Help with getting started
- Checklist: who to notify after a death (Services Australia) – PDF
- Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS)
- Transport for NSW – vehicle and vessel licences and registrations
Notifying people and organisations
It's important to notify all relevant people, organisations and government departments. Services Australia has a helpful notification checklist you can download: Who to notify after a death – PDF.
There are no legal rules about who must be notified when someone dies – the executor or next of kin takes on the responsibility.
Some organisations may require a certified copy of the death certificate.
Related information
- Services Australia (Centrelink, Medicare, child support)
- Remove someone from the electoral roll
- Notify the Australian Tax Office
- Advise Transport for NSW: vehicle and vessel licences and registrations
- Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS): an online service to notify organisations that someone has died.
Licences and registrations
You may need to close or transfer accounts, registrations or licences.
- Transport for NSW
- Transfer a vehicle registration
- Transfer a vessel registration
- Transfer an E-Toll Account
- Close an E-Toll Account
- Business licences
The death certificate
When someone dies:
- the death must be registered
- a death certificate must be issued by the NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages.
If a funeral company has been appointed, the funeral director will register the death and apply for the death certificate.
If a funeral director is not involved, the person who is managing the final arrangements for the person who has died must register the death.
Certified copies of documents
You may need a certified copy of the death certificate to cancel or transfer services.
A certified copy is a copy of an original document that has been verified to be a true copy by an authorised witness such as a Justice of the Peace (JP).
Related information
- Register a death
- Apply for a death certificate
- Register a stillbirth
- Change the details on a birth, death or marriage certificate
Wills and executors
A person's will sets out how someone wants their assets distributed after they die and might include information about the funeral or memorial service. If you do not know where the person who has died kept their will, you can take steps to locate the will.
The role of the executor
When you make a will, you appoint an executor to carry out the instructions in your will. Find out more about the role of an executor.
Related information
Organising a funeral
Services are usually held 1 to 4 weeks after the person has died.
If the person who died left a will, the executor is responsible for organising the funeral or can pass the responsibility onto a family member of the deceased, if they wish.
If there is no will – or no executor was appointed in the will – then the next of kin or a close relative can arrange the funeral.
There are no legal rules about who can go to a funeral, but it's a good idea to notify relatives and other people who may want to attend, to avoid any disputes.
Related information
- Arranging a funeral – Legal Aid NSW
- Funeral directions in a will – Legal Aid NSW
- Funeral products and services – Fair Trading
- What is an Executor – NSW Trustee and Guardian
Paying for a funeral
Find out if you are eligible for assistance with funeral costs.
- Paying for a funeral – Legal Aid NSW: Explains who is responsible for paying for the funeral and what happens when there is no money for a funeral.
- Payments and support services – Services Australia: Financial and other help available to eligible applicants.
- Help to pay for a funeral – Department of Veterans' Affairs: Compensation that can be awarded for funeral expenses when a member or former member of the Australian Defence Force dies.
- Ways to pay for a funeral : Explains what to do if the person died from a motor vehicle accident.
Taking leave from your job
Compassionate leave (also known as bereavement leave) is available to employees in some situations. Find out about employee entitlement and pay arrangements for compassionate and bereavement leave.
Help and support services
Related information
- Financial information and support: Services Australia
- Griefline: Free, compassionate and confidential support
- Mental health and wellbeing support
- Trauma and Grief Network – resources for child and adolescent trauma, loss and grief
- Thirrili – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postvention Suicide Support