NAB: deceased estate process & threshold
Updated 20 August 2026 · 5 minute read
What NAB does when a customer dies, how much it will release without probate, and the paperwork its estates team asks for — as at August 2026.
The threshold
NAB requires a Grant of Representation when total credit balances reach $100,000.
What happens when you notify
Notify the estates team
One notification covers every account. Solely-held accounts are frozen; joint accounts keep operating for the survivor; direct debits from sole accounts stop.
The bank opens a deceased estate file
You'll be sent the document checklist below and a reference for the file.
Below the threshold: release on documents
Certified paperwork plus the bank's release/indemnity form, and funds are paid out — typically inside 1–3 weeks.
Above the threshold: the bank waits for the grant
Once probate or letters of administration arrive, the bank releases to the executor or the estate account.
Documents NAB asks for
- Proof of death (death certificate, funeral invoice or government correspondence)
- The will, or proof of next of kin if there is no will
- Certified ID for all legal personal representatives
- NAB's 'Closing NAB accounts and releasing funds for a Deceased Estate' form
NAB's Bereavement Support team; overseas +61 3 8903 9992. NAB accepts a funeral invoice as initial proof of death — handy while the certificate is still weeks away.
Like most institutions, the bank can pay the funeral director's invoice directly from the deceased's account, and can release funds to cover probate filing costs — ask the estates team.
If a grant is needed after all
One over-threshold institution is enough to send the whole estate down the probate path. Start with how to apply and your state's page, or compare the other banks in the threshold table.
Over the threshold at NAB?
Fixed-fee probate quotes take two minutes, and the whole application runs remotely.
Get fixed-fee probate quotesDoes the threshold apply per account or in total?
In total per institution — all solely-held accounts at the bank are added together. Accounts at other banks are assessed separately by those banks.
Can I use the money for the funeral first?
Yes — invoice-direct payment to the funeral director is standard at virtually every Australian bank, even from frozen accounts.
How do I get certified copies?
A JP, pharmacist, police officer or solicitor can certify — free at most pharmacies and JP desks in shopping centres and courts.
Sources
- NAB deceased estates page (nab.com.au/personal/life-moments/unplanned/losing-loved-ones/next-steps), retrieved August 2026