Who to Notify After a Death in the Australian Capital Territory

Notification calls after a death are exhausting — you repeat the same information to strangers while managing grief, and a mistake can mean overpayment debts arriving weeks later when you least expect them. This is the ACT-specific agency notification sequence, ordered by urgency, with what information you'll need for each call.

Why Sequence Matters

Notifying the wrong agencies in the wrong order wastes time and can complicate later steps. Centrelink and DVA must be notified before further payments are made. Banks should be notified before too many automated payments leave frozen accounts (creating negative balances the estate must resolve). The ATO needs to be brought in later, once the estate tax file number is established.

Do not wait for the official Death Certificate before starting these notifications. Most agencies will act on a verbal notification and provide a formal reference number, then require the certificate later to complete the process.

Tier 1: Notify Within the First Week

Centrelink (Services Australia) If the deceased received any Centrelink payment — Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, JobSeeker, or any other benefit — you must notify Services Australia as soon as possible. Payments made after the date of death become overpayment debts recoverable from the estate. Call 132 300 (the general Centrelink line). The Bereavement Payment is a separate, separate entitlement — the surviving partner or eligible family member may claim up to 14 weeks of the deceased's payment rate as a bereavement payment.

Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) If the deceased was a veteran, current member, or receiving any DVA benefit (Service Pension, Disability Pension, TPI, Gold Card, White Card), notify DVA at 1800 555 254. DVA also has a separate DVA Funeral Benefit for eligible veterans and a Bereavement Payment for surviving spouses — ask about both when you call.

Medicare Call 132 011 to notify Medicare of the death and request cancellation of the Medicare card. This prevents fraudulent claims being processed against the deceased's number. If the deceased was enrolled in My Health Record, the healthcare provider or family can notify My Health Record separately.

Primary bank Contact the estate administration team of the deceased's main bank (not a branch teller — ask specifically for the "deceased estate" or "bereavement" team, as branch staff have limited authority). You need: full name, date of birth, date of death, account numbers if known, and your own identification. The bank will freeze sole accounts. Request that any outstanding funeral invoice be paid directly from the deceased's funds before the freeze takes effect — most banks will do this on presentation of the invoice.

Tier 2: Notify Within the First Two to Four Weeks

Access Canberra — vehicle registration If the deceased owned registered vehicles, you will need to either transfer or cancel the registration. Access Canberra handles all ACT vehicle registrations. If you're the named beneficiary in the Will, take the Death Certificate, the Will, and your ACT driver licence to an Access Canberra service centre. Vehicle transfers from deceased estates are exempt from motor vehicle duty — make sure to bring the Application for Duty Exemption form when you attend.

Private health insurer Cancel the deceased's private health insurance policy and, if it was a couples or family policy, update it to a single or dependant policy for the remaining family members. Check whether the insurer owes any refund for premiums paid after the date of death.

Home and contents insurer This call is often forgotten. When a property becomes vacant after a death, most home insurance policies trigger a "vacant property clause" after 30 to 60 days. Failure to notify the insurer can void coverage for fire, theft, or liability. Notify the insurer, ask about the vacant clause, and arrange any required inspection or check-in protocol.

Superannuation funds Superannuation does not automatically form part of the deceased estate — it is distributed at the trustee's discretion unless a binding death benefit nomination exists. Notify each superannuation fund as soon as possible. Funds will request the Death Certificate, and their internal process for paying the death benefit typically takes several weeks. If a binding death benefit nomination is in place, it dictates who receives the super — but only if the nomination is current and valid.

Other financial institutions Notify every bank, credit union, or financial institution where the deceased held accounts or had loans. Each institution has its own estate administration process. Some will release small balances through an indemnity form; larger balances typically require a Grant of Probate.

Tier 3: Notify After the Grant of Probate Is Received

ACT Revenue Office If you are transferring real property in the ACT, contact the ACT Revenue Office to establish whether the transfer qualifies for conveyance duty exemption under Section 232D of the Duties Act 1999. Transfers made in full conformity with the Will are exempt from duty. Transfers that deviate from the Will — such as siblings agreeing to divide property differently than the Will specifies — may attract duty on the non-conforming portion.

Land Titles ACT (Access Canberra) For real property transfers. Joint tenancy properties pass by survivorship and require the surviving owner to file a Notice of Death by Surviving Proprietor (Form 015-ND, $178). Property held solely or as tenants in common requires a Transmission Application (Form 032-TA, $178) after probate is granted.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Apply for an Estate Tax File Number for the estate as a separate taxable entity. Lodge a final individual tax return for the deceased. Lodge trust tax returns for any income earned during administration (rent, share dividends, interest). Do not distribute estate assets to beneficiaries until ATO clearance is obtained.

Utilities and Subscriptions: What to Cancel

ActewAGL (electricity and gas): Call 13 14 93. You will need to confirm the last metre reading and arrange for any accounts to be transferred or closed.

Icon Water (water and sewerage): Call 6248 3111. Similar process to ActewAGL — account transfer or closure.

Subscription services: Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Foxtel, and similar services will continue to charge unless cancelled. Check recent bank statements for recurring payments and cancel them systematically.

Mobile phone: Contact the carrier to cancel the plan or transfer the number. Port the number to another phone if the family wants to retain it.

Electoral roll: Service Australia will notify the Australian Electoral Commission, but you can also notify them directly at 13 23 26.

The Australian Death Notification Service

The Australian Government provides a free Death Notification Service (DNS) that allows you to notify multiple government agencies and some private organisations through a single online form. As of 2025, this covers some Centrelink services, the ATO, ASIC, and a growing number of other agencies. Check the current list of participating organisations before calling each agency individually — it can significantly reduce the volume of calls you need to make.

Managing notification across all these agencies while administering an estate is a significant organisational task. The ACT Estate Settlement Guide includes pre-written notification templates and a full agency checklist mapped to the correct ACT-specific contacts and form requirements.

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