Clearing out a family home after a death is one of the hardest jobs an executor takes on. It is emotional, it is physical, and in Victoria there are a handful of legal steps that need to happen in the right order. This guide walks through that order so nothing gets thrown out before it should be.
1. Do not clear anything until you know who has authority
The person legally allowed to deal with the contents of the property is the executor named in the will, or — if there is no will — the administrator appointed by the court. Until that is settled, the safest thing you can do is secure the property and leave the contents where they are.
In Victoria, the grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (where there is not) are issued by the Probate Office of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Their site sets out the forms, the advertising requirement and the current fees. If you are unsure whether probate is even needed for the estate you are dealing with, State Trustees Victoria publishes plain-English guidance on when a grant is required and what an executor is responsible for.
2. Secure the property and take an inventory
Change the locks if keys are unaccounted for, make sure the house insurance is still valid (many policies lapse or reduce cover once a property is unoccupied — call the insurer and tell them), and redirect the mail through Australia Post.
Then photograph every room before you touch anything. An executor can be asked by beneficiaries to account for what was in the house, and a set of date-stamped photos is the cheapest protection you will ever buy. Walk each room and write a short list of anything obviously valuable: jewellery, coins, firearms, artwork, tools, vehicles, and any paperwork.
3. Hunt for the paperwork before the rubbish goes out
This is the step people regret skipping. Before a single bag leaves the house, search for share certificates, bank passbooks, insurance policies, title deeds, funeral bonds, superannuation statements, memberships and unclaimed money records. These turn up taped behind drawers, inside books and in biscuit tins far more often than you would think.
Cash and documents also hide in coat pockets, handbags, freezer compartments and under mattresses. A reputable estate clearance operator will set anything like this aside for you rather than binning it — it is one of the questions worth asking before you hire anyone.
4. Deal with firearms, medications and hazardous items separately
Firearms must be handed to Victoria Police or a licensed dealer — an executor cannot simply keep or sell them. Unused medications go back to any pharmacy under the national Return Unwanted Medicines scheme, free of charge. Paint, solvents, pool chemicals, gas bottles and asbestos sheeting cannot go in a skip; Sustainability Victoria's Detox Your Home programme runs free drop-off events for household chemicals across the state.
5. Get valuations before you distribute or dispose
If the estate contains antiques, collections, jewellery, farm machinery or a shed full of tools, get an appraisal before anything moves. Auction houses and clearing sale operators will usually walk through the property and give you an indicative figure at no cost, because they want the consignment. Even where items are worth little, having a third party say so in writing protects you from a beneficiary claiming later that something was given away too cheaply.
You can find operators who do on-site clearing sales and appraisals under Auction & Clearing Sales on this site.
6. Distribute to beneficiaries, then donate, then dispose
Work through the will's specific gifts first. Then give family a fixed, realistic window to take what they want — an open-ended invitation is how houses sit full for eighteen months. Two weekends is usually enough if everyone is told the date.
Whatever is left goes in this order: donate anything saleable to an op shop that will accept it (call first — charities are within their rights to refuse goods they cannot sell), recycle what can be recycled, and only then send the rest to landfill.
7. Book the clearance
By this point you know roughly what is left and how big the job is. A professional deceased estate clearance team will clear a standard three-bedroom home in one to two days, sort as they go, and hand the property back broom-clean. If the house also needs to be handed to an agent or a landlord, add vacate and bond cleaning to the same booking rather than organising it separately.
For a breakdown of what this typically costs and what drives the price up or down, read What Does an Estate Cleanout Cost in Victoria?. If the property is heading to market, Preparing a Deceased Estate Property for Sale covers the sequence from clearance through to first inspection.
Where to get legal help
None of the above is legal advice, and estates with disputes, blended families, businesses or overseas assets need a solicitor. The Law Institute of Victoria runs a Find Your Lawyer referral service on 03 9607 9550 that will give you up to three Victorian firms practising in wills and estates, each of which offers a free 30-minute initial interview — the link is in our legal and probate resources. Victoria Legal Aid also publishes free guidance and runs a telephone advice line for general questions about wills and estates.
Getting quotes
Tell us the suburb, the size of the property and roughly when you need it done, and we will send you a shortlist of suitable cleanout businesses within 24 hours. You can also browse by region — Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo or regional Victoria.