Don't try to do it all on your own
When someone dies, it’s important that you look after yourself. Connecting with friends or family, your GP or a counsellor is a good place to start if you are finding it hard to cope.
If you're really struggling to cope and need immediate support, contact:
- Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
Locate personal papers
Before you start making calls, try to find the deceased person’s personal papers.
Look for documents such as:
- their Will
- pre-paid funeral paperwork
- birth and marriage certificates
- property ownership information
- life insurance and/or superannuation policies
- bank account details.
Who to contact immediately
There are certain people you should contact as soon as you can, and within the first 24 hours.
These people include:
- a doctor, if the deceased person died at home
- family and friends
- preferred funeral director
- the executor of the person’s Will, if known.
Other organisations to then contact
Following the immediate people, there will be other organisations that you may need to be contact over the following days. Although, for some the executor of the Will may need to do the contacting.
These organisations include:
- mortgage provider or property landlord
- Centrelink or Veterans Affairs, if the person was receiving a benefit
- pension authority from applicable country, if the person was receiving an overseas pension
- Medicare
- Australian Taxation Office
- gas, electricity and telecommunication providers
- local council for rates and water accounts
- Department of Transport for motor vehicle registration and driver’s license
- bank, building society or credit union
- Australian Electoral Office
- accountant
- insurance companies
- superannuation funds
- home nursing services
- Meals on Wheels
- health funds.
If you need to contact multiple organisations, you can use the Australian Death Notification Service to get in touch using a single online notification.
You should note that Queensland’s Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages must have registered the person’s death before the service can be used.
Contact us
If you have any other questions about what to do when someone dies, please call us on 1300 360 044.