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An Australian will alongside your Indonesian will

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Families in Indonesia with property, bank accounts or shares in Australia often ask whether their Indonesian will is enough. Sometimes it is valid in Victoria. But relying on it can mean delays, extra court steps and outcomes nobody intended. A separate Australian will, drafted to work with your Indonesian arrangements, is often the simplest protection.

Is my Indonesian will valid in Victoria?

Victoria can recognise a will made overseas if it was properly made under the law of the place where it was signed, or the law of the country where the person lived or was a national. But recognition is not the same as a smooth process. An Indonesian will may still need to be proved in the Supreme Court of Victoria, with apostilled copies, certified translations and evidence about how it was made, before anyone can deal with the Melbourne property.

Why a separate Australian will helps

• Faster for your family. An English-language will made under Victorian law is straightforward to prove in Victoria.
• Executors in Australia. You can appoint someone in Australia, or a professional executor, to act alongside family members in Indonesia.
• Clear gifts of Australian property. You decide who receives the Melbourne apartment, rather than leaving it to Victorian intestacy rules or a dispute.
• Children studying in Australia. You can appoint guardians and set up a testamentary trust to hold assets for young or vulnerable beneficiaries.

The biggest mistake: one will cancelling the other

Most will templates begin by revoking all earlier wills. If you sign an Australian will with that wording, it can accidentally cancel your Indonesian will, and the reverse can also happen. The two wills must be drafted to fit together: each limited to the assets in its own country, and neither revoking the other. Your Indonesian notary and your Australian lawyer should see each other’s drafts.

Other things to check

• How the property is held. Jointly owned property may pass to the surviving owner regardless of any will.
• Superannuation does not automatically follow your will; it may need a binding nomination.
• Marriage and divorce. In Victoria, marriage generally revokes an existing will, and divorce generally cancels gifts to a former spouse.
• Family provision claims. Certain family members can apply to a Victorian court for a fairer share, so the will should be drafted with this in mind.
• Powers of attorney. An Australian enduring power of attorney lets someone manage your Australian affairs if you lose capacity while living in Indonesia.

How Chua Tan Associates helps

We have prepared wills for overseas Chinese families since 1990, and we keep original wills safely in Melbourne. Our principal is a member of STEP, the global society of trust and estate practitioners, and we work with your notary in Indonesia so the two wills fit together. Australian wills can be signed in person when you visit Melbourne, or arranged while you are overseas.

More guides for families in Indonesia

• Inheriting Melbourne Property When a Parent Dies in Indonesia
• Buying a Melbourne Apartment for a Child Studying in Australia
• Using Indonesian Documents in Australia: Apostille and Translation
• All our services for families and businesses in Indonesia

This guide is general information about Australian law as at October 2026 and is not legal advice. Rules change, and every situation is different.