RedCrest Probate: A Plain-English Guide to Victoria's Online Probate System

Most executors discover RedCrest-Probate at the worst possible moment — sitting at a bank branch with a photocopy of the will, being told the account is frozen until a Grant of Probate is produced. The bank hands over a pamphlet. The pamphlet says "apply through the Supreme Court." The Supreme Court's website says "use RedCrest." And suddenly you're staring at a login screen with no idea what comes next.

RedCrest-Probate is the Supreme Court of Victoria's mandatory digital eFiling system for all probate applications. Since July 2020, every application for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration must be initiated through this portal. There is no paper-based alternative. Here is exactly how it works.

What RedCrest-Probate Actually Does

RedCrest is the Supreme Court's case management platform, adapted for deceased estate applications. It handles three core tasks:

1. Publishing your Notice of Intention — the mandatory public advertisement that precedes every probate application
2. Generating your document package — the Originating Motion, Affidavit in Support, Inventory of Assets, and Certificates Identifying Exhibits
3. Accepting your digital upload and payment — the formal submission of scanned documents and the tiered court filing fee

What RedCrest does not do is replace physical documents entirely. This is the most misunderstood aspect of the system, and missing it causes weeks of delay.

Step 1: Create Your RedCrest Account

Go to redcrest.com.au/probate and register with a stable email address. Every single login attempt triggers a two-factor authentication code sent to that email — not to your phone, to your email. If you use a corporate or employer email that you may lose access to mid-application, set up a personal address first.

Your account is tied to the specific application. If multiple executors are acting jointly, only one should create the account and manage the filing. The Court deals with one point of contact.

Step 2: Publish the Notice of Intention (and Wait 15 Days)

Before you can file anything substantive, you must publicly advertise your intention to apply for probate. This is not optional and not a formality — it is a statutory mechanism giving creditors and potential challengers the chance to come forward.

Inside RedCrest, you complete a short online questionnaire. The system drafts the advertisement automatically based on your answers. Review every word carefully: the deceased's name must exactly match the death certificate and the will. A single letter's difference — "Margaret" versus "Margret" — triggers a formal requisition from the Court later.

Once you verify the text, pay the advertising fee ($35.90 to $49.00 for the 2026-2027 financial year) through the portal's payment gateway. The notice publishes immediately.

The 15-day wait begins from the date of publication — not from when you pay. The system will physically block you from submitting the substantive application until 15 clear days have elapsed. You cannot circumvent this. Use the time productively.

If you spot an error in the advertisement after publication but before filing the application, you can click "Re-advertise," pay the $49.00 fee again, and restart the 15-day clock. This is painful but manageable. If you only spot the error after filing and the Court finds it, the process is considerably more expensive and complicated.

Step 3: Complete the Inventory of Assets and Liabilities

During the 15-day waiting period, work on the Inventory of Assets and Liabilities inside the RedCrest portal. This document requires precise figures for every Victorian asset and liability as at the date of death:

• Bank and savings account balances (exact figures from institution statements)
• Real estate (gross market value, not the amount after mortgage)
• Share portfolios and managed funds (value on date of death)
• Vehicles, valuable personal property
• Outstanding debts and mortgages

The Supreme Court calculates your filing fee based entirely on the gross value of Victorian assets — before any debts are subtracted. A $700,000 house with a $400,000 mortgage counts as a $700,000 asset for fee purposes. This surprises many executors.

Assets held as joint tenants (such as a jointly owned home where the deceased and surviving spouse held the property as joint tenants) generally do not form part of the probate estate and are excluded from the inventory. Superannuation with a valid binding death benefit nomination directed to a named beneficiary also bypasses the estate.

Step 4: Collect and Prepare Your Physical Documents

While the portal does most of the administrative work digitally, Victorian law still requires wet-ink signatures on the core affidavit documents. The portal will generate a downloadable PDF package containing:

• The Affidavit in Support
• The Inventory of Assets and Liabilities
• Certificates Identifying Exhibits (one for the will, one for the death certificate, one for the inventory)

Print these documents. Do not sign them yet. Take them, along with the original will and the original death certificate, to an authorised witness — a Justice of the Peace, a police officer, or an Australian legal practitioner.

Critical rule about the original will: Do not remove any staples, clips, or bindings from the will before presenting it to the witness or the Court. The Supreme Court physically examines the original will upon receipt. Any staple holes, rust marks, or signs that additional pages were once attached triggers an immediate requisition requiring a sworn Affidavit of Plight and Condition — a detailed legal document explaining exactly how the damage occurred. This stalls probate by weeks and almost always requires legal assistance.

The authorised witness must sign the Affidavit, the Exhibit Certificates, and the back page of the original will. Sign the documents in the witness's physical presence. Do not pre-sign.

Step 5: Upload, Pay, and Submit

Return to RedCrest. Scan your signed documents (high-quality PDF) and upload each one to the designated section. The system will calculate the filing fee based on your declared inventory:

Pay the fee through the portal's payment gateway. The application is now digitally submitted.

Step 6: The Physical Mail Step That Catches Everyone Out

This is the step most executors miss, and it is why their application stalls.

After the digital submission, RedCrest generates one final document: the Originating Motion. You must print this document and physically mail it to the Probate Office — along with the original will and the original Certificates Identifying Exhibits — to the Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Use registered post.

The Court will not begin reviewing your digital application until the physical originals arrive at the registry. The Court's target processing time is 5 to 10 working days after the physical documents are received — not after the digital submission.

The address for postal lodgment and the exact documents required are confirmed on the RedCrest portal upon submission. Double-check the list before sealing the envelope.

After the Grant Is Issued

Once the Probate Office is satisfied, they issue an electronic Grant of Probate. Victoria no longer issues physical parchment grants as standard practice. The electronic grant is legally valid for dealing with banks, financial institutions, and most other purposes.

For real estate transfers, you will need to engage a licensed conveyancer or property solicitor to lodge a Transmission Application (Section 49 of the Transfer of Land Act) through the PEXA electronic conveyancing network. Self-represented individuals cannot access PEXA directly for title transfers.

After the grant is issued, wait out the 6-month family provision claim window before distributing assets to beneficiaries. Distributing before this window closes exposes the executor to personal liability if an eligible person later challenges the will.

Common RedCrest Mistakes to Avoid

• Name mismatches: Every reference to the deceased across the advertisement, affidavit, and inventory must exactly match the death certificate and will
• Removing staples: Never remove binding from the original will for any reason
• Missing the physical mail step: Uploading documents digitally does not complete the filing
• Using a work email for the account: You need access to this email for the entire process
• Paying fees before the 15 days expire: You cannot skip the waiting period

The RedCrest portal is comprehensive once you understand its hybrid digital-physical logic. The process rewards methodical preparation and punishes shortcuts.

For a complete step-by-step walkthrough — including the exact documents to prepare, the inventory structure, and what to do if the Court issues a requisition — the Victoria Probate Process Guide covers the entire process from the first day to final distribution.

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