You are a death benefits dependant of the deceased if, at the time they died, you were:
- the surviving spouse
- a former spouse
- a child of the deceased and you were under 18 years old
- any other person who was financially dependent on the deceased, or
- any other person in an interdependency relationship with the deceased (see the definition on the next page).
For question 8, you are also a death benefits dependant when you receive a superannuation lump sum payment because a member of the Australian Defence Force or of an Australian police force, including the Australian Protective Service, died in the line of duty.
If you disagree with the dependency status shown on your payment summary, you should discuss it with the payer.
For the purposes of the definition of death benefits dependant the following apply:
Spouse of the deceased includes another person (whether of the same or opposite sex):
- with whom the deceased was in a relationship that was registered under a prescribed law of a state or territory
- not legally married to the deceased person, who lived with the deceased on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.
Child of the deceased includes:
- an adopted child, stepchild or ex-nuptial child of the deceased
- a child of the deceased's spouse
- someone who is a child of the deceased within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 (for example, a child who is considered to be a child of a person under a state or territory court order giving effect to a surrogacy agreement).