The Family Handover KitAustralia
Free · general informationAustralia · national bodies

Telling Centrelink, Medicare and the ATO that someone has died

Two federal bodies are told separately after a death, Services Australia (which runs Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support) and the Australian Taxation Office, and this page shows each one's published route: who it says tells it, how, with what, and in what time.

General information · not legal advice · not a law firm.

How Services Australia is told: Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

Who it is

Services Australia is the federal agency behind Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support. It is told once, and it publishes a time, three ways to do it, 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.

By phone

The Older Australians line is 132 300, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Services Australia lists it for help following the death of a loved one.

The form

The form comes in two versions, SA116a for an adult and SA116b for a child. It is printed, signed by hand and returned as the form itself instructs.

Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support. The form: Services Australia · Advice of death form (SA116)

This page does not say what to enter in any box on the form. The form carries its own instructions.

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.

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.

Services Australia's Child Support enquiry line is 131 272, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:45 pm.

Details from its records

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.

What Services Australia says about payments after a death

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

Services Australia publishes what help there may be when an adult dies. Each line below is Services Australia's published rule, shown with its own "may".

Whether any of them applies to a particular person is for Services Australia to work out, once it has been told.

Services Australia says that when it is told about a death, it works out whether a payment can be made, and how much.

Services Australia says the type and amount of any payment after a death depends on the person's circumstances, their relationship to the person who died, and when Services Australia is told about the death.

When a partner dies

If a partner died, Services Australia says the surviving partner may get a lump sum bereavement payment. It says that to be eligible, both needed to be getting an income support payment for at least the previous 12 months, or a pension.

It says the amount is usually what the couple would have got together, minus the new single rate, worked out over 14 weeks from the day the partner died.

When the person a carer looked after dies

A carer may get a lump sum of up to 14 weeks of Carer Allowance when the person they cared for dies.

When a single person dies

Services Australia says there are no extra lump sum payments when a single person dies. When a single pensioner dies, it pays their regular payment for the fortnight in which they died, and the executor of the estate can access it from their bank account.

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.

Services Australia's Medicare line is 132 011. It lists it for help with a claim, ordering a new card, or a Medicare general enquiry.

Inheriting while on a Centrelink payment

Services Australia says money inherited from an estate counts as an asset in the Centrelink assets test, and could affect a Centrelink payment. Services Australia says it can take around 12 months for an estate to be finalised.

This page does not say whether any payment will be made to anyone. Services Australia does that, from its own records, once it has been told.

How the ATO is told, and who can manage the estate with it

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

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.

The ATO's Individuals enquiries line is 13 28 61, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Who tells it

The ATO says the person who officially tells it of a death is usually a relative, the executor or administrator of the estate, or a legal practitioner, BAS agent or tax agent who represented the person who died or was appointed by the executor or administrator.

The ATO says only the executor or administrator can nominate to manage the estate with it.

One form, two ways

One ATO form does both jobs: it officially tells the ATO of the death and of who will manage the estate.

The ATO gives two ways: an online form followed by an interview at a participating Australia Post outlet to show the supporting documents, or a paper form posted with certified copies, which are not sent back.

After the online form is sent, the ATO asks for identity to be verified at a participating Australia Post outlet within 30 days. The online form: Australian Taxation Office · Notification of a deceased person (online form)

Documents

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.

Why the ATO suggests waiting for a grant

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.

Without a grant, the ATO says it cannot record anyone as the authorised legal personal representative, so there are legal limits on the information and money it can release.

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 for the estate you are dealing with. What a grant is, and where each court explains it

How long it takes

The ATO says it takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after it receives the notification.

This is a different 28 days from Services Australia's. Services Australia's 28 days is the time it asks to be told within. The ATO's 28 days is its own time to update its records once it has been told.

The authorised representative

The ATO says an executor who has not obtained a grant of probate is not an authorised legal personal representative for the estate.

Once recorded, the authorised legal personal representative can get a data package of the person's tax and super information for the past 3 income years.

Super

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. How each fund is told, and who decides who receives the super

What the free notifier does not do

Australia · general information · checked 10 October 2026

The Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) is the free national notifier. Neither body on this page was on the list it showed for a death in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland:

  • Services Australia (Centrelink, Medicare) · not on the ADNS list
  • Australian Taxation Office · not on the ADNS list

ADNS itself points families to Services Australia for a fuller checklist.

So each is told separately, through the routes above. Telling one is not the same as telling the other.

Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support. The ATO is not in that list. The ATO publishes its own notification, in Card 3.

Who the free notifier reaches, and who it does not, organisation by organisation

FAQ

Common questions

Centrelink is part of Services Australia, so Services Australia is the body that is 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 Older Australians line is 132 300, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Services Australia lists it for help following the death of a loved one. The form: Services Australia · Advice of death form (SA116)

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

It is Services Australia's form for telling it that someone has died. The form comes in two versions, SA116a for an adult and SA116b for a child. It is printed, signed by hand and returned as the form itself instructs.

Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support. This page does not say what to enter in any box; the form carries its own instructions.

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

Centrelink and Medicare are both run by Services Australia, so this is one notification, not two.

Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support.

One thing is not automatic: 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.

Services Australia's Medicare line is 132 011. It lists it for help with a claim, ordering a new card, or a Medicare general enquiry.

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

Nothing on either body's page, as read for this site, says that it does. Services Australia says it uses the Advice of death form to update records with Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support. The ATO is not in that list, and it publishes its own notification.

One ATO form does both jobs: it officially tells the ATO of the death and of who will manage the estate. This page treats them as two separate notifications.

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

The ATO publishes one form and two ways to send it. One ATO form does both jobs: it officially tells the ATO of the death and of who will manage the estate.

The ATO gives two ways: an online form followed by an interview at a participating Australia Post outlet to show the supporting documents, or a paper form posted with certified copies, which are not sent back.

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.

If none of those is 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. Its page: Australian Taxation Office · Notifying us of a death and who will manage the estate

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

No. Neither 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
  • Australian Taxation Office · not on the ADNS list

Each is told separately, through its own route, in Cards 1 and 3.

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

This page cannot say. Services Australia says that when it is told about a death, it works out whether a payment can be made, and how much.

Services Australia says the type and amount of any payment after a death depends on the person's circumstances, their relationship to the person who died, and when Services Australia is told about the death. Card 2 shows each payment Services Australia describes, as its published rule.

Australia · general information · checked 11 October 2026

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 once told. Services Australia's 28 days is different: 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.

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

Victoria · general information · checked 10 October 2026

Queensland

Queensland · general information · checked 10 October 2026

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