Letters of Administration South Australia: Who Applies and How

When someone dies without a valid will in South Australia, the estate is classified as intestate, and no executor exists to act. Before any assets can be distributed, someone must step forward, prove their legal entitlement, and obtain a formal grant of letters of administration from the Supreme Court of South Australia. This is the intestate equivalent of probate — and it comes with its own set of rules, advertising requirements, and strict hierarchy for who can apply.

The Succession Act 2023 (SA), which commenced on 1 January 2025, governs everything from who inherits to how the application is filed. Understanding these rules before you approach the CourtSA portal will save weeks of delay and prevent costly requisitions.

Who Inherits Without a Will in South Australia

The Succession Act 2023 sets out a precise distribution formula based on what family members the deceased left behind.

If the deceased left a surviving spouse or domestic partner:

• If the total estate is valued at $120,000 or less, the surviving spouse or domestic partner inherits the entire estate outright.
• If the estate exceeds $120,000, the surviving spouse receives all personal chattels, a preferential legacy of $120,000, and exactly 50% of the remaining balance. The surviving children share the other 50% equally.

If there is no surviving spouse or domestic partner:

The estate passes to children in equal shares. If a child has predeceased the deceased, that child's own children (the deceased's grandchildren) step into their parent's share.

If there are no children:

The estate ascends the hierarchy — to parents, then siblings, then nieces and nephews, then cousins. If the deceased left no surviving relatives at all, the estate passes to the South Australian government as bona vacantia.

Important: "Domestic partner" has a legal meaning under the Act. A person must have been in a genuine domestic relationship (not merely cohabiting in a business or caring arrangement) for the entitlement to apply. Establishing de facto partner status before the court can require evidence of shared finances, cohabitation history, and public recognition of the relationship.

Who Can Apply for Letters of Administration

The court generally grants administration to the person entitled to the largest share of the estate. In practice, this means:

1. Surviving spouse or domestic partner (highest priority)
2. Adult children (in equal standing if no spouse)
3. Parents
4. Siblings

If more than one person has equal entitlement, they can agree who will act as administrator, or the court will appoint based on circumstances. Where no suitable person comes forward, or where the estate is complex, the Public Trustee of South Australia can assume administration under Section 73 of the Succession Act 2023 — though this route carries commission fees.

The Key Procedural Difference: Advertising

Standard probate applications (where a valid will exists) are not required to be advertised. Applications for letters of administration are — without exception.

Before the Supreme Court will evaluate your application, you must publish a formal notice of your intention to apply in both:

• The South Australian Government Gazette
• A local newspaper circulating in the area where the deceased lived

This advertising period is not a formality. It serves a real purpose: giving unknown creditors, estranged relatives, or anyone who may have a later-dated will the opportunity to come forward before you gain legal control of the assets. The CourtSA portal will not proceed with your application until you upload proof of publication.

What You Need to File via CourtSA

All applications for letters of administration are filed electronically through the CourtSA portal under Chapter 25 of the Uniform Civil Rules 2020. The paper-based process that older solicitors will remember is fully abolished.

You will need to prepare and upload:

1. The Administrator's Oath (Form PROB34) Because there is no will to swear upon, the applicant must complete a specific statutory oath setting out their exact legal entitlement. This form recites your relationship to the deceased, the basis of your priority under the statutory hierarchy, and confirms that to your knowledge, the deceased died intestate.

2. The Death Certificate Issued by Consumer and Business Services (CBS) — Births, Deaths and Marriages. This must be the official certificate, not a notice of death or hospital confirmation.

3. A Full Statement of Assets and Liabilities Under Rule 356.17 of the Uniform Civil Rules 2020, you must compile a detailed inventory of every asset and liability belonging to the deceased, valued as at the exact date of death. Real estate must be valued using the Valuer General figure (from a council rates notice) or a formal licensed valuer's appraisal. A personal estimate will be rejected.

4. Your Certificate of Identity (100-Point Check) Under Practice Note 4 of 2024, self-represented applicants must present 100 points of original identification to an authorized witness — a Justice of the Peace, non-probationary police officer, notary public, or Commissioner for taking affidavits. Certified copies of your ID, together with the completed certificate, must be uploaded to CourtSA.

5. Proof of Advertising You must upload a copy of the published Gazette notice and newspaper notice, together with the dates of publication.

Filing Fees

CourtSA charges a tiered fee based on the gross value of the South Australian estate:

Payment is made online by credit card during the CourtSA submission process. However — and this trips up many self-represented applicants — paying online does not start the court's review. The portal generates a unique PROB file number and a coversheet. You must print that coversheet, attach it to an A4 envelope, place your physical original documents inside (flat and unfolded), and post or deliver them to the Probate Registry at the Sir Samuel Way Building, 241-259 Victoria Square, Adelaide. The registry will not process anything until it receives the physical envelope.

Can the Public Trustee Handle It Instead?

If the intestate estate is valued at $100,000 or less and contains no real property whatsoever, the Public Trustee can administer the estate under Section 73 of the Succession Act 2023 without any Supreme Court application at all. The Public Trustee simply publishes a notice in the Government Gazette, and a deemed grant is established.

The trade-off is cost. The Public Trustee charges a capital commission of 4.4% on estates up to $200,000, plus an annual active administration fee of $204. For a $100,000 estate, that's $4,400 in commission alone — versus $987 in court filing fees if you apply yourself.

Common Mistakes That Cause Delay

The Probate Registry issues formal "requisitions" — correction demands — whenever applications are non-compliant. Common triggers in letters of administration cases include:

• Failing to advertise before lodging the application
• An Administrator's Oath that doesn't precisely recite the statutory basis of entitlement
• Asset inventories that use market estimates rather than proper valuations for real property
• Identity documents where names don't exactly match (a linked marriage certificate may be required to bridge a name discrepancy)

Each requisition pauses your application until you respond with the corrected materials.

A Practical Starting Point

If you're unsure whether the estate qualifies for the Public Trustee route, needs full letters of administration, or can be handled informally through bank thresholds and Section 100 of the Succession Act 2023, working through the decision tree before you lodge anything will save considerable time and money.

The South Australia Probate Process Guide covers the intestacy process in full, including a step-by-step CourtSA walkthrough, the Administrator's Oath requirements, the exact advertising steps, and a comparison of the Public Trustee route versus the DIY administration pathway — so you can make the right call for your estate's size and complexity.

See more South Australia guides →