One notice, many organisations
The Australian Death Notification Service is described by Services Australia as a free government service for contacting several organisations at once. Services Australia says you answer a few questions and give details of who you want told.
The service asks for the person’s name, their date of death, the state or territory where they died, and their last known home address. Account and membership numbers help, but a notice can still be sent without them. The service names every state and territory as supporting it.
Its list of participating organisations is grouped as banks, superannuation, utilities, councils, government, insurance, services and education.
Services Australia
Services Australia asks to be told within 28 days. Its page gives three ways: the Older Australians phone line, the Advice of death form, or a visit to a service centre.
- Sorry Business. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families can let Services Australia know they are taking part in Sorry Business or other community traditions, and it says it will avoid unnecessary calls, visits and questions during that time.
- Child support. If a parent or child in a child support arrangement dies, Services Australia confirms the death from two sources of evidence before it contacts the other parent.
- Information for the estate. An executor or administrator can ask for details held about the person, once Services Australia has proof of their authority and a completed request form from each executor or administrator.
The tax office
The ATO takes an official notice of death when it comes with the death certificate, or with the court’s grant of probate or letters of administration where there is one. The ATO says the notice is usually given by a relative, the executor or administrator, or a lawyer, tax agent or BAS agent acting for the estate or the person.
- Before the papers are ready. Someone can phone the ATO’s individuals enquiries line to say unofficially that the person has died, and the ATO will pause their tax letters until the documents are ready.
- Two ways to lodge. An online form followed by an interview at a participating Australia Post outlet, with originals or certified copies that go home again; or a paper form posted with certified copies, which are not returned.
- Timing. The ATO says it can take up to 28 days to update the person’s records after it receives the notice, and it points families to the person’s super fund or funds as another organisation to tell.
What goes in every notice
For a letter or email to an organisation, Services Australia lists what to include about the person who died:
- their full name, with family name and given names
- any other names they went by
- their date of birth and address
- the date of death
- membership, client or account numbers for bills, banking and utilities
It also suggests giving your own name, contact details and relationship to the person, so the organisation can come back with questions.
Certified copies of the death certificate
Getting the certificate can take some time. Once it arrives, Services Australia suggests making several copies, having them certified by a Justice of the Peace, at most police stations and libraries or through a local JP, and giving a certified copy to each organisation that asks. The original may need to be shown alongside a copy.
A register of who to tell
Services Australia publishes a printable who to notify checklist, with columns to tick each one off and note account numbers. Its entries are gathered here into groups.
| Group | Who to tell |
|---|---|
| Government | Australian Electoral Commission; Australian Taxation Office; Centrelink; Child Support; Department of Veterans’ Affairs; Medicare; My Aged Care; the Public Trustee; vehicle registration and licensing authorities; libraries and other state services |
| Money | Banks and credit unions; credit card and hire purchase providers; insurance companies; the superannuation fund; any funeral bond provider, funeral insurer or prepaid funeral insurer |
| Home | Landlord or tenants; gas, electricity and phone companies; phone and internet providers; the local council; the local post office |
| Health | Doctors and other health professionals, such as a physiotherapist, dentist, podiatrist or optometrist; the hospital; a hearing centre; the health benefits fund |
| People and places | Family and friends; the executor of the will; employers; a school, TAFE or university; clubs such as the RSL; a religious adviser; a social worker; a solicitor, accountant or financial adviser; the funeral director |
| From overseas | A foreign pension authority, if the person received a pension from another country; Centrelink’s international services can help where its details are unknown |
Online accounts
Services Australia reminds families that online accounts, apps and social media need closing too: email and cloud storage, social media, online payment accounts, and a myGov, Medicare or Centrelink online account. Each company is contacted directly, and some will give access so that a family can look at the account, download photos people want to keep, and then close it.
Burial itself, from the right to a grave to the headstone above it, is covered in Section A and Section D.