Lump Sum Bereavement Payment (LBP) 099-06000000

The name of a deceased person who is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, is generally extremely sensitive information.

Staff must only ask for the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander deceased person’s name when it is essential for the agency's purposes. In some cases, in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, it is important that close relatives are not asked to discuss, write down, or see written, the name of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander deceased person.

If such information becomes relevant, when a close relative is being interviewed, or asked to complete a form, consent must be requested to collect the information from another source, (for example, community council and/or hospital/clinic records).

For more details, see:

• Indigenous naming conventions
• Cultural considerations when someone dies

LBP is a one-off payment paid:

• in addition to any other bereavement assistance that may be payable
• to the surviving partner so they receive at least the amount that would have been paid to the couple during the bereavement period, had the person not died

If the surviving partner dies at the same time as or shortly after their partner's death, any LBP not yet paid relating to their partner may be paid to an appropriate person (for example, executor of the estate).

Surviving partners who receive JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) and are eligible for LBP must also be assessed for Partner Bereavement Payment.

The way the LBP is calculated depends on who is entitled to receive it and when the death is notified and recorded. If the member of a couple rate has continued during the bereavement period, the LBP is not paid for those fortnights.

• If both members of the couple were pensioners, as soon as the death is recorded, LBP is calculated and paid automatically
• If one or both members of the couple were long term social security recipients as allowees, the LBP must be manually calculated and issued.

For detailed information see Calculation of a Lump Sum Bereavement Payment (LBP).

The LBP is the difference between the surviving partner's new single rate and the member of a couple rate that would have been payable

If the survivor's new single rate is zero, they may still be eligible for an LBP due to the single income or assets tests being applied, even if their payment is cancelled.

LBPs to partners and to non-partner carers are tax exempt only up to the tax free amount. Any amount of the LBP over the tax free amount is taxable income. A manual tax adjustment may be required. See Adjusting tax details for Bereavement Payments.

The surviving member of a couple is entitled to an LBP:

• if, at the time of their partner's death:
• the couple were both pensioners for LBP purposes
• the couple were both long-term Social Security recipients, or
• they are a long-term Social Security recipient, and their deceased partner was a social security pensioner or service pensioner
• the person’s new single rate is less than the combined rate the couple were receiving before the death, and
• Services Australia is notified of the death in time to adjust the customer’s payments before the end of the bereavement period

To qualify for an ABSTUDY LBP, receipt of ABSTUDY Living Allowance is also taken into account.

LBP is not payable if:

• the new single rate is greater than the previous combined member of a couple rate
• if the member of a couple rate continued throughout the bereavement period due to late notification of the death
• a person who is in prison or psychiatric confinement, because they have been charged with an offence. Note: if the person is acquitted, they may be entitled to bereavement assistance even if some time has passed.

Death of a care receiver

The carer(s) may qualify for bereavement assistance in the form of a 14 week extension of CP.

In some cases, the carer may also qualify for an LBP:

• If they are caring for a child with a severe disability or severe medical condition and that child dies
• If a child was in a short term or episodic care situation, regardless of the end date of that care period
• If an adult they were caring for dies and the adult was not a member of a couple or when the person died their surviving partner was not in receipt of
• a social security benefit
• a social security pension
• Service Pension
• Veteran Payment
• Income Support Supplement (ISS)
• If an adult they were caring for dies and the adult was the partner of the CP customer. Note: in these circumstances the LBP is paid (if entitled) using the death of a partner calculation, not the death of a care receiver calculation.

Death of a care receiver who is permanently institutionalised

Qualification for CP ceases for the carer. Payment of CP continues for 14 weeks from the date of admission to the institution. This is regardless of the end date of the short term or episodic care period for the CP child.

If the care receiver dies during the 14 week period and the CP customer and their care receiver were a couple, section 198AAA of the Social Security Act ceases to apply and section 237 may apply. That is, a new 14 week bereavement period may commence and the carer may be eligible for an LBP if all aspects of section 237 are met. The References page links to the legislation.

If the care receiver and the CP customer are not members of a couple, the carer continues receiving CP for 14 weeks from the date of admission to the institution but is not entitled to a further 14 week bereavement period or a lump sum bereavement payment.

Death during a period of hospitalisation or temporary cessation of care

If a carer is eligible for CP under the hospitalisation provisions, or continues to be eligible under the temporary cessation of care provisions, the bereavement provisions for CP still apply if the care receiver dies during this period.

Death shortly after grant of CP

An LBP may be made even if the care receiver dies before the carer's first payday.

Carers in receipt of CA (adult) who also receive an income support payment (other than Carer Payment) that does not qualify them for a bereavement payment may be entitled to a CA Bereavement Payment on the death of the adult care receiver in certain circumstances.

