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How to Make a Will in Australia 2025: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

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Creating a will is one of the most important legal documents you'll ever prepare. This guide shows how to make a will in Australia, satisfy legal requirements, and avoid the common mistakes that delay probate or invalidate your wishes.

This article is part of WillBuddy’s Knowledge Centre to help you make a will in Australia with confidence. Our guidance is state-aware (NSW, VIC, QLD) and focuses on practical, low-friction steps.

Quick Answer

To make a will in Australia you write a clear document, sign it with two independent witnesses, and appoint an executor to administer your wishes.

  • Age and capacity: Be 18 or older (limited exceptions apply) and have testamentary capacity.
  • Clear intent and signing: State it's your last will, and sign with two independent witnesses (not beneficiaries).
  • Key appointments: Name an executor, and clearly identify beneficiaries, gifts, and guardians (if needed).

What You Need Before You Start

  • People: Executor (plus alternate), guardians (if you have children), witnesses (2 independent adults, not beneficiaries).
  • Decisions: Who receives what (primary and backup beneficiaries), any specific gifts, funeral or organ donation wishes.
  • Documents: ID, asset list (property, bank/super, investments, business interests, insurance), debts, and account details.

For your will to be legally valid in Australia, it must meet specific requirements:

  • Age and Capacity: You must be at least 18 years old and have mental capacity. Limited exceptions allow a person under 18 to make a will, for example if they are married or with authorisation from the Supreme Court
  • Written Document: Your will must be in writing (handwritten, typed, or printed)
  • Clear Intent: The document must clearly state it's your will and testament
  • Signature: You must sign the will (signing at the end of the document is best practice and avoids doubt about which provisions you intended to include)
  • Witnesses: Two independent witnesses must see you sign and then sign themselves

Testamentary capacity means you understand that you are making a will, have a general sense of what you own, and can weigh up the people who might reasonably expect to benefit from your estate. This is the test from Banks v Goodfellow, an 1870 English case that Australian courts still apply today. Capacity most often becomes a live issue when a will-maker is elderly or seriously unwell, so it is wise to make your will while your health is sound.

If a document falls short of the formal signing or witnessing rules, every Australian state and territory has a "dispensing power" that lets the Supreme Court accept an informal document as a will where it is satisfied that is what the deceased intended. Treat it as a safety net, not a strategy: these applications are slow and expensive, so it is far better to get the formalities right the first time.

See the detailed checklist of will requirements to avoid execution errors that slow probate.

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Will

  1. Take Inventory of Your Assets: List all your assets including real estate properties, bank accounts and investments, personal belongings and valuables, superannuation, business interests, and insurance policies.
  2. Decide on Beneficiaries: Determine who should receive your assets. Consider family members, friends, charities, and any specific bequests you want to make. Think about contingency beneficiaries in case your primary beneficiaries predecease you.
  3. Choose an Executor: Select a trustworthy person to carry out your wishes. Consider choosing an alternate executor as well. Your executor should be organized, reliable, and willing to take on the responsibility.
  4. Consider Guardianship for Minor Children: If you have children under 18, nominate guardians who would care for them. This is a recommendation to the court, which will consider your wishes when making guardianship decisions.
  5. Draft Your Will: Write your will clearly and unambiguously. Include all necessary clauses and ensure your instructions are specific and easy to understand.
  6. Sign and Witness: Sign your will in the presence of two independent witnesses, who must then sign in your presence and in each other's presence. All signatures should be on the same occasion.

What to Include in Your Will

A clear, complete will leaves no gaps for a court to fill in later. Most valid Australian wills contain the following clauses:

  • Revocation clause: States that this will revokes all earlier wills and codicils, so there is no doubt which document is current.
  • Executor (and substitute): Names the person who will administer your estate, plus a backup if your first choice cannot or will not act.
  • Guardian for minor children: Nominates who would care for any children under 18, a recommendation the court usually follows.
  • Specific gifts: Particular items or sums of money left to named people or charities, described precisely so they cannot be confused.
  • Residuary clause: Says who receives the "residue": everything left after debts, taxes, and specific gifts are paid. Without it, anything not specifically dealt with can fall into intestacy.
  • Trustee powers: Authority for your executor (or a testamentary trust) to hold, manage, and invest assets, which matters most when beneficiaries are young or vulnerable.
  • Funeral and organ-donation wishes: Optional and not strictly binding, but a helpful guide for your family.

For protecting children through a trust, see minor children, guardians and trusts and testamentary trusts in Australia.

