What Is Next of Kin in Australia?

The everyday meaning

In everyday and administrative contexts, next of kin means your closest living relative. The usual order of priority is:

1. Spouse or de facto partner.
2. Adult children.
3. Parents.
4. Siblings.
5. Grandparents.
6. Aunts, uncles, cousins.

This ordering is used by hospitals, aged-care facilities, emergency services and — in the absence of specific instructions — funeral directors. It is not a rigid legal test; it is a practical convention.

Intestacy — where next of kin is a legal test

If a person dies without a valid will, their estate is distributed under the intestacy rules of the relevant state or territory. Each jurisdiction has its own statute:

• NSW — Succession Act 2006, Chapter 4.
• Victoria — Administration and Probate Act 1958, Part IA.
• Queensland — Succession Act 1981, Part 3.
• WA — Administration Act 1903, Part II.
• SA — Administration and Probate Act 1919, Part 3A.
• Tasmania — Intestacy Act 2010.
• ACT — Administration and Probate Act 1929, Part 3A.
• NT — Administration and Probate Act 1969, Part III Division 4A.

All of them follow a similar general order — spouse and children first, then parents, siblings and more distant relatives — but the details differ, including how the estate splits between a spouse and children, and how "spouse" is defined where there is both a legal spouse and a de facto partner.

De facto partners

Every Australian jurisdiction now recognises de facto partners (including same-sex de facto partners) as next-of-kin-equivalent, provided the relationship meets the statutory requirements — usually two years of cohabitation, a registered relationship, or the birth of a child of the relationship. Where a person leaves both a legal spouse and a de facto partner, the intestacy statutes contain specific rules for how to divide the estate.

Superannuation is different

Superannuation is not part of the deceased estate and is not distributed by the intestacy rules. Under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act), death benefits are paid to dependants — spouse, children, financial dependants, interdependent partners — or to the estate. The trustee decides based on:

• A binding death benefit nomination, if valid.
• A non-binding nomination as a guide.
• The trustee's discretion, considering all dependants.

Do not assume super will follow your will or your next of kin. Make a valid binding nomination and review it after every major life event.

Life insurance

Life insurance follows the policy nomination. If there is no nomination, the payout goes to the estate and is then distributed under the will or the intestacy rules. Nominations should be reviewed after marriage, divorce, a new child, and every three years.

Coronial and hospital contexts

In a coronial investigation, the "senior next of kin" identifies the body, receives information about the investigation, and can object to autopsy in some circumstances. Each state's coroners legislation sets the order. Hospitals apply their own next-of-kin conventions for medical decision-making where an adult lacks capacity — subject to any enduring guardianship or power of attorney in force, which takes priority.