply
Those organisations should make contact within 10 business days.
Who it does not reach
Organisations choose whether to join. ADNS says it cannot make them take part.
One NSW body on its list
NSW Trustee & Guardian · on the ADNS list
One NSW body not on it
Transport for NSW · not on the ADNS list
The ones it misses
ADNS suggests forwarding its confirmation email to organisations not on the service. It says the email holds all the details already entered.
Its phone
ADNS is reached through Service NSW on 13 77 88, Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm (AEST).
What Service NSW says about it
Service NSW says a person with an official role in the estate is best placed to close or transfer accounts, and that the Australian Death Notification Service website gives a free step-by-step guide for contacting many organisations with one online notification.
That is Service NSW's line. This page does not say who holds an official role in the estate you are dealing with.
§4Before a court application: what the Supreme Court of NSW publishes
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
A grant of probate or letters of administration is a Supreme Court of NSW document. The court publishes a notice period before an application is filed, a point after which it asks about delay, its forms and its fee. Whether a grant is needed for a particular estate is not something this page says.
Whether a grant is needed, in the court's words
The Supreme Court of NSW explains, in general terms, when a grant is and is not usually needed, in the section headed "Need for a grant of probate".
The NSW Supreme Court's probate page says different asset holders have different criteria and requirements for releasing assets.
What a grant is
In New South Wales, the court says a grant of probate authorises an executor to manage the estate under the will.
When there is no will
Where a person died without a will, the court's grant is called letters of administration.
Assets in New South Wales
The court says it will not make a grant if the person who died had no assets in New South Wales.
The notice
The court says the law requires at least 14 days' notice before an application for probate or letters of administration is filed.
The notice is published on the NSW Online Registry. The Supreme Court Rules say this is the valid way to publish it.
Before publishing, the court says to search for an existing notice under the estate's name. The search is free.
Publishing the notice costs A$59. Amending and republishing it costs A$23.
A late application
If an application is filed more than 6 months after the date of death, the court asks for an explanation of the delay.
How the application is made
Since 1 August 2023, the court says most applications for an uncontested grant must be filed online.
A registrar decides uncontested applications in chambers.
What the court says is filed
Summons for probate: UCPR Form 111.
Draft grant of probate: UCPR Form 112.
Wording of the published notice: UCPR Form 116.
For letters of administration, the court's own checklist names its forms. The court's administration checklist lists these standard documents: Form 111 (summons for administration), Form 119 (affidavit of applicant for administration), Form 117 (inventory of property, annexed to the affidavit) and Form 112 (two sets of the draft grant with a copy of the sworn inventory).
The original will, and any codicils, are filed with the application. The court keeps them.
This page does not say what to enter on any form.
The fee the court publishes
The Supreme Court of NSW's fee schedule as at 1 July 2026 sets filing fees for an uncontested summons for probate, administration or reseal by sworn gross value, and says court fees are GST exempt.
Filing fee for an uncontested application, by sworn gross value: less than A$100,000 nil; A$100,000 to under A$250,000 A$960; A$250,000 to under A$500,000 A$1,303; A$500,000 to under A$1,000,000 A$1,999; A$1,000,000 to under A$2,000,000 A$2,663; A$2,000,000 to under A$5,000,000 A$4,439; A$5,000,000 or more A$7,399.
The court publishes guidelines on waiving, remitting or postponing its fees.
In the week of 5 to 9 October 2026, the court was assessing probate applications filed between 16 and 23 September 2026.
The Supreme Court of NSW's probate page (last updated 6 October 2026) says delay is being experienced because of the high number of applications received and the availability of registrars to assess them.
§5Services Australia and the ATO: the federal bodies, in brief
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Two federal bodies publish their own tasks, and each has its own page on this site. The time Services Australia asks to be told within and the time the ATO takes to update its records are two different things, and the lines below keep them apart.
Services Australia: the time it asks to be told within
Services Australia says it needs to be told of a death within 28 days, in one of three ways: by calling the Older Australians line, by sending the Advice of death form, or at a service centre. This is Services Australia's time to be told.
Services Australia: the form
Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support.