Death of an adult care receiver

If their carer was getting CA and an income support payment other than CP that does not qualify them for a bereavement payment, the carer(s) may qualify for a CA Bereavement Payment which is paid as a lump sum. CA is cancelled at the end of the bereavement rate continuation period.

The CA Bereavement Payment is an amount equivalent of up to 7 instalments of CA and is paid as a lump sum to the carer on notification of the death of the care receiver.

If there is shared care, each carer will receive a CA Bereavement Payment based on the percentage of CA shared care they provided prior to the care receiver’s death. However, if the care provided is shared care but only one carer is receiving CA and the carer receives one hundred percent of the rate of CA payment, then that CA carer will be paid the full rate of the CA Bereavement Payment.

There is no entitlement to the CA Bereavement Payment if a carer notifies of the death outside the bereavement period.

Death of a child care receiver

If their carer was getting CA, a bereavement payment for the carer may be payable. If the child:

• met the definition of an FTB child immediately before their date of death, the carer may be entitled to 14 weeks of bereavement payment, paid as a lump sum
• did not meet the definition of an FTB child, the carer may be entitled to 4 weeks of bereavement payment, paid as a lump sum

The bereavement payment is paid at the CA rate paid immediately before the child's death.

DVA may be responsible for paying the LBP.

If the surviving partner is a DVA only customer, DVA assesses entitlement to the LBP. See Contact after the death of a partner.

For partnered customers who also receive Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) payments, the amount of DFISA lump sum bereavement payment that is due to the surviving partner is calculated by Services Australia and transmitted to DVA for payment. In these cases a manual follow-up (MFU) will be created automatically when death is recorded on the primary payment. The MFU is directed to the DVA Clearance Team.

Note: DFISA ceased on 1 January 2022, when Adjusted Disability Pension became exempt income under the Social Security Act 1991. DFISA assessments and payments may still occur for periods prior to 1 January 2022 where the reassessment of an existing customer occurs.

FHA customers who are partnered may be entitled to an LBP, and at the time of their partner's death:

• the person had been getting FHA for 52 weeks continuously, or
• the person had been getting FHA at the start of the previous 52 weeks and they did not lose social security recipient status for more than 6 weeks of the previous 52 weeks

FHA is paid in the SAP system. In most cases, the LBP is calculated and paid automatically when the person's partner is recorded as deceased.

If the surviving partner is receiving a DVA payment, a referral to the DVA specialist team should be made for them to assess LBP entitlement and manually calculate.

FHA is a time limited payment and is payable for a cumulative period of 4 years (1,460 days) only. The amount of bereavement payment is not affected by the amount of time remaining on the deceased partner's payment 'clock', including when they had less than 14 weeks FHA eligibility remaining on payment.

PBV is a one-off lump sum payment available to JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) customers following the death of their partner.

Some JSP and YA customers may be eligible for both PBV and LBP; but they can only receive one of the bereavement payments.

If they are eligible for both PBV and LBP, they must lodge a Partner Bereavement Payment Application (SA490) relinquishing their LBP entitlement in writing before they can be paid PBV.

If they have been paid LBP but want to receive PBV instead, once the SA490 is processed, the bereavement payment will be automatically adjusted by offsetting the LBP with PBV.

If the PBV is

• more than the LBP, a top-up will be paid
• less than the LBP, the customer will incur an overpayment

Once the customer has been paid PBV, they cannot change their mind or forgo it to receive LBP. Exception: when they transfer to another income support payment that is backdated to the partner’s date of death and they qualify for LBP.

FHA customers may be entitled to an LBP if their partner dies and at the time of their partner’s death:

• the person had been getting FHA for 52 weeks continuously, or
• the person had been getting FHA at the start of the previous 52 weeks and they did not lose social security recipient status for more than 6 weeks of the previous 52 weeks, and
• immediately before their partner died, they were:
• receiving a social security benefit
• receiving a social security pension
• receiving a Veteran Payment
• receiving an Income Support Supplement (ISS), or
• a long term social security recipient (including receiving FHA), and
• the person’s new single rate is less than the combined rate the couple were receiving before the death, and
• Services Australia is notified of the death in time to adjust the customer’s payments before the end of the bereavement period

FHA is a time limited payment and is payable for a cumulative period only. On 1 August 2018, the cumulative period was extended from 3 years (1,095 days) to 4 years (1,460 days). The amount of bereavement payment is not affected by the amount of time remaining on the deceased partner’s payment ‘clock’, including when they had less than 14 weeks FHA eligibility remaining on payment.

If the survivor is being paid by group schedule then the survivor's entitlement to lump sum bereavement payment will be included in the group schedule.