Probate Reseal Between Australia and the UK — How Cross-Border Grants Work

When a person dies with assets in both Australia and the UK, the executor does not need to apply for a completely separate grant of probate in each country. The Colonial Probates Act 1892 allows a grant issued by an Australian State Supreme Court to be "resealed" by the Probate Registry of England and Wales, giving it legal force over UK assets without starting the UK probate process from scratch. The reverse also works — an English grant can be resealed in any Australian state.

This saves significant time and legal fees, but the process has specific requirements that trip up executors who assume resealing is a simple rubber stamp.

How Resealing Works: Australia to UK

The executor obtains probate from the Supreme Court of the Australian state where the deceased held assets. They then apply to the UK Probate Registry to have that grant resealed.

Step 1: Obtain an exemplification. The Australian court issues an "exemplification" — a sealed, certified court copy of the original grant. This is not the same as a photocopy. The exemplification carries the court's official seal and is the only form UK probate registries accept.

Step 2: File the appropriate UK inheritance tax return. The reseal workflow includes lodging the relevant IHT return with HMRC before the reseal application. The required form and any payment or clearance steps depend on the estate's circumstances, so confirm the current requirements with HMRC and the Probate Registry.

Step 3: Lodge the reseal application. The executor submits the exemplification, evidence of the HMRC IHT filing, the apostilled Australian death certificate, and the UK reseal application form to the Probate Registry. The registry reviews the documents and, if satisfied, issues a resealed grant carrying full legal authority over UK assets.

The resealed grant allows the executor to contact UK banks, building societies, share registrars, and pension providers with legal authority to collect assets and distribute the estate.

Which Australian Court Has Jurisdiction

This depends on where the assets are physically located:

Real property (houses, land): The Supreme Court of the state where the property is registered. A house in Sydney means the NSW Supreme Court; a unit in Melbourne means the Victorian Supreme Court.

Bank accounts: Identified by the Bank State Branch (BSB) number. The BSB pinpoints the branch managing the account and determines the state court.

Shares: Determined by the location of the share registry. Shares registered with Link Market Services (Sydney) require an NSW Supreme Court grant. Shares registered with Computershare (Melbourne) require a Victorian Supreme Court grant.

If the deceased held assets across multiple Australian states, the executor typically obtains a grant in one state and then reseals that grant in each additional state court — then reseals the original grant in the UK.

UK to Australia Resealing

The process works in reverse under the reciprocal provisions of Australian state legislation (such as the Administration Act 1903 in Western Australia). An English grant of probate can be resealed in any Australian State Supreme Court, giving the executor legal authority over Australian assets without applying for a fresh Australian grant.

This is the more common direction for UK-based executors managing the estate of a British person who died in Australia with assets in both countries.

Intestacy — When There Is No Will

If the deceased died without a valid will (intestate), the executor cannot obtain a grant of probate because there is no will to prove. Instead, the court issues Letters of Administration, appointing an administrator — typically the closest living relative under the intestacy hierarchy.

The complication with cross-border intestacy is that Australian and UK intestacy rules differ. Australia applies the intestacy law of the state where the deceased was domiciled at death (for personal property) and the state where real property is located (for land and buildings). The UK applies its own intestacy rules to UK-situated assets.

This can produce different distribution outcomes. For example, Australian intestacy rules may give the surviving spouse the entire estate where UK rules would split it between spouse and children. The administrator must apply the correct law to each set of assets — a task that genuinely benefits from specialist legal advice.

Letters of Administration from an Australian court can be resealed in the UK under the same Colonial Probates Act mechanism, but the UK Probate Registry may scrutinise the application more closely than a standard probate reseal.

Common Pitfalls

Missing the IHT filing. The reseal workflow includes lodging the appropriate IHT return with HMRC before the reseal application; omitting it can delay the application.

Using a photocopy instead of an exemplification. The exemplification must carry the court's original seal. Standard certified copies do not satisfy the requirement.

Failing to apostille the death certificate for UK probate. The UK Probate Registry requires the Australian death certificate to carry a Hague Apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; high-street banks generally accept certified copies without an Apostille for standard account closures.

Overlooking the residency-based IHT test. The 2025 IHT reforms mean UK inheritance tax now follows a residency test — anyone who was UK tax resident for 10 of the 20 years before death is subject to IHT on their worldwide estate, including Australian assets. This catches many long-term expats who assumed their UK tax exposure had ended.

The Full Cross-Border Estate Process

Probate resealing is one piece of a larger puzzle that includes superannuation death benefit claims, ATO deceased estate tax returns, UK bank closures, and pension notifications. The British Person Dies in Australia — Family Emergency Guide covers the complete sequence, from securing the death certificate through to final asset distribution in both jurisdictions.