Not reached by the free notifier
Services Australia (Centrelink, Medicare) · not on the ADNS list
One ATO form does both jobs: it officially tells the ATO of the death and of who will manage the estate.
The ATO's suggestion about timing
The ATO says that if a grant of probate or letters of administration will be applied for, it is better to wait for the grant before sending the notification, to avoid delays.
This is the ATO's own suggestion about its own process. It is not a reason, on its own, to apply for a grant, and this page does not say whether a grant is needed.
The ATO's time to update its records
The ATO says it takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after it receives the notification. This is the ATO's time to act once told. It is not Services Australia's time to be told.
The ATO says a final tax return for the income year in which the person died is called a 'date of death' tax return, and that it is different from the trust tax return for the estate.
This page does not say whether a return is needed for the estate you are dealing with, or whether tax will be owed.
§6Vehicles, vessels and licences: what Service NSW and Transport for NSW publish
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Transport for NSW holds the licence and registration records. Service NSW handles the transactions at its centres.
Each publishes its own page, and every line below is one of theirs. This page does not say which of these transactions, if any, applies to the estate you are dealing with.
Telling Transport for NSW
Service NSW says its page is for telling Transport for NSW that a person with a driving, riding or boating licence, or a vehicle or vessel registered in NSW, has died, and that the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages does inform Transport for NSW but it can take some time.
Documents
Service NSW says Transport for NSW can be advised of a death with a document such as a death certificate (original or copy), a newspaper death notice, an online newspaper notification, or a letter from a solicitor or the NSW Trustee and Guardian.
The form
Service NSW says an Advice of Death form goes with proof of identity for the person who died and the person notifying, the form cannot be sent by email or post, and for a missing person presumed deceased it is a Supreme Court 'Presumption of Death Order' that is used instead.
Transport for NSW says that when the registered operator of a vehicle passes away the registration is either transferred to a new registered operator or cancelled, names the Advice of Death form as form 1634, and gives 13 22 13 for questions.
How to tell it
Service NSW says a document can be submitted to Transport for NSW by email to transactions.parkes@service.nsw.gov.au, by post to Service NSW, Parkes Middle Office, PO Box 21, Parkes NSW 2870, or at a Service NSW Centre.
Not reached by the free notifier
Transport for NSW · not on the ADNS list
The registration: who Service NSW says it can go to
Service NSW says a registration can be transferred at a Service NSW Centre after the registered owner has died, into the name of an executor or administrator, a beneficiary as advised by them, the surviving joint registered operator, the next of kin, or a buyer.
That is Service NSW's list of the people a registration can go to. This page does not say who it goes to in the estate you are dealing with.
Documents for a transfer
Service NSW lists proof of identity, a completed Application for Transfer of Registration and one document confirming the death, such as the death certificate (original or copy), and says other documents may be asked for depending on who the vehicle goes to.
A transfer to the executor or administrator, as Service NSW states it
Service NSW says a transfer to the executor or administrator takes the original or certified copy of the will, probate or letters of administration, or signed written advice from a solicitor or NSW Trustee & Guardian, and that no transfer fee and stamp duty is paid for it. That is Service NSW's statement about its own transaction.
A transfer to a beneficiary, as Service NSW states it
Service NSW says that if the registration has not gone to the executor or administrator, a transfer to a beneficiary takes the will, probate, letters of administration or solicitor or NSW Trustee & Guardian advice, plus signed advice from the administrator or executor naming the beneficiary.
A transfer to the surviving joint operator, or to a buyer
Service NSW says a transfer to the surviving joint operator takes no additional documents, while a transfer to a buyer takes Proof of Registration Entitlement and carries a transfer fee and stamp duty.
Cancelling the registration
Service NSW says cancelling the registration takes the original or certified copy of the will, probate or letters of administration, or signed written advice from a solicitor or NSW Trustee & Guardian, and a fee may be payable.
The licence
Transport for NSW says a driver or rider licence, NSW Photo Card, Mobility Parking Scheme card or other photo ID can be handed in, and that when it is notified the licence record can be cancelled so the licence cannot be used illegally by someone else.
