The Complete Digital Estate Planning Checklist for Australians (2026)
Why You Need a Digital Estate Plan in Australia
You have a will. Maybe you've even set up a trust. Your super has a binding death benefit nomination. The house is sorted.
But what about the 100–150 online accounts you've accumulated? The email that controls every password reset. The cloud storage with a decade of family photos. The crypto on three different exchanges. The Netflix, Spotify, and Adobe subscriptions still charging your credit card. The myGov portal. The business domain that expires in six months.
None of that is covered by your will — not practically. And Australian law hasn't caught up yet.
This checklist walks you through every category of your digital life. Work through it once, update it annually, and your executor won't spend months (or years) piecing together what you left behind.
Part 1: Your Digital Accounts Inventory
The foundation of any digital estate plan is knowing what exists. Most people dramatically underestimate how many accounts they have.
Email Accounts
Your email is the skeleton key. Whoever controls your primary email can reset passwords to almost everything else.
- [ ] Primary personal email (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, etc.)
- [ ] Secondary email accounts
- [ ] Work email (note: your employer may own this)
- [ ] Legacy/old email accounts you haven't closed
- [ ] Email forwarding rules — do any accounts forward to others?
Why it matters: In 2025, 83% of Australians didn't use unique passwords for every account. Your email's password reset function is the de facto master key to your digital life.
Social Media
- [ ] Facebook / Instagram / Threads
- [ ] X (Twitter) / LinkedIn / TikTok
- [ ] YouTube / Reddit / other forums
- [ ] Dating profiles (if applicable)
- [ ] Professional community memberships
For each account, decide: Memorialise, delete, or download data? Facebook and Instagram offer memorialisation. Most other platforms will delete on request with a death certificate.
Financial Accounts (Online)
- [ ] Online banking and savings accounts
- [ ] Share trading / investment platforms (CommSec, Stake, SelfWealth)
- [ ] Superannuation portals
- [ ] PayPal, Wise, Revolut, or other payment platforms
- [ ] Buy Now Pay Later accounts (Afterpay, Zip)
- [ ] Tax portal (myGov / ATO Online)
Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets
This is where Australian law is actively evolving. The Digital Assets Framework Bill (passed April 2026) regulates exchanges, but self-custody crypto remains entirely your responsibility.
- [ ] Exchange accounts (CoinSpot, Independent Reserve, Binance, Coinbase)
- [ ] Hardware wallets — location of physical device AND PIN
- [ ] Seed phrases / recovery phrases — stored securely, separately from device
- [ ] Software wallets (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, etc.)
- [ ] NFTs, DeFi positions, staking arrangements
- [ ] Any crypto held on behalf of others
Critical: The High Court is currently hearing Poulton v Conrad to determine if Bitcoin is property at common law. Until that's settled, documenting your crypto holdings meticulously is even more important.
Cloud Storage and Digital Media
- [ ] Google Drive / iCloud / OneDrive / Dropbox
- [ ] Photo libraries (Google Photos, Apple Photos, Amazon Photos)
- [ ] Music libraries (Spotify playlists, Apple Music purchases, YouTube Music)
- [ ] Purchased digital content (Kindle books, iTunes movies, Steam games)
- [ ] Backup services (Backblaze, Time Machine targets)
Important note: Most digital "purchases" are actually licences that terminate on death. Your Kindle library, iTunes movies, and Steam games may not be transferable. But your family photos absolutely are — and they're often the most emotionally valuable digital asset.
Subscriptions and Recurring Payments
- [ ] Streaming (Netflix, Stan, Disney+, Spotify, Apple Music)
- [ ] Software subscriptions (Adobe, Microsoft 365, Canva)
- [ ] News and media (The Guardian, The Australian, Substack)
- [ ] Apps with recurring billing
- [ ] Domain name registrations
- [ ] Hosting and web services
- [ ] VPN, antivirus, and security subscriptions
Why it matters: Subscriptions keep charging after death. Your executor needs to know what to cancel — and which ones (like domain names or hosting) need to be maintained to protect business assets.
Government and Essential Services
- [ ] myGov account (linked services: ATO, Medicare, Centrelink, My Health Record)
- [ ] State government portals (VicRoads, Service NSW, etc.)
- [ ] Council accounts
- [ ] Electoral roll registration
- [ ] Digital health records
Business and Professional
If you run a business, your digital estate has additional layers:
- [ ] Business email and collaboration tools (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365)
- [ ] Website / CMS login
- [ ] Domain registrar accounts
- [ ] Client management / CRM systems
- [ ] Accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)
- [ ] Business social media accounts
- [ ] Intellectual property — code repositories, design files, written content
- [ ] API keys and integrations
- [ ] Contractor and vendor platform accounts
Part 2: Securing Access
Knowing what exists is step one. Making sure your executor can actually get in is step two.
