Centrelink Death Notification from Overseas: How to Report a Death from New Zealand

When an Australian receiving Centrelink payments dies overseas, those payments do not stop automatically. Pension, disability support, carer payments, and any other income support will continue hitting the deceased's bank account until someone notifies Services Australia. The longer this takes, the larger the overpayment debt the estate has to repay.

Reporting a death from overseas follows a specific process — and there is a dedicated phone line for it.

The Bereavement Helpline

Services Australia directs people reporting a death to its Centrelink line; say "bereavement" when connected:

• Bereavement notifications: 132 300 — say "bereavement" when connected

This is the Centrelink line used for bereavement notifications. Tell the officer that the death occurred in New Zealand and ask about the overseas death process.

What You Need to Tell Them

Services Australia will not process any death action without positive identification of the deceased. To confirm the death remotely, the caller must provide the deceased's full name plus at least two of the following:

• Last known residential address in Australia
• Date of birth
• Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• Partner's name and details

If you do not have the CRN, the combination of full name, date of birth, and address is usually sufficient. The call centre will cross-reference against their records.

You do not need the New Zealand death certificate to make the notification call. The certificate will be required later for formal processing of bereavement payments and final settlements, but the initial call stops payments immediately based on the verbal report.

What Happens After You Call

Payments stop. The deceased's pension, allowance, or other payments are suspended from the date of notification. If any payments were made after the date of death, Services Australia will calculate the overpayment and recover it from the estate.

Partner payments adjust. If the deceased had a partner also receiving Centrelink payments, the partner's rate is recalculated as a single person. This often means a higher individual rate but the loss of the couple's combined income. The partner may also become eligible for a bereavement payment.

Bereavement payment assessment. The surviving partner (or in some cases, the person who paid for the funeral) may be eligible for a lump sum bereavement payment. This is income- and asset-tested. The bereavement team will assess eligibility during or shortly after the notification call.

14-week bereavement period. For partnered pensioners, the surviving partner continues to receive payments at the combined couple rate for up to 14 weeks (the "bereavement period"). This provides a financial buffer while the surviving partner adjusts to single-rate payments.

The Overseas Death Complication

The process is the same whether the death occurred in Australia or overseas, but there is one practical friction: Services Australia may request a certified copy of the death certificate to finalise the claim. A New Zealand death certificate ordered from BDM via Form BDM93D can take longer than an in-person order and also requires international delivery to Australia.

If the bereavement payment or final settlement is time-sensitive, ask the Services Australia officer whether interim documentation — such as a notification from the New Zealand funeral director or a police report — can satisfy the initial requirement while the official certificate is in transit.

Other Federal Payments to Check

Beyond Centrelink, the deceased may have been receiving:

• Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) payments — report the death separately to DVA on 1800 555 254
• Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment — if the deceased was a recipient, notify Services Australia during the same bereavement call
• Overseas pension — if the deceased received a pension from another country (including NZ Superannuation), that country's pension authority must be notified separately

The Australian Dies in New Zealand — Family Emergency Guide includes the full notification checklist for both Australian and New Zealand government agencies, with the specific phone numbers, reference numbers, and documents needed for each.