Small Estate South Australia: When You Don't Need Full Probate

Not every estate in South Australia needs a Supreme Court grant of probate. The Succession Act 2023, which commenced on 1 January 2025, introduced two specific mechanisms that allow families managing modest estates to avoid the CourtSA application process entirely — saving the filing fee, saving the paperwork, and saving weeks of waiting.

Whether those mechanisms apply to your situation depends on three things: the total value of the estate, whether it includes any real property, and who the assets pass to.

The Two Small Estate Mechanisms

Section 100: The $15,000 Direct Transfer

Under Section 100 of the Succession Act 2023, any person or institution holding $15,000 or less of the deceased's money or personal property may transfer those assets directly to a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or child — without demanding a grant of probate or letters of administration.

This applies institution by institution, not to the total estate. If the deceased held $12,000 in a savings account, the bank can transfer that amount directly to a surviving spouse under Section 100, regardless of what else the estate contains. The transfer doesn't imply the recipient is entitled to keep the funds permanently if the will says otherwise — it simply removes the administrative bottleneck for small amounts.

Key limitation: Section 100 only covers money and personal property (vehicles, jewellery, household goods). It has no application to real property. If the estate includes a house or land in the deceased's sole name or held as tenants in common, you need probate regardless of what the bank accounts contain.

Practical friction: This statutory right sometimes collides with bank staff who aren't familiar with the 2025 law change. If a bank refuses to release $12,000 to a surviving spouse under Section 100, ask to speak to the deceased estates team or a branch manager, citing Section 100 of the Succession Act 2023 directly. The right exists in statute; the challenge is getting frontline staff to act on it.

Section 73: The $100,000 Public Trustee Route

Under Section 73 of the Succession Act 2023, an estate is defined as a "small estate" if:

1. Its total value is $100,000 or less, and
2. It contains no real property whatsoever.

For estates meeting both conditions, the Public Trustee of South Australia can administer the estate without a formal Supreme Court application. Instead of filing through CourtSA, the Public Trustee gives notice to the Registrar of Probates and publishes a notice in the South Australian Government Gazette and on its website. This creates a "deemed grant" — legally equivalent to a court-issued grant — but without the CourtSA filing fee ($987 for estates under $200,000).

There is no automatic trigger. The executor or next of kin must actively contact the Public Trustee and request administration under Section 73. The Public Trustee then assesses whether the estate meets the criteria.

The Public Trustee Fee Calculation

Avoiding the court fee sounds appealing, but the Public Trustee doesn't administer estates for free. It charges a commission on the gross value of estate assets:

There is also an annual active administration fee of $204 per year for ongoing estate management.

What this means in practice:

On a $90,000 estate, the Public Trustee commission is 4.4% × $90,000 = $3,960. Compare that to the Supreme Court CourtSA filing fee for the same estate: $987. The Public Trustee route costs roughly four times more.

On a $60,000 estate: Public Trustee commission = $2,640 versus the court fee of $987.

The court fee is cheaper in almost every case. The Public Trustee route makes more sense when:

• The executor is unable or unwilling to navigate the CourtSA portal and physical lodgement process
• The estate is genuinely complex (multiple creditors, disputed assets)
• There is no clear person eligible to act as administrator under the statutory hierarchy

If you're comfortable following a step-by-step process and the estate is straightforward, handling the CourtSA application yourself — with a comprehensive guide — will almost always leave more money in the estate for beneficiaries.

What Always Requires Full Probate

Despite the small estate mechanisms, a formal grant is absolutely mandatory when:

The estate includes real property in the deceased's sole name or held as tenants in common. If the house was jointly owned as joint tenants with a surviving spouse, it passes automatically by survivorship (no grant needed, just an Application to Register Death by Survivor with Land Services SA). But if the deceased was the sole owner, or if they held a share as tenant in common, the title cannot be transferred without a Supreme Court grant.

Bank accounts exceed institutional thresholds. Banks operate under their own internal policies separate from the statutory $15,000 threshold. BankSA typically requires probate for deposits above $50,000. Commonwealth Bank and ANZ generally set their threshold at $100,000. Westpac's limit varies by account type. The statutory Section 100 right applies, but banks will sometimes still insist on a grant for larger amounts through internal policy — which may require escalation or legal advice.

The estate is intestate (no will) and assets exceed Section 100 limits. Without a will, you're applying for Letters of Administration, not probate, but the process through CourtSA still applies and a formal grant is still required for any asset above $15,000 that isn't covered by a bank's informal release.

The Practical Decision Framework

Ask these three questions in order:

1. Does the estate include any real property in the deceased's sole name or as tenants in common? If yes → full probate is mandatory. Section 73 and Section 100 do not apply.

2. Is the total estate value (excluding jointly held property) $15,000 or less? If yes → explore Section 100 direct transfer. No court application needed for that amount.

3. Is the total estate value $100,000 or less with no real property? If yes → you have a choice: apply through CourtSA yourself (court fee: $987) or refer to the Public Trustee (commission: 4.4% of assets, typically $2,640–$4,400). The DIY route is cheaper in almost every case.

For estates above $100,000, or any estate with real property, full probate is required. The South Australia Probate Process Guide covers the complete CourtSA application process — including the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, physical lodgement requirements, and the compliance checks that prevent costly requisitions — so you can handle the application without paying a solicitor's hourly rate.

Interstate Comparison

Other Australian states have similar small estate mechanisms, though the thresholds differ. Victoria allows asset holders to release up to $50,000 to an eligible person without a grant. Queensland banks have varying internal limits. NSW applies a $15,000 statutory threshold under its Administration Act. South Australia's Section 100 threshold aligns with NSW, while the Section 73 Public Trustee route at $100,000 is more generous than most comparable jurisdictions.

If the deceased held assets in multiple Australian states, only the South Australian threshold governs assets held in SA. Interstate assets are subject to the rules of that state. Section 57 of the Succession Act 2023 simplifies the process for registering interstate grants in South Australia — once a grant is registered, it has the same force as a SA-issued grant, without needing a full reseal.

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