Handing in a licence: documents
Service NSW says a driver or rider licence can be handed in at a service centre for a licence holder who has died, with proof of identity, the licence (if available), the PDF form 'Change of Records – Road and Maritime Products' and confirmation of death such as a death certificate.
A refund on a licence
Service NSW says a refund for the time left on a licence returned before its expiry date may be available, and that if the licence holder has died any refund is issued in the name of their estate, not in the name of a beneficiary, executor or administrator.
Those are Service NSW's and Transport for NSW's statements about their own transactions. This page does not say which of them applies to the estate you are dealing with, or which comes first.
§7Land in New South Wales: the titles forms, and the duty concession Revenue NSW describes
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
NSW Land Registry Services publishes the forms used to change the registered owner of land after a death. Each line below is the form's own wording.
This page does not say which form, if any, applies to land in the estate you are dealing with, or what to enter on one.
Where the court draws its line on real estate
The Supreme Court of NSW says a grant is required to deal with real estate the person owned solely or as a tenant in common, but not where the person was a joint tenant and someone survived them, because the real estate then passes automatically to the survivor.
That is the court's general statement, in its own words. Whether it fits a particular title is for the court, the titles office or a solicitor to say.
The transmission application for an executor or administrator
NSW Land Registry Services' form 03AE is a Transmission Application under section 93 of the Real Property Act 1900 in which the applicant states they are entitled as executor of the will, administrator of the estate or trustee under the will of the deceased registered proprietor, pursuant to probate or letters of administration.
The transmission application for a beneficiary
NSW Land Registry Services' form 03AD is a Transmission Application in which the applicant states they are entitled as beneficiary under the will, devisee under the will or next-of-kin of the deceased registered proprietor, with a section for the consent of the executor, administrator or trustee and a space for the Duties Assessment number issued by Revenue NSW.
The notice of death for a surviving joint tenant
NSW Land Registry Services' form 02ND is a Notice of Death under section 101 of the Real Property Act 1900 in which the surviving joint tenant applies to be registered as proprietor of the interest of the deceased joint tenant and gives the death certificate number.
Those are the forms' own descriptions of themselves. This page does not say who is entitled to land in any estate, or how land is held or sold.
Transfer duty: the concession Revenue NSW describes
Revenue NSW says a person may be eligible for the concessional transfer duty rate of A$100 if they receive property from a deceased estate and the transfer meets certain requirements, and that transfer duty concessions are not automatic. That is Revenue NSW's description of a concession it offers.
This page does not say whether duty is payable on any transfer, or whether the concession applies to it. Revenue NSW's page sets out its requirements.
Documents Revenue NSW lists
Revenue NSW lists documents for a concession application, including the original executed transmission application or transfer document, a copy of the grant of probate with the will (or letters of administration if there is no will), a schedule of the assets owned at death and a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration.
Revenue NSW's duties team
Revenue NSW gives its duties team as 1300 139 814 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.00pm AEST, excluding public holidays) and duties@revenue.nsw.gov.au, and says an email gets a response within 10 business days.
§8NSW Trustee and Guardian: its role and its services, in its own words
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
NSW Trustee and Guardian is the state's public trustee. The lines below describe its own role and services, in its words and in Service NSW's. This page does not say whether it has any role in the estate you are dealing with.
What it says of the executor's role
NSW Trustee and Guardian says the executor named in the Will administers the estate and carries out the Will's instructions, and can be a family member, friend, solicitor or NSW Trustee and Guardian.
That is NSW Trustee and Guardian's general description. This page does not say who the executor is in any estate, or what an executor must do.
NSW Trustee and Guardian says that if it is named as the executor of a Will, its Client Establishment team can help start the estate administration process, and gives 1300 723 267 and clientestablishment@tag.nsw.gov.au.
Referring an estate with no will to it
NSW Trustee and Guardian says a deceased estate with no Will can be referred to it to administer, and that as a professional trustee it is not required to provide personal certificate evidence or a bond, so it can get approval to administer more quickly. That is its description of its own service.
What Service NSW says about it
Service NSW says NSW Trustee and Guardian can be nominated as the executor in a will, can take over the task from someone a friend or family member nominated, and charges fees for administering an estate that are set by the NSW Government. Its fees are not shown on this page.
