Centrelink

Help with bereavement

Centrelink helps people understand their options and plan for the future. This is especially so where a person needs help in dealing with bereavement.

Where to start
A good starting point is a Centrelink booklet called ‘Are you needing help after someone has died? - A guide to prepare for and cope with bereavement’. It includes some practical information and basic details about your options, including payments and services; how to claim payments and use Centrelink’s services; your rights and obligations; and how to find out more. You can obtain a copy of the booklet by calling 13 2300 or visiting your local Centrelink Customer Service Centre.

Where can I go to get information?
Centrelink’s Financial Information Service (FIS) is an educative and expert information service available to everyone. FIS assists people to make informed decisions about investment and financial issues for their current and future needs. FIS is independent, free and confidential and provides a service by phone, by appointment or through seminars.
Bereavement Payment
Bereavement Payment is short term financial assistance to help people adjust to their changed financial circumstances following a death. You may get Bereavement Payment if you are an Australian resident and:

• Your partner dies
  
• You are caring for and receiving Carer Payment for an adult who dies
  
• You are the carer or parent of a young child who dies
  AND…
  
• You are getting a pension from Centrelink or Veterans’ Affairs at the date of death.
  
• You have been getting Youth Allowance, Newstart Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Partner Allowance, Parenting Payment or Special Benefit for at least 12 months.
  
• You were getting, or were qualified to get, Family Tax Benefit for the child who died.

What you get

• If your partner dies, you may get a Bereavement Payment paid as a lump sum or by instalments.
  
• If you were caring for your partner or a child who dies and you get a payment from Centrelink or Veterans’ Affairs, you will keep getting the payment for up to seven pay periods after the death of the person you were caring for. This also applies to a person getting Carer Payment for an adult who dies.
  
• If you had been getting Youth Allowance, Newstart Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Partner Allowance, Parenting Payment or Special Benefit for at least 12 months, and the person who dies was as well, you are eligible to receive a Bereavement Payment.
  
• If you were getting Family Tax Benefit for a child who dies, you can keep getting Family Tax Benefit for another 14 weeks after the child’s death or you get a lump sum either immediately or at the end of the income (financial) year through Centrelink or the Australian Taxation Office.
  
• If you have not yet been paid Family Tax Benefit for a child who dies, but you were qualified to be paid, you can get a lump sum payment that includes 14 weeks bereavement pay.
  
• If your child is stillborn or dies before two years of age (and you would have been eligible for Family Tax Benefit had the child lived), you may still be eligible for Maternity Allowance and Maternity Immunisation Allowance.
  

Should your carer pass away your payment will continue and you or a family member should contact Centrelink about your care options.

When you tell us that someone has died, we will work out if you can get Bereavement Payment and how much you will be paid.

Bereavement Allowance

Bereavement Allowance is for recently widowed people without children, in the period immediately following the death of their partner. You may get Bereavement Allowance if:

• Your partner dies
  
• You were living with your partner immediately before your partner’s death
  
• You have not re-partnered
  
• You do not have any children
  
• You are not eligible for Widow B Pension, Parenting Payment, Service Pension or War Widows Pension
  
• Your income and assets are below a certain amount, and
  
• You meet residence requirements - in most cases you must have lived in Australia for a total of two years as an Australian resident
  

You need to lodge a claim for Bereavement Allowance. You can phone 13 2300 and ask to have a Bereavement Allowance claim form posted to you or you can pick up a form at any Centrelink Customer Service Centre.
You may receive:

• A fortnightly Bereavement Allowance
  
• A Pensioner Concession Card
  (Bereavement Allowance is payable for up to 14 weeks after the death of your partner. If you are pregnant when your partner dies, you can continue to get Bereavement Allowance until the baby is born.)
  

You may also receive:

• Rent Assistance
  
• Remote Area Allowance
  
• Telephone Allowance
  
• Pharmaceutical Allowance

For more information and the latest rates of payment phone 13 2300 or visit www.centrelink.gov.au