Free · general informationAustralia · national bodies
Deceased estate checklist: the tasks official bodies publish, with their own time limits
The general tasks after a death as Services Australia, the ATO, the state registries and courts, the banks and the super funds publish them, each in that body's own words and with its own time limit where it gives one, laid out to print, and not a plan for any one estate.
General information · not legal advice · not a law firm.
§1What this checklist is, and what it is not
This page lists the general tasks that official bodies publish for the time after a death: Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office, each state's registry and Supreme Court, the free national notifier, the banks and the super funds.
Every row is one task as that body describes it, with the body's own time limit where it publishes one, and a link to the page on this site that explains it.
The rows are grouped by the bodies' own time limits, not numbered as steps. This page does not say which task comes first for you, which tasks apply to the estate you are dealing with, or whether a grant of probate or letters of administration is needed.
Each body can say what it asks for in a particular case, and a solicitor can look at the whole estate.
Three different time limits that sound alike appear on this page. One is the time Services Australia asks to be told within.
Another is the ATO's own time to update its records once it has been told. The third is the window some super funds give for objections to a proposed payment. The cards keep them apart.
§2The first days: registering the death and the certificate
Each state's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages registers the death and issues the death certificate. Each registry publishes who usually does this, and its own time.
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
New South Wales: registering
A funeral director normally registers the death within 7 days of the burial or cremation.
New South Wales: the certificate
The funeral director normally orders the death certificate when they register the death.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Victoria: registering
In Victoria, the funeral director usually registers the death, after the burial or cremation.
Victoria: the certificate
The registry says that in most cases the funeral director applies for the death certificate, so the family does not need to apply directly.
Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Queensland: registering
In Queensland, the funeral director usually registers the death on behalf of the family. The registry says the death needs to be registered within 14 days.
Queensland: the certificate
The registry says a death certificate can be ordered at the same time as registering a death with it.
Australia · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Why the certificate comes early
A death certificate must have been issued before ADNS can be used.
§3Services Australia: the time it asks to be told within (Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support)
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Services Australia is the federal agency behind Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support. It publishes a time to be told within, and one form.
The time
Services Australia says it needs to be told of a death within 28 days, in one of three ways: by calling the Older Australians line, by sending the Advice of death form, or at a service centre.
The form
Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support.
Child support
If a child or a parent in a child support arrangement dies, Services Australia says it needs to be told, at a service centre or on the Child Support general enquiries line.
Payments
Services Australia says that when it is told about a death, it works out whether a payment can be made, and how much. This page does not say whether any payment will be made to anyone.
The Medicare card
Services Australia does not automatically issue a new Medicare card when a partner listed on the card dies. A new card can be asked for on the Medicare general enquiries line.
Sorry Business
Services Australia asks Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to tell it if they will be taking part in traditions in their community, including Sorry Business, and says it will make sure there are no unnecessary phone calls, visits and questions from it at that time.
Not reached by the free notifier
Services Australia (Centrelink, Medicare) · not on the ADNS list
This is Services Australia's time to be told. The ATO's own time to update its records, in Card 6, is a different thing.
§5Before a court application: the notice each court publishes
A grant of probate or letters of administration is a Supreme Court document. Each court publishes a notice period before an application is filed.
Where a court also publishes a time after which it asks about delay, that is shown too. Whether a grant is needed for a particular estate is not something this page says. What a grant is, and where each court explains it →
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
New South Wales: notice before filing
The court says the law requires at least 14 days' notice before an application for probate or letters of administration is filed.
New South Wales: a late application
If an application is filed more than 6 months after the date of death, the court asks for an explanation of the delay.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Victoria: notice before filing
A notice of the intention to apply, called the advertisement, is published online at least 15 days before the application is filed.
Victoria: a late application
The court says there is no time limit for applying, but if more than three years have passed since the death, the delay is explained in the affidavit.
Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Queensland: the notice to the Public Trustee
A copy of the notice is also sent to the Queensland Public Trustee. The court says to wait at least 7 days after the Public Trustee receives it before filing.
