Reducing the paperwork for death notifications

Anything that makes our lives a little bit easier and reduces paperwork can be particularly helpful when there is a lot going on in our lives.

There is now a new tool to help following the death of a loved one.

The Australian Death Notification Service is a free government initiative established in 2021, designed to help notify multiple organisations of the death of a deceased person.

Once you have received the death certificate, all you need to do is enter some of the deceased person’s details, such as name, date of birth, date of death, place of death and last known residential address (as well as your own details) into an online form and notifications are sent to a number of participating banks, credit unions, insurance companies, superannuation funds and service providers.

The service is intended to be used by executors/administrators of deceased estates, or persons acting on their behalf.  The platform is still fairly new, so we expect that even more institutions will sign up to the service in the future.

As well as being convenient, using the service might flush out accounts the deceased held of which executors were previously unaware.

The service is a welcome step in the efficient administration of estates, saving time and costs.

Check out the Australian Death Notification Service

You can use Thynne + Macartney’s online assistant to help start the probate or administration process for the deceased person.

You can also access free resources on our website to help with estate administration, including:

About our Wills + Estates group

We understand that every client’s circumstances are unique and we will work with you to find the best options for securing your assets and your future wishes.

Offering the choice of in-person (whether in our office, at your home or place of business) or an online service for your estate planning, when it is time to take care of the future of your loved ones, we’re with you.

Learn more