§9Firearms: what NSW Police publishes for a deceased estate
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
The NSW Police Force's Firearms Registry publishes a page on firearms in a deceased estate. The lines below are its statements about its own forms and its own licensing.
This page does not say whether any of this applies to the estate you are dealing with, and it gives no instruction to hand anything over or to keep anything.
The form
NSW Police says a Deceased Estate Firearm Ownership Transfer form acts in the place of a permit to acquire for an inherited firearm, that there is no fee for this transaction, and that there are two forms, one for handguns and one for longarms.
A beneficiary and a licence, as NSW Police states it
NSW Police says a beneficiary of firearms in a will who wishes to keep them must apply for a licence if they do not already have one, and that a beneficiary licensed for the correct categories fills out the relevant transfer form.
That is NSW Police's statement of its own licensing rule. This page does not say who is a beneficiary of any firearm, and does not say whether any of this applies to the estate you are dealing with.
A handgun for sport or target shooting
NSW Police says that for an inherited handgun to be acquired for sport or target shooting, information from the person's club is provided with the application.
§10Banks and super funds: each one's own route and time
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Each bank and each super fund publishes its own route. A bank's figure for when it asks for a grant is its own rule for money held with that bank, and the figures differ, so none appears here.
Telling a bank before the documents are ready: Commonwealth Bank
It says a notification can be made online or at a branch appointment, even before any of the documents are to hand.
What a bank says happens next: Westpac
It says it will write within 14 business days confirming how the accounts have been protected and what to do next.
Funeral costs: Westpac
Westpac lists payments it can make even without probate, including funeral costs, probate application fees, medical fees and aged care facility bills.
The ATO says the super fund's trustee works out who will receive the benefits. Super paid after a death is called a super death benefit.
Super: telling the fund
The ATO says the super fund (or funds) should be contacted directly, to tell them of the death and discuss the release of the super. If there is no authorised legal personal representative, the ATO may inform the fund, which then decides whether to contact the family.
What the NSW court says about super trustees
The court's probate page says a super or insurance trustee sometimes asks for a grant before it makes its decision about the super or insurance money.
A fund's first contact: Aware Super
Aware Super says a dedicated case manager will contact the person who told it within 10 business days.
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Each body publishes what it asks to see. These are the lines gathered for this site, body by body. The body itself can say what it will accept in a particular case.
The NSW registry
All applicants provide proof of identity.
The Supreme Court of NSW
The original will, and any codicils, are filed with the application. The court keeps them.
Transport for NSW, through Service NSW
Service NSW says Transport for NSW can be advised of a death with a document such as a death certificate (original or copy), a newspaper death notice, an online newspaper notification, or a letter from a solicitor or the NSW Trustee and Guardian.
Revenue NSW
Revenue NSW lists documents for a concession application, including the original executed transmission application or transfer document, a copy of the grant of probate with the will (or letters of administration if there is no will), a schedule of the assets owned at death and a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration.
The ATO
To notify the ATO of a death, it asks for one of these: the death certificate, the grant of probate or letters of administration, or the will.
Services Australia, for an executor or administrator
To give an executor or administrator details from its records, Services Australia asks for proof of their authority to act on the estate and an Executor/Administrator request for information form, one from each executor or administrator.
A bank: ING
In all matters ING requires a certified copy of the death certificate issued by Births, Deaths and Marriages.
A super fund: Hostplus
Hostplus's claims guide asks for a certified copy of the death certificate, with the cause of death if available, and one certified proof of the member's identity, such as a passport, birth certificate or driver's licence.
This page is laid out to print. Use your browser's print or share menu. Every line shows the day it was checked, and the bodies change their pages, so a printed copy is a snapshot of that day.
The page itself is re-checked, and a line that cannot be confirmed is withheld rather than left to go stale.
FAQ
Common questions
This page cannot say. Each body publishes its own tasks, and the cards above show them body by body, in each body's words: the registry, the Supreme Court of NSW, Service NSW and Transport for NSW, NSW Land Registry Services, Revenue NSW, NSW Trustee and Guardian, NSW Police, the federal bodies, the banks and the funds.
