If someone dies without a valid will in the Northern Territory, a fixed statutory formula decides who inherits.
Australia does not have one set of intestacy rules — it has eight, and they produce genuinely different outcomes for identical families. This page covers what the Northern Territory does. For the parts that are the same everywhere — why stepchildren miss out, how de facto status is proven, what happens with no living relatives — see what happens if you die without a will in Australia.
The Northern Territory works differently from most states. Instead of naming a dollar figure in the Act, Schedule 6 refers to a prescribed amount set by regulation. If the estate is worth less than that amount the surviving partner takes all of it; if it is worth more, they take the prescribed sum plus half the balance where there is one child, or a third where there are more. Because the figure sits in regulations rather than the Act, always confirm the current amount before relying on it.
This is a real difference in legislative technique, not a detail. Most jurisdictions write the number into the Act or index it by a published formula, so you can look it up and rely on it. the Northern Territory does not, which means the current amount has to be confirmed against the regulation in force at the date of death.
We would rather tell you that than publish a number we cannot verify. On a page about inheritance, a stale figure is worse than no figure. For comparison, the jurisdictions that do state it directly range from $120,000 in South Australia and $150,000 in Queensland up to roughly $611,000 in New South Wales — a fivefold spread across one country.
The practical consequence for a NT family is uncertainty at the worst possible moment. A will removes it.
Under section 66 and Schedule 6 of the Administration and Probate Act 1969 (NT), the estate passes to the first category with a living member:
The exact fractions are technical and depend on the family's shape. The national intestacy guide explains the traps that catch every state — stepchildren, separated spouses, competing partners, proving a de facto relationship.
The Northern Territory charges a flat fee of approximately $1,585 — made up of a filing fee of about $1,548 plus a search fee of about $37 — regardless of the size of the estate. That is the highest flat probate fee in Australia, roughly four times what Western Australia charges, and because it is flat it falls hardest on small estates.
the Northern Territory charges a flat filing fee, which cuts both ways. A large estate pays the same as a small one — good news for substantial estates, and notably better than the tiered states where the fee climbs with value. But a small NT estate pays that same fee in full, with no nil threshold to fall under. In New South Wales an estate below $100,000 pays no filing fee at all; in Victoria the threshold is $250,000; in the ACT, $50,000. A modest NT estate has no such relief.
Figures are as at FY2026-27, and most jurisdictions re-index on 1 July, so check the current NT schedule before relying on one. These are court fees only — they exclude solicitor costs, and they exclude trustee company commissions, which are charged as a percentage of the estate and dwarf the filing fee on any substantial intestacy.
There is a second cost that never appears on a fee schedule: with no will there is no executor. A relative must apply to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory for letters of administration, which is slower than a grant of probate and usually needs the consent of others with an equal or better right to apply. Until that grant issues, banks and land registries will release nothing. The mortgage, meanwhile, keeps falling due.
Intestacy produces exactly the conditions that lead to a family provision claim: someone the statutory formula ignores entirely, such as a stepchild or a long-term partner whose relationship is disputed, and no document recording what the deceased actually wanted.
In the Northern Territory, such a claim must be brought within 12 months of the grant of administration, under section 9 of the Family Provision Act 1970 (NT).
The Northern Territory allows a full 12 months, which together with New South Wales is the most generous in the country — four times the three months Tasmania allows. The difference is that the NT clock runs from the grant of administration rather than from the date of death.
Note carefully when the clock starts, because it is not the same across Australia and it is the detail that catches administrators out. New South Wales and Queensland run the period from the date of death. The other six jurisdictions run it from the grant of probate or administration. That distinction is worth months: an intestate estate can take a long time to reach a grant, and in a grant-based jurisdiction none of that delay eats into the claim period. In a death-based jurisdiction, it all does.
For an administrator this is the single most dangerous date in the process. Distribute the estate before the window closes and you may be personally exposed if a claim succeeds afterwards.
Everything above is a default that applies because nobody left instructions. A valid will overrides the statutory formula, names an executor so no one has to apply for administration, and lets you provide for the people section 66 and Schedule 6 of the Administration and Probate Act 1969 (NT) does not recognise.
Before you make one, check the witnessing requirements in NT — because a will that fails on execution puts your family straight back into this page.
No. In the Northern Territory, where there is both a partner and children, the estate is generally shared rather than passing wholly to the partner. This surprises most people, and it is the opposite of the position in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
12 months from the grant of administration, under section 9 of the Family Provision Act 1970 (NT). The court can extend that period at its discretion, but an extension is far harder to obtain once the estate has been distributed.
the Northern Territory charges a flat filing fee regardless of the size of the estate, so a small estate gets no discount and a large one no penalty. The Northern Territory charges a flat fee of approximately $1,585 — made up of a filing fee of about $1,548 plus a search fee of about $37 — regardless of the size of the estate. That is the highest flat probate fee in Australia, roughly four times what Western Australia charges, and because it is flat it falls hardest on small estates.
Then the estate is generally dealt with as an intestacy, unless the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory exercises its dispensing power under section 10 of the Wills Act 2000 (NT) to admit the document anyway. That is a court application with costs and delay, not a formality.
The Northern Territory is the most expensive place in Australia to administer an estate. Its flat probate fee of about $1,585 is roughly four times Western Australia's $408, and because it does not scale with the estate it falls hardest on small ones. The Territory is also alone in not stating the partner's intestacy entitlement in the Act itself — Schedule 6 points to a prescribed amount fixed by regulation, so the figure must always be checked. On witnesses the NT is strict, like New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania: a gift to someone who witnessed your will is void. And it has never permitted remote witnessing, not even temporarily during the pandemic.
Not freely. The administrator is legally obliged to distribute according to section 66 and Schedule 6 of the Administration and Probate Act 1969 (NT). Departing from it generally requires formal steps and can carry tax consequences. The general position across Australia is covered in the national guide.