How long does probate take, and when is the money released and paid out?

Updated 20 August 2026 · 7 minute read

For a clean application, most Australian registries currently grant probate in two to eight weeks - Victoria in days. The real timeline is longer, because two other clocks run first: the death certificate (2-4 weeks) and the mandatory notice period in most states (14 days). Here's the current picture.

Current times by state

Click through to each state for the full picture - Tasmania in particular swings between three and eighteen weeks depending on registry workload.

The realistic end-to-end timeline

1. Weeks 0-4: death certificate

   BDM issues the certificate after the funeral director lodges the registration. Nothing can be filed without it.

2. Weeks 2-6: gather and value assets

   Banks, share registries and valuers all reply on their own schedules. This is usually the slowest stage families control.

3. +14 days: notice period

   NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, ACT and NT require a published notice and a 14-day wait. WA and SA skip straight to filing.

4. Weeks 4-10: filing to grant

   The registry examines the application. Victoria is currently granting in about five days; most others take two to eight weeks.

5. After the grant: releasing assets

   Banks typically quote two to four weeks once the deceased estates team has a certified grant and a completed instruction form; property transfers take longer. Executors usually hold final distribution until the family-provision window closes. Both stages are covered in detail below.

How long does it take banks to release money after probate?

Once the deceased estates team has a certified copy of the grant, its own account instruction form and certified ID for every executor, most Australian banks quote two to four weeks to close the accounts and pay out. In practice it often stretches well past that, and the executor usually only finds out why by asking. The common hold-ups:

• The grant went to a branch or a general inbox instead of the deceased estates team, so nothing has been logged against the file.
• Copies of the grant, will or ID were not certified, or were certified by someone the bank does not accept.
• Joint executors: the bank needs every executor's signature on the instruction form and only has one.
• There is no estate bank account to pay into. Many banks will not pay a deceased customer's funds to an executor's personal account. See opening an estate bank account.
• Term deposits, shares, insurance or a loan attached to the account run on a separate process, often with a separate team and their own forms.
• Larger balances go through an extra approval step at most banks, which adds time nobody mentions up front.

If the bank has gone quiet: a chase sequence

1. Call the deceased estates team, not the branch, with the estate reference number and ask exactly what is outstanding. Note the date, the name and the answer.
2. If nothing moves within a week, lodge a written complaint through the bank's complaints process and ask for a date the funds will be released.
3. If the bank's internal dispute resolution does not resolve it, you can take the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Files tend to move quickly once an AFCA complaint is open.

Interest generally keeps accruing while the account is frozen, so the estate is not usually losing money. The executor is not personally at fault for a bank's delay, but should tell beneficiaries in writing what was sent, when, and what the bank has said since. Our bank-by-bank pages set out each estates team's process: CommBank, Westpac, ANZ, NAB and the rest. A lawyer's letter quoting the dates and demanding release often gets a stalled file moving faster than another phone call.

How long after probate can funds be distributed?

Nothing in the grant itself forces the executor to wait, and there is no law in most states that says "six months and not before". The reason executors hold off is personal exposure: if an eligible person brings a family provision claim, or a creditor surfaces, after the estate has been paid out, an executor who distributed early can be made to answer for it personally. Distribute after the protection periods have run and the executor is generally safe even if a claim later succeeds.

Courts can extend these limits, so they mark the point of reasonable safety rather than an absolute bar. Check the state page before relying on a date.

The notice to creditors

Separately from claims, the executor can publish a notice of intended distribution inviting creditors to come forward by a set date. Pay out after that date and the executor is protected against debts nobody told them about; a creditor may still pursue the beneficiaries, but not the executor personally. The minimum notice period varies by state (30 days in NSW, longer in some others), and in NSW the distribution also cannot happen before six months from death. It is cheap and worth doing on every estate.

The executor's year

Beneficiaries are generally expected to allow the executor about twelve months from death to get in the assets and distribute. Pressing for payment inside that period rarely gets anywhere; once it has passed with no explanation, beneficiaries can ask for an account of the estate and ultimately apply to the court. See executor disputes.

Interim distributions

An executor who is confident of the estate's debts and tax position can make a partial payment before the windows close, holding back enough for the final tax return, any known or likely liabilities, and legal costs if a claim is threatened. Beneficiaries receiving an early payment are usually asked to sign a receipt and indemnity agreeing to refund it if the estate later needs the money. If there is any hint of a disgruntled relative, wait.

Death to final distribution at a glance

• Weeks 0 to 4: death certificate issued
• Weeks 2 to 10: assets valued, notice published, application filed and granted
• Weeks 10 to 16: grant sent to banks and registries; accounts released into the estate account
• Months 3 to 9: debts paid, property sold or transferred, tax returns lodged, creditor notice published
• Months 6 to 12: claim window closes (varies by state); final distribution

Can it be sped up?

• Order multiple certified copies of the death certificate upfront - every institution wants one
• Start the notice period as soon as the certificate arrives, while you finish valuations
• Use bank date-of-death balance letters, not screenshots, in the inventory
• Urgent need (a property settlement, a business payroll)? Registries can expedite genuinely urgent applications - ask, with evidence