Contact after the death of a partner 099-01010040

This document outlines the procedures to be followed where a member of a couple dies and neither was receiving payments from Services Australia at the time of the death.

When a person contacts to advise the death of a customer, staff must first follow process in Centrelink - Notification, confirming and recording a death.

Step	Action
1	Agency notified of death When a person contacts to advise the death of their partner, staff must follow process in Centrelink - Notification, confirming and recording a death Once death has been actioned, go to Step 2
2	Check if the customer is in receipt of an income support payment If the surviving partner: is currently in receipt of Parenting Payment partnered (PPP) See Death of a partner of a Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) customer Procedure ends here is currently in receipt of another income support payment Go to Step 3 and their deceased partner were not receiving Centrelink payments at the time of the death Go to Table 2 is currently in receipt of Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) payment Go to Table 3
3	Surviving partner currently in receipt of another income support payment Tell the surviving partner what assistance Services Australia may be able to provide. This includes: Parenting Payment (PP) for single customers who have a qualifying dependent child/ren and who do not have the support of a partner. See Claiming Parenting Payment (PP) If they are in receipt of JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance or Special Benefit paid under JSP conditions: they can be exempt from mutual obligation requirements or activity test requirements for the 14 week bereavement period if pregnant when their partner died, and the expected date of confinement is more than 14 weeks in the future, the participation exemption is extended for the duration of the pregnancy Their current income support payment is reassessed to the single rate Carers whose care receiver partner has died may be entitled to bereavement assistance, depending on what payments the carer receives. If the carer is in receipt of: Carer Allowance (CA) only, the carer is not entitled to a bereavement payment Carer Payment (CP) only, the carer is entitled to a continuation of CP for the duration of the bereavement period. The carer is not entitled to a Lump Sum Bereavement Payment both CP and CA, the carer is entitled to continuation of CP for the duration of the bereavement period. The carer is not entitled to a Lump Sum Bereavement Payment CA and an income support payment that is not CP, the carer is entitled to a CA bereavement payment
4	Income and assets If the surviving partner is in receipt of an income support payment and was a joint owner of the couple's assets, full ownership automatically transfers to the surviving partner. However, the system will still only assess that the surviving partner owns 50% of the property. These assets are not updated until the surviving partner advises of the transfer of assets. This may occur when a bereavement review is conducted 16 weeks after the death. If the partner wishes to apply for another payment go to Table 4 want to know about other assistance available, go to Table 4 > Step 6 Procedure ends here.

A member of a couple dies and neither was receiving Centrelink payments at the time of the death

Table 2: This table outlines the procedures to be followed where a member of a couple dies and neither was receiving Centrelink payments at the time of the death.

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Step	Action
1	Death action required When a person contacts to advise the death of another person, staff must follow process in Centrelink - Notification, confirming and recording a death. Even if the person is not in receipt of payments at the time of death. After the death has been confirmed, go to Step 2.
2	Customer may be eligible for an income support payment Staff must consider whether the pre-claim circumstance screen should be coded. For more information see, Intent to claim for vulnerable customers. Customers may be eligible for a Centrelink payment, such as JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA). These payments have bereavement provisions, which include Partner Bereavement Payment and exemptions from waiting periods and participation requirements. Go to Table 4

DVA customer advises of death of their partner

Table 3: This table can offer help to a person after the death of their partner where the surviving partner receives payments from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)