Assets That Don't Pass Under Your Will

Key point

Your will does not control everything you own. Superannuation, jointly owned property, and life insurance often pass outside your will, so they need to be planned separately.

A common and costly misunderstanding is assuming your will controls everything you own. Several major assets pass outside your will and are not governed by it:

  • Superannuation: Your super (and any life insurance held inside it) is paid by the fund's trustee, usually according to a binding death benefit nomination rather than your will, unless you direct it to your estate.
  • Jointly owned property: Property held as "joint tenants" passes automatically to the surviving owner by survivorship, regardless of what your will says.
  • Life insurance held outside super: Pays directly to the beneficiary nominated on the policy.
  • Assets in a family trust or company: Are owned by the trust or company, not by you personally, so they are controlled by the trust deed or company constitution.

Mapping these "non-estate" assets early stops your plan from being quietly undone. For example, you could leave "everything equally to my children" in your will while your super flows entirely to one nominated person.

State and Territory Differences

Witnessing formalities and probate processes vary slightly between the states and territories. Always follow the rules for your own state or territory and keep copies of signed documents.

  • Witnessing nuances: If formalities are not met, a court in every state and territory may still admit the document under its dispensing power where satisfied it reflects the deceased's intentions, but that process is slow and uncertain, so strict compliance is safest. Use independent witnesses: if a beneficiary witnesses the will, the gift to them can be void in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, while Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT do not void it.
  • Probate timing: Processing times vary by state and current court workload, and can run from a few weeks to a few months. Check your state or territory Supreme Court registry for current estimates before relying on a timeframe.
  • Remote execution: Several states and territories now have permanent provisions allowing audio-visual (remote) witnessing of wills, each with strict conditions. The rules differ, so check the current requirements (or get advice) before relying on remote witnessing.

See Will Witnesses Requirements Australia for step-by-step checks.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Beneficiary as witness: This can void their gift. Use independent adults only.
  • Missing residue clause: Without it, leftover assets follow intestacy rules. Include a residue clause naming who receives “everything else.”
  • No backups: Have alternate executor and backup beneficiaries.
  • Unclear gifts: Be specific (include addresses, account details, or descriptions).
  • No storage plan: Store the original safely and tell your executor where it is.

Key point

If a beneficiary (or their husband or wife) acts as a witness, the gift to that beneficiary can be lost in most states, even though the will itself stays valid. Always choose two independent witnesses who gain nothing under your will.

How to Store and Update Your Will

  • Storage: Keep the signed original in a fire-safe place; tell your executor and one trusted person where it is. Avoid stapling/removing staples after execution (can raise questions about missing pages).
  • Updates: Update after major life events (marriage, separation, new child, property changes). Minor edits: consider a codicil; bigger changes: a new will.
  • Regular review: Revisit annually to ensure executors/beneficiaries are still right.

Learn how to update or change a will and when to choose a codicil vs new will.

How Much Does a Will Cost in Australia?

You have three broad options, and the right one depends on how complex your estate is:

  • DIY will kits (around $20–$50): The cheapest route, but easy to get wrong. A small error can invalidate the will or trigger a costly court application later. See will kits in Australia.
  • Guided online wills (from around $39): Ask structured questions and apply state-aware rules, suiting simple to moderate estates. Compare online will vs lawyer.
  • Solicitor-drafted wills (around $300–$3,000+): Best where things are complex, such as blended families, business interests, trusts, or a real risk of dispute. See lawyer will cost in Australia.

Whichever you choose, the validity of your will depends on meeting your state's signing and witnessing rules, not on how much you spend.

Seek tailored advice if you have a blended family, business interests, trusts, vulnerable beneficiaries, or contested family dynamics. Complex estates benefit from a lawyer or guided service to avoid disputes and probate delays.

Legislation and Official Resources

Will-making in Australia is governed by each state and territory's own succession legislation. There is no single national wills act. The core statutes that set out who can make a will and the signing and witnessing formalities include:

Each state and territory's Supreme Court administers probate and publishes official guidance on applying for a grant. Because requirements differ between states and are amended over time, always confirm the current rules for your state, or seek advice from a qualified legal professional, before finalising your will.

Start a free draft with WillBuddy to generate a state-aware will and preview it before you pay.

Reviewed and current as at 12 June 2026.

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Laws change over time and vary between Australian states and territories, so always confirm the current position and consider advice from a qualified legal professional for your specific circumstances.