Notification of a Death

Last amended: 27 May 2011

How is a death notified

The department is advised of a pensioner's death, either in writing or verbally, by relatives or a representative (eg Ex-Service Organisations, Solicitors, Public Trustee).

Obtaining details of the deceased

To reduce the need for further contact by DVA during the bereavement period, obtain as much as you can of the following information about the deceased, when the death is first notified:

• full name
• address
• date of birth
• date of death
• place of death
• DVA file number
• DVA pension types received
• if a member of the couple received their pension from Centrelink, make a note of this and also their Centrelink Reference Number (CRN)

Obtaining other details for the death notification

At the time of death notification, obtain the following additional information:

• name/address/phone number of person notifying of death and their relationship to the deceased
• name/address/phone number of the next of kin and/or Executor
• date the notification was received by DVA and your name

Death notification form

The preferred method of recording the death of a pensioner is to complete the form D9108 Death Extraction Advice.    

All possible information pertaining to the deceased should be entered on that form, then record your name and the date the notification was received by DVA. The completed Death Extraction Advice should then be sent to the Bereavement Unit for your State Office in order to reduce the possibility of an overpayment.

Bereavement Unit

Bereavement Units have been established in the majority of State Offices to provide a centralised area for bereavement-related processing and any resulting enquiries. Once a death notification form is received by a Bereavement Unit, the date of death is recorded on VIEW (tab: 'Record Maintenance', folder: 'Death Recording'). The case is then processed through the Death Processing System [glossary:(:]DPS[glossary:):].

Death data matching

This is another way that DVA receives notification about the death of a pensioner.