Set Up a Password Manager with Emergency Access
- [ ] Use a reputable password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane)
- [ ] Enable emergency access or trusted contact features
- [ ] Store your master password securely — not in your will (wills become public during probate)
- [ ] Include 2FA recovery codes in your vault
Configure Platform Legacy Tools
These are free, built-in, and take 10 minutes each:
- [ ] Google Inactive Account Manager — auto-shares your data with nominated contacts after a period of inactivity
- [ ] Apple Legacy Contact — grants access to your iCloud data after death (iOS 15.2+)
- [ ] Facebook Legacy Contact — nominates someone to manage your memorialised profile
- [ ] Instagram Memorialisation — set preferences for what happens to your account
The limitation: These tools cover 3–4 of your 100+ accounts. They don't talk to each other. They're a start, not a solution.
Document Your 2FA Methods
Two-factor authentication protects your accounts while you're alive. It locks your executor out after you die.
- [ ] List which accounts use 2FA
- [ ] Note the method: authenticator app, SMS, hardware key, biometric
- [ ] Store backup/recovery codes in your password manager or Digital Directive
- [ ] If using a hardware security key (YubiKey), document its location and any PINs
Store Physical Access Information
- [ ] Phone PIN / passcode
- [ ] Computer login password
- [ ] Tablet / device PINs
- [ ] Hardware wallet PINs
- [ ] Safe or lockbox combinations (if storing physical backup materials)
Part 3: Appointing a Digital Executor
Who Should It Be?
Your digital executor doesn't have to be the same person as your traditional executor. In fact, it often shouldn't be. You need someone who is:
- Tech-literate enough to navigate platforms, 2FA, and crypto wallets
- Trustworthy enough to handle sensitive personal data
- Available and willing to spend time on a potentially complex process
- Ideally younger than your traditional executor (digital estates take time to wind down)
How to Appoint Them
Since Australia doesn't yet formally recognise "digital executor" as a legal role:
- Add a clause to your will granting a named person authority over your digital accounts and assets
- Create a separate letter of wishes (not part of the will) with specific instructions for each account
- Store credentials separately from the will — in a password manager, encrypted vault, or Digital Directive
- Tell them. Don't just name someone in a document they'll discover after you die. Have the conversation now.
Part 4: Documenting Your Wishes
For each major account or category, decide:
| Decision | Examples |
|---|---|
| Keep / Transfer | Family photos, business assets, domain names, crypto |
| Memorialise | Facebook, Instagram — preserved as a memorial |
| Download then delete | Email archives, cloud documents |
| Delete immediately | Dating profiles, certain social media |
| Cancel | Subscriptions, recurring payments |
| Notify contacts | Professional networks, client lists, online communities |
Write it down. Your executor shouldn't have to guess.
Part 5: Australian Legal Considerations
What the Law Currently Covers
- Your executor has legal authority over your estate via a grant of probate
- The ATO classifies crypto as a CGT asset — transfers to beneficiaries may trigger tax events
- The Digital Assets Framework Bill (April 2026) regulates crypto platforms but does not address inheritance
- Power of Attorney can now cover digital accounts if explicitly drafted to include them
What the Law Doesn't Cover
- No explicit right for executors to access email, social media, or cloud storage
- Platform Terms of Service often override your will — Apple, Google, and Facebook set their own rules
- No federal digital executor legislation — the role exists in practice but not in statute
- Court orders have limits — they can compel data release but can't bypass 2FA, decrypt vaults, or recover lost keys
What's Coming
- The High Court's Poulton v Conrad ruling will clarify Bitcoin's legal status as property
- The NSW Law Reform Commission has flagged the need for digital asset succession reform
- The Digital Assets Framework Bill may be expanded in future sessions to address inheritance
Don't wait for the law to catch up. The gap between what's regulated and what's protected is yours to close.
Part 6: Maintenance
A digital estate plan isn't a set-and-forget document. Review it:
- [ ] Annually — add new accounts, remove closed ones, update credentials
- [ ] After major life events — new relationship, new business, new investments
- [ ] After security incidents — if you change passwords after a breach, update your plan
- [ ] When laws change — the Digital Assets Framework Bill is just the beginning
The Bottom Line
Your will covers the house, the super, and the bank accounts. But your digital life — worth an average of $191,000 in digital assets per person — needs its own plan.
This checklist is a starting point. For a comprehensive, maintained solution, a Digital Directive covers everything: a professional inventory of your entire digital life, updated regularly, with verified executor release when needed.
Because the worst time to figure out someone's digital life is after they're gone.
NYLK builds Digital Directives — a professional inventory of your entire digital life with verified executor release when needed. Start your Digital Directive →