One NSW body describes the role in general terms: NSW Trustee and Guardian says the executor named in the Will administers the estate and carries out the Will's instructions, and can be a family member, friend, solicitor or NSW Trustee and Guardian.
The court describes what its grant does: In New South Wales, the court says a grant of probate authorises an executor to manage the estate under the will.
Which of the tasks on this page apply to a particular estate, and who the executor is, are not things this page says. NSW Trustee and Guardian's guide: NSW Trustee and Guardian · Guide for executors
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
This page cannot say. The court explains it in general terms, in its own words. The Supreme Court of NSW explains, in general terms, when a grant is and is not usually needed, in the section headed "Need for a grant of probate".
The NSW Supreme Court's probate page says different asset holders have different criteria and requirements for releasing assets.
The court says it will not make a grant if the person who died had no assets in New South Wales.
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Three bodies on this page publish a time, and the times are different things. Services Australia's time to be told: Services Australia says it needs to be told of a death within 28 days, in one of three ways: by calling the Older Australians line, by sending the Advice of death form, or at a service centre.
The ATO's time to act once told: The ATO says it takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after it receives the notification.
The court's notice before an application: The court says the law requires at least 14 days' notice before an application for probate or letters of administration is filed.
The court's question about delay: If an application is filed more than 6 months after the date of death, the court asks for an explanation of the delay.
No time limit for the tasks the state bodies publish was found on the Service NSW, Transport for NSW, NSW Land Registry Services or NSW Police pages read for this site.
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Transport for NSW and Service NSW publish the route, and the lines are theirs. Transport for NSW says that when the registered operator of a vehicle passes away the registration is either transferred to a new registered operator or cancelled, names the Advice of Death form as form 1634, and gives 13 22 13 for questions.
Service NSW says a registration can be transferred at a Service NSW Centre after the registered owner has died, into the name of an executor or administrator, a beneficiary as advised by them, the surviving joint registered operator, the next of kin, or a buyer.
Service NSW lists proof of identity, a completed Application for Transfer of Registration and one document confirming the death, such as the death certificate (original or copy), and says other documents may be asked for depending on who the vehicle goes to.
This page does not say who a registration goes to in the estate you are dealing with. The card on vehicles above shows what Service NSW asks for in each case it lists.
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Only what it publishes about its own concession is shown here, and this page does not say whether duty is payable on any transfer.
Revenue NSW says a person may be eligible for the concessional transfer duty rate of A$100 if they receive property from a deceased estate and the transfer meets certain requirements, and that transfer duty concessions are not automatic.
Revenue NSW lists documents for a concession application, including the original executed transmission application or transfer document, a copy of the grant of probate with the will (or letters of administration if there is no will), a schedule of the assets owned at death and a Purchaser/Transferee Declaration.
Revenue NSW gives its duties team as 1300 139 814 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.00pm AEST, excluding public holidays) and duties@revenue.nsw.gov.au, and says an email gets a response within 10 business days.
Revenue NSW's page sets out its requirements. Whether a particular transfer meets them is for Revenue NSW or a solicitor to say.
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
The state's public trustee, and the lines below are its own and Service NSW's. Service NSW says NSW Trustee and Guardian can be nominated as the executor in a will, can take over the task from someone a friend or family member nominated, and charges fees for administering an estate that are set by the NSW Government.
NSW Trustee and Guardian says that if it is named as the executor of a Will, its Client Establishment team can help start the estate administration process, and gives 1300 723 267 and clientestablishment@tag.nsw.gov.au.
NSW Trustee & Guardian · on the ADNS list Its fees are not shown on this page, and this page does not say whether it has a role in the estate you are dealing with. Its guide: NSW Trustee and Guardian · Guide for executors
New South Wales · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Yes. The page is laid out to print, and the browser's print or share menu can save it as a PDF. Every line shows the day it was checked, and the bodies change their pages, so a printed copy is a snapshot of that day.
The page itself is re-checked, and a line that cannot be confirmed is withheld rather than left to go stale.
Where to get help with your situation
This page cannot tell you what applies to the estate you are dealing with. These official routes can point you to someone who can.
New South Wales
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026