Notification of a deceased person

Get the form

Use this online form to officially notify us of:

• a person's death
• who will be managing the deceased estate.

If you cancel or close the form before you submit it, any information you entered won't be saved.

What you can do with this form

1. Complete the online form
2. Print the summary – you will need this for your interview at Australia Post
3. Attend a participating Australia Post outletExternal Link within 30 days of completing the online form. You will need to present:  
   1. the printed summary
   2. your supporting documents.

It takes up to 28 days to update the deceased person's records after we receive your notification.

What you will need

Present your supporting documents at your Australia Post interview. You will need the original documents, or certified copies.

In some states, grant of probate and letters of administration can be applied for online and a paper version is not issued. These are stored electronically and can be accessed through the relevant supreme court website. You will need to:

1. print the document
2. ensure the document is certified appropriately before attending your interview at Australia Post.

You can take the supporting documents with you after the interview.

If you intend on applying for a grant of probate or letters of administration, wait until you receive the court grant before submitting the Notification of Deceased person. This will avoid delays in processing your request.

Proof of your identity

Bring a proof of identity documentExternal Link with a photo.

Death certificate

You need to present the death certificate.

If you don't have it, register the death with the births, deaths and marriages registry in your state or territory. They will then issue a death certificate.

Grant of probate or letters of administration

The legal personal representative (LPR) has full authority to manage the deceased's tax affairs.

To be authorised as the LPR, you need to present:

• for an executor – grant of probate from the supreme court
• for an administrator – letters of administration issued by the supreme court.

If more than one LPR needs to be added as an authorised contact, each of them will need to complete and submit their own online form.

If you submitted an official notification of death before you had the grant of probate or letters of administration, you can modify your submission to provide these documents to us. We will then list you as the LPR in our records.

If you do not have probate or letters of administration

If you have decided not to apply for probate or letters of administration, present the will (if there is one).

We will add your name to the records of the estate, with a note that you are managing the estate's tax affairs.

However, you won't be recorded as the LPR or authorised contact on the deceased person's record. This means there are legal restrictions on the information and funds we can release to you.

Change of name

If the deceased's name is different to the name in the supporting documents, you will need to present one of the following documents, issued by an Australian state or territory registrar of births, deaths and marriages:

• updated birth certificate
• name change certificate
• marriage certificate.

Help completing this form

The online form has help information.

If you need to change an online form you have already submitted, follow these steps:

1. Select Modify an existing deceased person form from the form home pageExternal Link.
2. Sign in using
   3. the reference number you received when you previously submitted the form
   4. your date of birth.
3. Update the details and Submit the form again.

Print the new summary to take to your Australia Post interview.

What else you can do

You can complete a paper form and notify us by mail.

Do this if you are:

• unable to complete the online form
• unable to attend an Australia Post interview
• a legal practitioner who has been appointed by an LPR.

Find out more about managing a deceased estate.

For details about the information we collect see Privacy notice – Notification of a deceased person.