A collection of links to Australian succession law resources which may be useful to find more information when planning ahead.
Australian Legal Information Institute (Austlii) provides free online access to Australian legal information across all states, territories and the Commonwealth. It publishes legislation, court and tribunal decisions, treaties and a range of other materials. Their user guides provide help on how to search the Austlii databases.
New South Wales
The Law Society of New South Wales at https://www.lawsociety.com.au provides online “Know Your Rights” easy-to-follow guides on Making a Will and Being an Executor.
The Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) at https://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/ of the State Library of New South Wales provides online information on Wills, Estates and ‘Planning Ahead’ among other legal materials.
Two useful publications made available online by LIAC are:
- The Law Handbook: your practical guide to the law in New South Wales, Thomson Reuters, 12th ed., 2012. See the chapter on Wills, estates and funerals, There is another section on Wills, estates and planning ahead.
- Rest assured:a legal guide to wills, estates and funerals in New South Wales, by Rosemary Long and Trudy Coffey, published in 2011.
The NSW Department of the Attorney General and Justice provides plain language legal information online at www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au.
The law societies in each state and territory may have information on wills, estates and being an executor.
South Australia
The Legal Services Commission of South Australia publishes a Law Handbook. It is an overview of South Australian law. The Commission provides free access to the book’s contents at https://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/. The section about Wills, estates and funerals may be accessed here.
Victoria
The Fitzroy Legal Service publishes the Victoria Law Handbook online at https://www.lawhandbook.org.au/. It is a practical guide to the law in Victoria.
Queensland
The Queensland Law Handbook is available online here, produced by the Caxton Legal Centre. The chapter on wills and estates may be found via this link. It contains useful and practical information set out in a non-legalistic way.
Tasmania
The Tasmanian Law Handbook is produced by the Hobart Community Legal Service: https://www.hobartlegal.org.au/handbook/. There is a chapter on Wills, Estates and Funerals and Guardianship via this link.
Northern Territory
Easy-to-read information on wills and estates can be found in the NT Law Handbook, online version here. Scroll down to find the section on “Wills, estates and death”.
ACT
The online version of the Law Handbook in the ACT is produced with support by the ANU College of Law, the ACT Legal Aid Commission and others. Scroll down the page to find many useful links to a range of subjects including succession law, wills, deceased estates, elder law and health law.
24 February 2014, last updated August 2023
B Stead
BHS Legal