Usually, the funeral director has it in hand
NSW says a funeral director will normally register a death and apply for the certificate on the family’s behalf, registering it within 7 days of the burial or cremation. Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia each say much the same: in most or many cases, the funeral director applies for the certificate. Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory each say a certificate cannot be issued until the death has been registered.
Who may apply, registry by registry
Each row keeps its registry’s own order.
| Registry | Who may apply |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | The current spouse or de facto partner, a parent or a child of the person, if their details are recorded on the certificate; the funeral director, within 30 days of the death being registered; the executor of the estate; or the solicitor acting for the estate. A relative not named on the certificate can apply when the person has no living next of kin. Anyone else needs authority from a person on the certificate, or evidence of an interest in the estate. |
| Victoria | The page notes that the funeral director usually applies, and that a certificate can be issued only after the death is registered. For a person who died more than 30 years ago, the family history search needs no proof of identity or eligibility. |
| Queensland | The person’s “spouse”, “parent” or “child”; “the person who provided the details and signed the death registration”; “the funeral director”; or “an executor of the person’s estate”. Others may apply with supporting documents. |
| Western Australia | By access type, in WA’s order: historical (anyone 16 or over, for deaths 30 or more years ago); family (a current spouse, including a de facto partner named in the registration, a parent or a child, with evidence of the relationship); a custodian or guardian, with the document that proves it; another relative or a former spouse, restricted unless they hold authority, need it for a legal right or show there is no other living relative; deceased estate; welfare agencies; courts; law enforcement; medical bodies; government bodies with statutory access; a solicitor; a funeral director, with the registration or within three months of the death; other agents, including consulates; a power of attorney, checked first; and benefit bodies (credit companies, super and trust funds, banks, life insurers), restricted unless they hold written authority from someone entitled; without it the registry only confirms basic details. |
| South Australia | A parent or child of the person; their spouse, de facto or registered partner, with evidence if the surnames differ; a legal guardian, with evidence if not a parent; the executor, administrator or trustee, with evidence; or someone with power of attorney or written authority, with evidence. |
| Tasmania | The person’s parent, child, or partner (with evidence); a legal guardian (non-parents with evidence); the executor, administrator or trustee (with evidence); or someone holding power of attorney or written consent to act for the person (with evidence). |
| Australian Capital Territory | Anyone named on the death registration as the person’s spouse, “domestic partner (current partner at time of death only)”, parent or child. People not named need consent from someone who is, or evidence of their relationship to the person. |
| Northern Territory | See the Territory’s certificate application page, which covers births, deaths and marriages together. |
With or without the cause of death
Victoria’s registry notes that most organisations do not need the cause of death to close an account. Several registries issue a version that leaves it out, so a family can choose what each organisation sees.
Victoria: two legal certificates
The death certificate leaves out the cause of death, burial details and the date of registration, and can go to organisations that do not need it, for example banks, utility companies, telecommunication providers and local councils. The death certificate with cause of death goes to any organisation that asks for proof of death. A package includes both.
South Australia: three types
A certificate with the cause of death; an extract without it; and a fact of death extract, for someone without access to the certificate who has an adequate reason to show a person has died, used mostly for matters such as the death of a property owner.
Queensland: official and limited
The official certificate shows the cause of death and is used to finalise estate matters. The limited certificate does not show it, and may not be accepted by all organisations.
New South Wales: an extract, sometimes
The full certificate includes the cause of death. To protect personal or sensitive information, the registry may instead issue an extract, with or without the cause of death; it costs the same, has no priority option, and some organisations may not accept it.
Tasmania: standard and extract
For deaths registered from 1970, the standard certificate does not show the cause of death; that comes from a separate Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, which is not available for coroner’s cases. An extract shows only the name, sex, date and place of death.
When a coroner is involved
A coronial inquiry can hold up the cause of death, but not always the certificate. In Western Australia the death is still registered, as an “incomplete” registration with no cause of death stated, and a certificate can be issued at that stage; once the State Coroner finishes, a complete certificate can follow. The ACT will not issue a death certificate without a cause of death finding, but issues an interim certificate saying the death is registered and the cause awaits the coroner’s findings.
When a death record opens to everyone
After enough years, a death record stops being private and anyone can order it, often without proving who they are. The registries set different thresholds:
25 years: Tasmania
Anyone can access a death record more than 25 years old.
30 years: Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia
Victoria’s family history search needs no proof of identity or eligibility for deaths over 30 years ago; South Australia opens death certificates more than 30 years old to anyone; Western Australia opens them to anyone aged 16 or over.
New South Wales handles older records differently: it points family historians to its family history search for a person who died more than 30 years ago.