NAB goes live on estateXchange ahead of Australia’s $5.4 trillion wealth transfer

27 October 2026
Company Announcements

• NAB is the first major Australian bank to go live on estateXchange. 
• The platform helps professionals acting for families manage deceased estates across participating organisations through a more connected process.
• NAB’s participation aims to reduce duplication and make the deceased estate process simpler for customers’ families and their representatives. 

NAB is now live on estateXchange, becoming the first major Australian bank to join the network and marking an important step towards a more connected approach to deceased estate administration.

estateXchange brings together professionals acting for families with banks, superannuation funds, share registries and other organisations involved in administering an estate.

Australia is approaching the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in its history, with an estimated $5.4 trillion in assets expected to be inherited by 2050.

While much of the public conversation focuses on who will inherit that wealth, less attention is paid to the process required to identify, administer and transfer those assets after someone passes away.

For families, that process can mean engaging with banks, superannuation funds, share registries, insurers, government agencies and other organisations through different channels, often providing the same information repeatedly.

From today, professionals acting for families, including solicitors and professional trustees, can work with NAB through estateXchange alongside other participating banks, superannuation funds and share registries involved in the same estate, helping reduce the number of separate processes families must navigate.

NAB Executive Enterprise Operations, Alan Smyth, said the move reflected NAB’s customer-centric strategy.

“To be customer obsessed means showing up with compassion in the moments that matter. When a customer passes away, our commitment to them continues in the way we support the family they leave behind,” Mr Smyth said.

“Joining estateXchange reflects our focus on practical solutions that help make processes simpler and more accessible for customers’ families and their representatives.”

Research commissioned by estateXchange and prepared by Deloitte Access Economics found that administering a deceased person’s affairs can involve up to 37 types of asset-holders and service providers and typically takes nine to 12 months.

One in four people surveyed reported changing banks because of their experience administering an estate, while nine in ten believed the process could be improved.

The improvements consumers said they would most value were the ability to deal with multiple providers through a central platform, reduced duplication in the evidence they are required to provide and faster processing by providers.

estateXchange Founder and Co-CEO Sarah Poole said NAB’s decision had implications for the wider sector.

“Families experience one estate across many organisations. They should not have to start again at each one.

“NAB has set a benchmark for the sector and shown what is possible when a major institution connects its part of the process. Each institution that participates helps shape a better bereavement experience across the sector.”

NAB joins a growing estateXchange network spanning banking, superannuation, share registries, legal practices, financial advice and professional trustees.

As more organisations join, a greater share of the work involved in administering an estate can be progressed through a consistent process, helping reduce duplication and making it easier for professionals to support families.