The Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) is a free government initiative to help people get in touch with multiple organisations using a single online notification.

To use this service, you need to provide the details of the person who died including their:

• Name
• Date of death
• State or territory where they died
• Last known residential address

It also helps if you know the account and membership numbers of the person who has passed away.

Australia Post offers 12-months free mail redirection for deceased estates. You will need to provide a copy of the grant of probate or letters of administration and complete an application form that can be downloaded from the Australia Post website or from any branch.

Australia Post Mail Redirection Services.

Determine if water, electricity and gas are still needed at the deceased person’s residence. If not follow the instructions provided by the utility company to cancel the service.

Some providers can reduce the cost of maintaining a connection only if you still need to access the property.

If utilities are required by a surviving joint owner that person is responsible for changing the names and making payments on utility bills.

Follow the instructions provided by each service provider to cancel or transfer the service to another name. This can happen immediately, though some service providers require a copy of the death certificate to finalise the cancellation.

Bank statements are a good way to ascertain providers who regularly withdraw subscription fees.

Common subscription services include:

• Newspaper & magazine subscriptions (online or physical)
• Pay TV (Netflix, Disney, Foxtel etc)
• Music streaming (Spotify etc)

The estate must put insurance into place to cover potential theft or damage to property or contents.

Insurance policies in the name of the deceased can be cancelled right away, though some suppliers require a death certificate to process the cancellation. If policies are being transferred to a surviving joint owner they are responsible for arranging the transfer and making future payments.

Common insurance includes:

• House and contents insurance
• Car, boat and caravan insurance
• Roadside assistance (RAA or similar)
• Health insurance
• Ambulance Cover
• Life insurance
• Pet insurance

Most mobile and landline phone service providers are part of the Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) and also have experienced internal bereavement support teams.

Providers will work with you to transfer ownership of any services you wish to keep active and identify products or services you wish to disconnect as well as notify you about outstanding bills or direct debits.

Most services require a death certificate and proof that you are the authorised executor, administrator or next of kin so they can access the deceased’s account information.

At the time of cancelling mobile phone services, you will be asked if you want to keep the voicemail greeting of the deceased person.

Telstra Bereavement Services

Optus Bereavement Services

Vodaphone Bereavement Services

Check bank statements to ascertain if there are any memberships the deceased made regular payments to, these may include:

• Gym memberships
• Sports club memberships
• Professional organisations
• Social clubs
• Travel or frequent flier membership

In addition to the above services you will need to notify other organisations about the death this may include (but not be limited to):

• Doctors and specialists
• Public services
• Travel agency
• Church or religious organisations
• Home delivery services
• Cleaning, gardening, or maintenance services
• School or college
• Meals on Wheels or home support organisations
• Service organisations (Rotary, Lions, Red Cross etc)
• Blood Bank