Queensland: the wait after the notice appears
After the notice appears in the Queensland Law Reporter, the court says to wait 14 days, to allow objections. If the registry is closed on the 15th day, filing is on the next business day.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Whether a grant is needed, in a court's words
The court says it does not decide whether probate is needed to deal with an estate, and that there is no automatic requirement to apply for probate when someone dies. That is the Supreme Court of Victoria's line.
The court says to contact each asset holder and ask it directly whether it will need a grant before it releases money.
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
The Australian Taxation Office publishes one notification, a suggestion about when to send it, and two times of its own.
Before the documents are ready
The ATO says that if the supporting documents are not ready yet, its Individuals enquiries line can be told unofficially that the person has died, and it will pause the deceased's tax correspondence until you are ready.
One form
One ATO form does both jobs: it officially tells the ATO of the death and of who will manage the estate.
The ATO's suggestion about timing
The ATO says that if a grant of probate or letters of administration will be applied for, it is better to wait for the grant before sending the notification, to avoid delays.
This is the ATO's own suggestion about its own process. It is not a reason, on its own, to apply for a grant, and this page does not say whether a grant is needed.
Proving identity at Australia Post
After the online form is sent, the ATO asks for identity to be verified at a participating Australia Post outlet within 30 days.
The ATO's time to update its records
The ATO says it takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after it receives the notification. This is the ATO's time to act once told. It is not Services Australia's time to be told, in Card 3.
The ATO says a final tax return for the income year in which the person died is called a 'date of death' tax return, and that it is different from the trust tax return for the estate.
The estate's own tax file number
The ATO says a trust tax file number is needed to lodge a trust tax return for the estate, and an Australian business number as well if the estate is running a business.
When the ATO says it is finished
The ATO lists when an estate's tax affairs are finalised, including that the date of death return and any outstanding returns are lodged and finalised, all tax liabilities are paid, any credits due are claimed, and business tax registrations are cancelled.
This page does not say whether a return is needed for the estate you are dealing with, or whether tax will be owed.
§7Banks and super funds: each one's own route and time
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Each bank and each super fund publishes its own route. A bank's figure for when it asks for a grant is its own rule for money held with that bank, and the figures differ, so none appears here.
Telling a bank before the documents are ready: Commonwealth Bank
It says a notification can be made online or at a branch appointment, even before any of the documents are to hand.
What a bank says happens next: Westpac
It says it will write within 14 business days confirming how the accounts have been protected and what to do next.
Funeral costs: Westpac
Westpac lists payments it can make even without probate, including funeral costs, probate application fees, medical fees and aged care facility bills.
The ATO says the super fund's trustee works out who will receive the benefits. Super paid after a death is called a super death benefit.
Super: telling the fund
The ATO says the super fund (or funds) should be contacted directly, to tell them of the death and discuss the release of the super. If there is no authorised legal personal representative, the ATO may inform the fund, which then decides whether to contact the family.
A fund's first contact: Aware Super
Aware Super says a dedicated case manager will contact the person who told it within 10 business days.
A fund's time to decide: AustralianSuper
AustralianSuper says it aims to resolve most death benefit claims within four months of receiving the first claim form.
A fund's objection window: AustralianSuper
Claimants have 28 days from being notified of its decision to agree or object, and if one disagrees with the final decision, 28 days to complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which it describes as free and independent. These are the fund's objection windows, not a time to tell anyone of the death.
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Each body publishes what it asks to see. These are the lines gathered for this site, body by body. The body itself can say what it will accept in a particular case.
The ATO
To notify the ATO of a death, it asks for one of these: the death certificate, the grant of probate or letters of administration, or the will.
The ATO: proof of identity at Australia Post
The ATO lists these as proof of identity: an Australian or foreign passport, an Australian driver's licence or learner's permit, a state or territory proof of age or photo card, an Australian firearms licence, or a student ID card.
The ATO: originals or certified copies
The ATO says the documents shown at Australia Post need to be either originals or certified copies, and can be taken home afterwards.
