DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA

YOU ARE THERE WHEN SOMEONE DIES, WHAT DO YOU DO?

1. Get medical help

In an emergency, always call 000. Paramedics will assist and if the person cannot be revived, they will contact the person's doctor. The doctor will then attend, sign a death certificate and arrange for the coroner to collect the deceased person and take them to the mortuary (morgue). This certificate will be sent to the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages for registration.

OR

If it was expected, call the person's doctor as they will attend, sign a death certificate and arrange for the coroner to collect the deceased person and take them to the mortuary (morgue). 

2. Contact next-of-kin (if that is not you). 

YOU ARE THE NEXT-OF-KIN, WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?

1. Contact other loved ones so you may support one another.

2. Locate the deceased person's legal will to determine the chosen Executor/Administrator. If there is no will, contact Victorian Legal Aid for further guidance and next steps.

3. Complete the Advice of death form (SA116) from the Services Australia website.

YOU ARE THE EXECUTOR OF THE WILL, WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?

1. Complete the Executor/Administrator Request for information form (SS524) form the Services Australia website.

2. Contact the  Australian Death Notification Service via their website. This is a free service and will guide you through who you need to tell and what information you will need to collect beforehand. Services Australia also has a checklist you can use.

WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE DECEASED?

1. Is the deceased registered as an organ donor? If so, speak with the Australian Organ Donor Register for guidance.

2. Contact the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for an official death certificate. Make several copies and have those copies certified by a Justice of the Peace (JP). Use the Find a JP service on the department website.

3. Decide if you will have a viewing, Irish wake, funeral and/or wake/reception, (there is no legal requirement in Australia for any of these to occur). A funeral is a service using ceremony to retell and celebrate the life of someone who has died. The viewing is an open casket for people to have their last visit with the deceased. An Irish wake is keeping the deceased in the home or other venue for days leading up to the funeral. A wake/reception is a social gathering for mourners to share stories, eat, drink and support each other as they grieve.

YOU NEED TO ARRANGE A FUNERAL, WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

1. Choose your celebrant. They can guide you from the beginning to ensure you are supported without pressures of making decisions under unnecessary time constraints. Contact your celebrant.

2. Decide if you wish to engage a funeral director to arrange the funeral with you as the advisor. It is not a legal requirement to hire a funeral director and they do cost money, but they also remove many burdens and barriers for grieving people who are left with a lot of responsibility once a person dies. If you choose a funeral director, contact them and the deceased will be transported to that funeral home. If you do not choose a funeral director, the body can remain at the morgue until you are ready to make the next choice.

3. Choose burial or cremation for the deceased person.  

4. Choose wooden coffin, biodegradable coffin or biodegradable fabric wrap.

5. Look at the different locations (a public cemetery, a private cemetery, or private land) for the burial/cremation as it will guide the likely place of any funeral service or reception.

6. Meet with your celebrant to organise the service and/or wake.

FUNERAL INDUSTRY

In Australia, when somebody dies, the deceased person is taken to the city mortuary (morgue) where it is kept safe. The executor of the will, or if no will, the next-of-kin (usually partner, adult child, sibling or parent) will then be contacted and asked which funeral director they wish to engage for a service. 

Firstly, engaging a funeral director is not required by law. So although one may feel pressured to make this decision, they can take their time. Once a funeral home has been engaged, it costs money to change one's mind. Here is some information about funeral directors.

FUNERAL DIRECTOR

Funeral directors take care of as much of the process as the mourners choose. This often includes: collecting the deceased person from the mortuary, embalming, dressing and preparing the deceased for ceremony, organising burial or cremation with the chosen cemetery or memorial park, ordering the coffin/shroud, transporting the deceased wherever it needs to go, keeping the deceased from degradation until the day of the funeral, booking a celebrant, ordering flowers, booking a venue for the service, live recording the service for web access if required, operating music and video montages during the service if requested. Some funeral directors will also offer home-based funerals or at the least advise on them.

FUNERAL CELEBRANT

Funeral celebrants are often commonwealth civil celebrants and experts in arranging celebrations of life, communicating with all types of people or all ages in all sorts of emotional states. This is particularly pertinent at times of grieving when members or family or friends have unresolved conflict with the deceased or their loved ones. Funeral celebrants ensure everyone feels heard so they can be supported to grieve for the loss of this important person in their life. Celebrants can offer ideas for tradition, ritual and ceremony, creating a unique farewell which has considered all aspects for the deceased person's life and in consideration for those they left behind. Your funeral celebrant can also facilitate lead-up events to the funeral service (such as family visits and contributions to eulogy) as well as the post-funeral wake to ensure all mourners are included despite any residual conflicts that may and often do exist. It is important to note that people can respond to death in unexpected ways and this is to be understood, respected and tolerated wherever possible in the first instance as long as nobody is at harm. Your funeral celebrant can be the cushion in this space as well as offer referrals to professional services for support following the events.