Notifying Centrelink When an Australian Dies Overseas

Why Timing Matters

When an Australian receiving Centrelink payments dies overseas, those payments do not stop automatically. The pension, JobSeeker, Disability Support Pension, or Age Pension keeps depositing into the deceased's bank account until someone notifies Services Australia. Payments made after the date of death may be treated as overpayments and recovered from the estate.

The sooner you notify, the less the estate owes back.

How to Notify

Services Australia says families must notify it within 28 days of the death. For an overseas death, the online Australian Death Notification Service cannot be used. Contact Services Australia directly and provide the deceased's full name plus at least two of the following: their last known address, date of birth, Customer Reference Number (CRN), or partner's name.

For a death in Thailand, submit a legalised copy of the foreign death certificate directly to Centrelink. Confirm the current submission channel when you notify Services Australia; the agency's requirements for the overseas certificate still apply even if the initial contact is made before the paperwork is ready.

What Happens After Notification

Services Australia will:

• Review the deceased's payments and any overpayment arising after the date of death
• Assess bereavement-payment eligibility for a surviving partner
• Review the surviving partner's payment rate where they were receiving a couple rate
• Calculate any overpayment for benefits paid after the date of death

The surviving partner's own entitlement is assessed separately from the deceased's overpayment and any bereavement payment.

Documents Services Australia Needs

For the notification, provide the deceased's full name plus at least two identifying details: last known address, date of birth, CRN, or partner's name.

To finalise the bereavement case and process any bereavement payment, Services Australia will eventually require:

• A certified copy of the death certificate (legalised and NAATI-translated for overseas deaths)
• Proof of your relationship to the deceased (marriage certificate, Centrelink records showing you as the partner)
• Bank account details for where the bereavement payment should be deposited

For an overseas death, the foreign death certificate must be legalised and submitted directly to Centrelink, with a NAATI-certified translation where required. Ask Services Australia what it needs to keep the case moving while the document chain is in progress.

The Age Pension Complication

Many Australians who die in Thailand were Age Pension recipients living overseas under the portability rules. Their pension was paid into a Thai bank account, an Australian account, or both. When the death is reported:

• Payments to a Thai account stop, but the Thai bank may not freeze the account until they receive their own notification (which requires the local Thai death certificate)
• Payments to an Australian account stop, and the bank freezes the account when they receive the death notification

If the deceased's pension was their household's primary income — common for retiree couples in Thailand — the surviving partner may face an immediate cash-flow gap while Services Australia assesses the surviving partner's position.

Notify Early, Finalise Later

The most effective approach is to notify Services Australia as soon as possible and within 28 days of the death. Because an overseas death requires the legalised foreign certificate to be submitted directly to Centrelink, confirm how to provide that document when you make the notification.

The Australian Dies in Thailand Family Emergency Guide includes a Centrelink notification script with the exact information to have ready for the call, plus a timeline showing how the bereavement payment, rate adjustment, and overpayment recovery interact.