Statutory Legacy NSW: Current Amount and Calculator

The statutory legacy in NSW is $623,050.50 for deaths from 29 October 2026 to 27 January 2027. It is a fixed sum that a surviving spouse or de facto partner receives from an estate when the deceased left no valid will and had a child from another relationship.

The amount is adjusted every quarter for inflation, so the figure that applies depends on the date of death. Below you will find the recent figures, a calculator, how the amount is worked out, and an example of how an estate is shared

The statutory legacy that applies is the one in force on the date of death:

The current figure is expected to apply until the next quarterly inflation figures are published, which is scheduled for 27 January 2027.

When someone dies without a valid will in NSW, their estate is shared under the intestacy rules. Our dying without a will page explains those rules in full.

The statutory legacy only matters in one situation: the deceased left a spouse or de facto partner and at least one child who is not also that spouse’s child. In that case the spouse receives:

• the deceased’s personal effects
• the statutory legacy
• half of whatever remains.

The deceased’s children share the other half equally. If there are no children, or all the children are also the spouse’s children, the spouse takes the whole estate and the statutory legacy is not relevant.

The starting amount is $350,000. It is adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics:

Statutory legacy = $350,000 × C ÷ D

• C is the CPI for the most recent quarter published before the date of death.
• D is the CPI for the December quarter 2005.

The CPI used is the all groups figure for the weighted average of the eight capital cities. For a death on or after 29 October 2026, the most recent quarter is September 2026, published on 28 October 2026:

$350,000 × 103.64 ÷ 58.22 = $623,050.50

A death on the day new figures are released uses the previous quarter, because the new figure was not published before the date of death.

A note for administrators and advisers

In January 2026 the ABS changed the reference base of its quarterly CPI so that September 2025 equals 100, and it now publishes quarterly figures to two decimal places. Where the reference base changes, the legislation requires regard to be had only to index numbers published on the new base, or converted to it using a conversion factor specified by the ABS. On the current series, the December quarter 2005 figure is 58.22.

The ABS has changed the CPI reference base twice since the current rules began: in October 2012 and in January 2026. Our table and calculator use the CPI figures that had been published at the date of death, with the December quarter 2005 figure from the same series: 150.6 for deaths up to 24 October 2012, 83.8 for deaths from 25 October 2012 to 28 January 2026, and 58.22 after that. For example, for a death on 5 May 2025 the March quarter 2025 figure of 140.7 applies: $350,000 × 140.7 ÷ 83.8 = $587,649.16.

Recalculating an earlier death on a later series can give a slightly different figure. If this affects an estate you are dealing with, please contact us.

A revised CPI figure for a quarter that has already been published is disregarded unless the Minister directs otherwise.

Suppose a person dies on 15 November 2026 without a will. They leave a de facto partner and three adult children from an earlier marriage. After debts, funeral and administration costs, the estate is worth $1,200,000, not counting personal effects.

If the same estate were worth $600,000, it would be less than the statutory legacy. The partner would receive the whole estate and the children nothing.

Interest after one year

If the statutory legacy is not paid in full within one year of the death, interest is added to the unpaid amount from the first anniversary until it is paid. The rate is 2% above the Reserve Bank cash rate last published before 1 January of the year in which interest starts to run. Administrators should plan for this when an estate takes time to sell or settle.

More than one spouse

If the deceased leaves more than one spouse, such as a husband and a separate de facto partner, they share a single statutory legacy rather than each receiving one. If the estate cannot pay statutory legacies in full, they are reduced proportionately.

Entitlements in another state

If a spouse is also entitled to a statutory legacy under the law of another Australian state or territory, they receive the highest of the amounts, not each of them. Amounts received elsewhere count towards the NSW figure.

We help families and administrators work out the statutory legacy and each person’s share, apply for letters of administration, and make or respond to family provision claims. Contact us for a free consultation.