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Step	Action
1	DVA customer advises their partner's death When a DVA customer contacts to advise the death of their partner, staff must follow process in Centrelink - Notification, confirming and recording a death. This is required even if the deceased partner did not receive any Centrelink payments. Once death has been actioned, go to Step 2
2	Check DVA recipient status In some cases, DVA may be responsible for paying the lump sum bereavement payment to the surviving partner, if eligible. If the deceased was an adult care receiver for a Carer Allowance customer, complete this procedure and then follow the procedure outlined in Death of an adult care receiver and the effect on Carer Allowance (CA). Was the deceased person a DVA recipient at the time of death? Yes, go to Step 3 No, go to Step 4
3	Contact DVA Advise the surviving partner to phone DVA general enquiries to follow up on bereavement assistance from DVA. Procedure ends here.
4	Check Centrelink recipient status Was the deceased person a Centrelink recipient or did they have a Centrelink record at the time of death? Yes, go to Step 5 No, go to Step 6
5	Deceased person was a Centrelink recipient or had a Centrelink record at the time of death See the appropriate procedure: Death of a carer Death of a care receiver Death of an income support customer or their partner Carer Payment (CP) or Carer Allowance (CA) customers and bereavement Parenting Payment (PP) and bereavement Family assistance payments, Paid Parental Leave scheme and bereavement Lump Sum Bereavement Payment (LBP) Procedure ends here.
6	DVA entitlement If the surviving partner is going to lose entitlement to their DVA payment advise of payment options from Services Australia, go to Table 4. Advise the surviving partner, if they have questions about their DVA payment to phone DVA general enquiries.

Payment options for surviving partners not in receipt of an income support payment

Table 4

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Step	Action
1	Customer may be eligible for an income support payment Staff must consider whether the pre-claim circumstance screen should be coded. For more information see, Intent to claim for vulnerable customers. Discuss payment options which the customer may be eligible for: JobSeeker Payment (JSP), go to Step 2 Youth Allowance (YA), go to Step 3 Parenting Payment (PP), go to Step 4 other payments, go to Step 5
2	JobSeeker Payment (JSP) Customers who are aged between 22 and Age Pension age can claim JSP with bereavement provisions: Partner Bereavement Payment (PBV) - a lump sum payment to assist with expenses associated with the death of their partner. There is an additional pregnancy component for pregnant person Exemptions from some waiting periods: Ordinary Waiting Period (OWP) Income Maintenance Period (IMP) Seasonal Work Preclusion Period (SWPP) Liquid Assets Waiting Period (LAWP) Exemption from mutual obligation requirements for the duration of the bereavement period. For pregnant person, the bereavement exemption can be extended for the duration of the pregnancy, if greater than 14 weeks
3	Youth Allowance (YA) Customers who are aged between 16 and 22 can claim YA (job seeker, student or apprentice) with bereavement provisions: Partner Bereavement Payment (PBV) - a lump sum payment to assist with expenses associated with the death of their partner. There is an additional pregnancy component for pregnant person Exemptions from some waiting periods: Ordinary Waiting Period (OWP) Income Maintenance Period (IMP) Seasonal Work Preclusion Period (SWPP) Liquid Assets Waiting Period (LAWP) Exemption from mutual obligation requirements or activity test requirements for the duration of the bereavement period. For a pregnant person, the bereavement exemption can be extended for the duration of the pregnancy, if greater than 14 weeks For more information, go to Claiming Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker and Initial contact with students or Australian Apprentices claiming Youth Allowance (YA).
4	Parenting Payment Customers who are the principal carer of a dependent child under 14 can claim Parenting Payment Single with bereavement provisions: Exemption from participation requirements for the duration of the bereavement period. For pregnant person, the bereavement exemption can be extended for the duration of the pregnancy, if greater than 14 weeks Exemptions from some waiting periods such as Income Maintenance Period (IMP) Liquid Assets Waiting Period (LAWP) Ordinary Waiting Period (OWP) Seasonal Work Preclusion Period (SWPP) For more information, go to Claiming Parenting Payment (PP).
5	Other payments Depending on the customer’s particular circumstances, other payments may be more suitable. Discuss possible payments and advise the customer to use Payment Finder to assist with identifying an appropriate payment.
6	Other assistance Staff can refer the notifier and relatives of the deceased to: a social worker, where appropriate Financial Information Service (FIS) Multilingual Phone Service (MPS) Indigenous Service Officers (ISO) information available on the Services Australia website including: Payment and Service finder What to do when a loved one dies page the contact details for state funeral assistance that may be available

Operational Information

Contact after the death of a partner 099-01010040

On this page:

Deceased partner was not in receipt of income support payments at the time of death

A member of a couple dies and neither was receiving Centrelink payments at the time of the death

DVA customer advises of death of their partner

Payment options for surviving partners not in receipt of an income support payment