Bank Accounts and Other Legal Matters

Each state and territory has a government register for births, deaths and marriages.  Your funeral director will lodge an application on your behalf for a copy of the Death Certificate.

Banks will generally not release funds from the Deceased customer’s accounts(s) to pay for these additional expenses.

Once the Executor/s or Next of Kin (where no Will exists) have provided an original funeral tax invoice or tax receipt the bank is able to release funds from the Deceased customer’s account to assist with paying the cost of the funeral.  If there are not sufficient funds available in the account(s) of the Deceased

Death Certificate Funeral Account Medical Certificate Probate or Letter of Administration Disposal of Body Certificate Coroner’s Report (Newspaper clippings are not acceptable)

You need to notify the bank either in person or in writing.  You will need to provide Proof of Death.

The most commonly asked questions regarding deceased bank accounts are listed below.  Please note that this is general information only, you can contact your bank for information more specific to your circumstances: Westpac Bank Deceased Estates Team – 1300 130 240 ANZ Bank Deceased Estates Team – 1800 237 170 Commonwealth Bank Deceased Estate Hotline – 1800 686

In most states, the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages takes up to 21 days to issue a death certificate.

Families are understandably concerned about the cost of a funeral while they are already dealing with the grief and practical issues after the loss of a loved one. The total cost of a funeral service depends on the individual aspects that are chosen as a part of the service, whether your loved one will be