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As well as sharing the news with friends and family, there are other people, agencies and organisations you may need to notify about the death of a loved one.
Centrelink and other government agencies
Contact Services Australia so it can update the deceased's Centrelink, Medicare and child support records. It is also useful to fill in the Advice of death form and close the person’s MyGov account if you have relevant details.
You may also need to notify the local council and post office to redirect mail.
Cancelling services and memberships
Services Australia provides a checklist of people and organisations to notify. This includes government agencies, banks, employers, sporting clubs and any other organisations where the deceased was a member.
If the person lived alone services such as the internet, phone, water, gas and power need to be cancelled. If a lawyer is involved in executing the will, he or she may provide assistance.
Removing the deceased's name from mailing lists
You can register the deceased's details on the Association for data driven marketing and advertising website or write to:
ADMA
GPO Box 3895
Sydney NSW 2001
Social media
Social media platforms generally have procedures in place to deal with the accounts of deceased members. They usually vary so the best thing to do is to search the help section for each social media account to find out how to close an account.
