The law relating to the resealing of probate or letters of administration is provided by section 71 of the Administration Act 1969 (NZ), that states:

71      Resealing of probate, etc

 Where any probate or letters of administration granted-

  • by any competent court in any Commonwealth country (other than New Zealand) or in the Republic of Ireland; or
  • by any court of any Commonwealth country (other than New Zealand) which at the date of the grant has jurisdiction out of the Commonwealth in pursuance of an Order in Council, whether made under any Act or otherwise; or
  • by any competent court of any other country, being a country to which (at the date of the production for sealing under this section) this section is, by Order in Council, declared to apply-

are produced to and a copy thereof deposited with any Registrar of the High Court of New Zealand, the probate or letters of administration may be sealed with the seal of the last-mentioned court, and shall thereupon have the like force and effect and have the same operation in New Zealand, and every executor and administrator thereunder shall perform the same duties and be subject to the same liabilities, as if the probate or letters of administration had been originally granted by the High Court of New Zealand.

  • Nothing in this section shall prevent the court from making an independent grant of administration in New Zealand.

Requirements to obtain a reseal in New Zealand

 The application and relevant documents for a reseal of an Australian grant needs to be posted to the Wellington High Court (Wellington High Court is the only High Court in New Zealand that deals with probate/letters of administration/deceased estates matters). Wellington High Court postal address is:

Probate Unit

High Court

PO Box 1091

Wellington 6140

 The following documents needs to be prepared:

  • A cover letter that includes a New Zealand address of service. The Wellington High Court will not post the resealed grant An issue with this is that we will need a person that resides in New Zealand is willing to receive and post the reseal to our office.
  • Complete an application to reseal probate/letters of administration granted outside New Zealand.
  • Original Australian probate, letters of administration, or
  • A “clean” copy of the same document in 3).
  • Proof of payment of the NZ$50.00 filing fee (this can be paid through the File & Pay receipt on the Courts of New Zealand portal). Alternative payments, except for cheques, can be Please see New Zealand Ministry of Justice ‘Pay a filing fee’ for alternative payment methods.

Application to reseal probate/letters of administration granted outside New Zealand form

Not completing the prescribed form (Annexure A) will not be fatal to the application of the reseal. It is interesting to note that the Annexure A form is not available to the public. New Zealand solicitors can access court document forms through their “dobbie” system.

Obtaining an exemplification from the Supreme Court of Western Australia (‘SCWA’)

Should the original Australian probate or letters of administration be retained, then an exemplification should be used.

There is no formal process in applying for an exemplification to the SCWA. The request can be written and emailed to: supremecourt.probate@justice.wa.gov.au.

If you have any questions on resealing grants give us a call for a free initial consultation.