The practical steps after a death in Australia, in a sensible order, with the official services that can help at each one.
Last reviewed · For readers in Australia
In short
Very little has to happen straight away. Take the first hours gently.
Every death must be registered in the state or territory where it happened, usually with help from the funeral director.
If they got a Centrelink payment, tell Services Australia within 28 days.
If someone close to you has just died, we’re so sorry. This guide is here for whenever you’re ready for it. You don’t need to read it all at once, and very little of it has to happen today.
It follows the order most families find themselves going in, and links each step to the official service that explains it in full. The details can differ a little between states and territories, so where it matters we’ll point you to your local registry or court.
In the first hours
What happens first depends on where and how the person died.
If the death was unexpected, call triple zero (000). The ambulance and police will guide you from there.
If the death was expected and happened at home, for example after a long illness, it isn’t an emergency, and you don’t need to call an ambulance or the police. There’s no legal requirement to call anyone straight away. You can sit with them, and call family or a friend to be with you. If they died during the night, you can wait until morning.
When you’re ready, call their doctor or palliative care team. A doctor will confirm the death and issue a medical certificate of cause of death. If a doctor isn’t available, an authorised nurse or paramedic can complete a verification of death form. healthdirect explains all of this gently.
If they died in hospital, a hospice or an aged care home, the staff will arrange the doctor and let you know how long they can care for the person’s body. You don’t need to do anything else in that moment.
Sometimes a doctor can’t confirm the cause of death, or the death was sudden, unusual or followed an accident or surgery. In those cases the death is reported to the coroner, who may ask for a post-mortem to find the cause. The police or the hospital will explain what this means for you.
In the first few days
Look for the will and important papers. These tell you who the executor is and may record their wishes, such as whether they wanted a funeral, burial or cremation. It’s worth knowing that a funeral isn’t a legal requirement in Australia, so a quieter farewell, or none at all, is a choice you’re free to make.
Check whether they were an organ and tissue donor. If you’re not sure, the hospital can check the Australian Organ Donor Register.
Make sure anyone who depended on them is cared for. That might be children, another family member, or a pet. The will may say who they hoped would step in.
Contact a funeral director, if you’re having a funeral. They’ll collect the person’s body and help you plan the service. You can read more in our section on funerals and memorials.
Let family and friends know. It can help to ask one or two people to pass the news on, so you aren’t making every call yourself.
Registering the death
Every death must be registered with the births, deaths and marriages registry in the state or territory where it happened. If you’re having a funeral, the funeral director usually does this for you. The registry then issues the death certificate. Services Australia links to each state’s registry.
The certificate can take some time to arrive. Once you have it, Services Australia suggests making several copies and having them certified by a Justice of the Peace, which you can usually do at a police station or library. Many organisations will ask for one.
Telling people and organisations
Services Australia. If the person was getting a Centrelink payment, you need to tell Services Australia within 28 days. You can phone, use the Advice of death form or visit a service centre. This also updates their Medicare and Child Support records. If you’re the executor, there’s a separate form to ask for their information.
Many organisations at once. The Australian Death Notification Service is a free government service that lets you tell several organisations in one go.
Everyone else, one at a time. Services Australia’s who to notify checklist is a good list to work through, from their GP and health fund to the electoral commission and the council. When you write to an organisation, include the person’s full name and any other names they used, their date of birth, address and date of death, and any account or member number.
Add your own name, contact details and your relationship to them.
If they died overseas, contact the nearest Australian embassy, high commission or consulate. Smartraveller explains how consular staff can help.
Money, help and the estate
Ask about financial help. Services Australia can tell you whether you’re eligible for any payments after a death. If the person or their partner was a veteran, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs may help with the funeral.
Tell the ATO. The executor or a relative can notify the Australian Taxation Office using its notification of a deceased person form, with the death certificate or a grant of probate. If you don’t have the paperwork yet, you can phone the ATO to let them know, and they’ll pause letters while you prepare. A final tax return, called a date of death return, may be needed later.
Contact their super fund. Super, and any life insurance held inside it, is usually handled separately from the will. The fund decides who receives it, guided by any beneficiary nomination the person made. Moneysmart explains how to make a claim, and our life insurance and super section will go further.
Settling the estate takes time. Services Australia notes it can take around 12 months, and longer if things are complicated. The executor may need a grant of probate from the Supreme Court in their state before banks and others will release money. Our section for executors walks through it, and a solicitor or your state’s public trustee can help with your own situation.
If you receive a Centrelink payment and inherit money, it may count in your assets test, so it’s worth letting Services Australia know.
Looking after yourself
None of this has to be done perfectly, or alone. It’s fine to ask a friend to make calls with you, to leave the paperwork for another day, or to let the funeral director take the lead. Grief often arrives in the gaps between the tasks, and there’s free support whenever you’d like to talk. Our section on grief and bereavement gathers some of it.
Later, when you’re ready, you might like to write down a few of the stories you’ve been remembering. They’re often the things families are most glad to have kept.
Further help
Services Australia Practical help, bereavement payments, and updating Centrelink and Medicare records.
Each fact in this guide was checked against these official pages on 23 October 2026. Rules and forms change, so please check the source for your own situation.
This is general information, not legal, financial, insurance or medical advice. For your own situation, please speak with a qualified professional or the official body named above.
