Handling financial matters when a loved one passes away

Your financial matters

Urgent bills

In emergency situations, regular bills can sometimes be suspended for a period of time. This can include mortgage, car loan, direct debit bills and credit cards payments.

Get in touch with your financial institution(s) or credit service providers to see if this can be arranged.

Services Australia

If you're in a difficult financial position, you may wish to contact Services Australia (Centrelink). They can let you know if you're entitled to any financial assistance. For more information, please contact the Family Assistance office on 136 150 or their multilingual phone service on 131 202.

Support with funeral expenses

If eligible, WorkSafe can pay reasonable costs for the following items.

• A burial or cremation service (which may include a wake or gathering) to honour and celebrate the life of your loved one, up to a maximum amount.
• Repatriation (transportation) of your loved one to their home state or country for burial or cremation, up to maximum amount.
• Travel and accommodation expenses for immediate family members to attend the burial or cremation service if it is held more than 100km from their normal residence. Paid up to a maximum amount, shared between eligible family members.

If you’re not eligible and have concerns about your ability to pay for the funeral, you can contact WorkSafe Advisory on 1800 136 089 for help to explore other options.

WorkSafe entitlements

WorkSafe provides support and financial assistance to those who qualify following the death of a worker because of a work-related injury or illness.

Depending on your circumstances, the following payments may be available.

• Medical and like services provided to the worker before their death.
• Counselling and, where applicable, other grief support for immediate family members.
• Cleaning and decontaminating costs incurred by immediate family members to make the home safe and habitable again. This applies if the death happened at the worker’s home or the family member’s home.
• Lump sum payments for dependent partners, children, orphans or other dependants (such as parents and siblings).
• Lump sum payment for close family members in recognition of their grief and loss.
• Weekly pensions paid to a dependent partner or spouse for 3 years and/or dependent children (including orphans) until they reach the age of 16 up to age 25 if they remain eligible.
• Reimbursement of expenses incurred by non-dependent family members if the expenses caused financial hardship.
• Damages under the Wrongs Act 1958.

Payments are limited to a maximum amount.

In most cases, a claim for compensation must be completed and lodged with the deceased worker's employer.

Your loved one’s financial matters

Your loved one may have had personal insurance or other entitlements that will be paid out after their death.

Some payments can be paid to the person they nominated (without the need for a will) while others may need to be paid into their estate.

If there is no will, the estate will be managed by the person named in the Letters of Administration (issued by the Supreme Court).

If there is a will, the estate will be managed by the executor of their estate (as named in the will).

Superannuation (super)

Your loved one may have one or more super funds. You should get in touch with the fund to make sure you receive any available benefits.

If you don’t know the fund, you can contact your loved one’s employer, Union or the Australian Tax Office (ATO). They should be able to give you the name and contact details of the super fund. We encourage you to have a support person with you when making these calls.

Previous super

Your loved one may also have had super paid by a past employer into other superannuation funds and lost contact with them.

You can check this by contacting the ATO Lost Members Register.

Employment entitlements

Your loved one may have unpaid annual leave, long service leave or portable long service (in industries such building and construction, contract cleaning, security and community services).

These entitlements are often paid to the estate of the person that has passed away. If you’re unsure about any employment entitlements, you can contact your loved one's employer or union. Specific contact options are:

• LeavePlus for workers in the building and construction industry (formerly known as CoINVEST).
• Portable Long Service Authority for workers in the contract cleaning, security and community services industries.