The ATO: a change of name
The ATO says that if the deceased person's name differs from the name in the supporting documents, evidence of the change of name is presented, such as an updated full birth certificate, a change of name certificate or a marriage certificate.
Services Australia, for an executor or administrator
To give an executor or administrator details from its records, Services Australia asks for proof of their authority to act on the estate and an Executor/Administrator request for information form, one from each executor or administrator.
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The Supreme Court of New South Wales
The original will, and any codicils, are filed with the application. The court keeps them.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The Supreme Court of Victoria
The court lists the documents an application uses: a certified copy of the death certificate showing the cause of death, the original will or codicil if there is one, and information about the person's assets and debts.
Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The Supreme Court of Queensland
The court keeps the certified copy of the death certificate and the original will or codicil on file. They cannot be returned.
Queensland's two certificates
Queensland issues two kinds of death certificate. The official certificate shows the cause of death and is the one used to finalise estate matters. The limited certificate does not show the cause of death and may not be accepted by all organisations.
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
A bank: ING
In all matters ING requires a certified copy of the death certificate issued by Births, Deaths and Marriages.
A super fund: Hostplus
Hostplus's claims guide asks for a certified copy of the death certificate, with the cause of death if available, and one certified proof of the member's identity, such as a passport, birth certificate or driver's licence.
This page is laid out to print. Use your browser's print or share menu. Every line shows the day it was checked, and the bodies change their pages, so a printed copy is a snapshot of that day.
The page itself is re-checked, and a line that cannot be confirmed is withheld rather than left to go stale.
FAQ
Common questions
The tasks the official bodies publish: registering the death and ordering the certificate, telling Services Australia, using or working around the free notifier, the court's notice before a grant application, telling the ATO, and telling each bank and super fund.
The one time limit on this page for telling a federal body is this one: Services Australia says it needs to be told of a death within 28 days, in one of three ways: by calling the Older Australians line, by sending the Advice of death form, or at a service centre. Every other time on this page is a body's own time to act or reply.
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
This page draws on both, and on the courts, the banks and the funds, each in its own words.
Australia · general information · checked 10 October 2026
One body publishes a time to be told. Services Australia says it needs to be told of a death within 28 days, in one of three ways: by calling the Older Australians line, by sending the Advice of death form, or at a service centre.
The ATO's time is a different one: The ATO says it takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after it receives the notification. That is the ATO's time to act, not a time to tell it.
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
This page cannot say. Each court explains it in general terms, in its own words. The court says it does not decide whether probate is needed to deal with an estate, and that there is no automatic requirement to apply for probate when someone dies.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The court says a grant of probate is not always needed, and to check with the organisation involved, such as the bank, to confirm what it requires.
Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Each body names its own, and Card 8 lists the lines gathered for this site. The ATO's line: To notify the ATO of a death, it asks for one of these: the death certificate, the grant of probate or letters of administration, or the will.
The Victorian court's line: The court lists the documents an application uses: a certified copy of the death certificate showing the cause of death, the original will or codicil if there is one, and information about the person's assets and debts. The body asking can say what it will accept in a particular case.
Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026
No. Neither federal body was on the list ADNS showed for a death in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland.
Services Australia (Centrelink, Medicare) · not on the ADNS list
Australia · general information · checked 10 October 2026
The federal rows are the same in all three. The registry and the court differ by state: each has its own time for registering the death, its own certificate, and its own notice period before a grant application.
This page cannot say. The ATO publishes what it calls the final return, and the estate's own returns, and its lists of when each is required.
The ATO says a final tax return for the income year in which the person died is called a 'date of death' tax return, and that it is different from the trust tax return for the estate.The ATO's lists, in its words, on this site →
Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026
Where to get help with your situation
This page cannot tell you what applies to the estate you are dealing with. These official routes can point you to someone who can.
New South Wales
New South Wales · general information · checked 10 October 2026
Victoria Legal Aid's Legal Help line is 1300 792 387, 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It gives general legal information, and legal advice to people who are eligible.
Queensland
Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026