Death, funeral or burial expenses for your dependant

What are death, funeral and burial expenses

These are expenses associated with death, funeral or burial of a dependant.

Eligibility conditions for death, funeral and burial expenses

If you're applying to pay death, funeral, or burial expenses of a dependant, you must meet the following 3 eligibility conditions:

• Condition 1 – the person has recently died.
• Condition 2 – your relationship with the person met the criteria of a dependant.
• Condition 3 – the expenses you're applying for solely relate to the death, burial or funeral of your dependant.

Where the expense has already been paid by borrowing money, you still must have met these criteria for the expense that has occurred or is due to occur. You also need to meet the additional eligibility criteria for the borrowed amount.

Expenses that may be eligible

Expenses that may be eligible include:

• the death certificate fee
• professional service fees required for the funeral or burial, including venue hiring costs, celebrant or clergy fees, flowers or public advertising
• burial fees, including the coffin, casket, cemetery fees and burial plot
• cremation costs, including the urn
• interment (burial) fees for cremated ashes
• transportation of the deceased to and from the funeral service, or the city or country of burial.

Expenses that are not eligible

The following expenses are generally not eligible, as they are considered to be the result of personal decisions rather than the necessary funeral or burial expenses:

• expenses associated with a wake
• expenses for a headstone
• payment for a monument
• expenses that are not considered essential to conduct a funeral or burial, such as dove releases or entertainment
• pre-payment of your funeral expenses.

Evidence for the expense

If you're applying to pay for expenses associated with the death, funeral, or burial expenses of your dependant, you will need to provide the following:

• One of the following documents as proof of death
  • copy of your dependant’s death certificate (this includes a provisional death certificate)
  • copy of your dependant's coroner certificate
  • letter from your dependant’s registered medical practitioner or funeral provider on their letterhead, signed and dated, stating
    • that the dependant has passed away
    • the date of death
    • the medical practitioner's Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency number (for registered medical practitioners only).
• If the dependant is not your spouse or your child under 18 years old, you need to provide evidence that shows you were in an interdependency relationship or substantial financial dependency relationship.
• A quote or invoice.

Where the expense has been paid by borrowing money, additional documents are required.