When a death occurs, there are many arrangements to be made.
If the death occurs in a hospital or nursing home, the staff will usually take care of the initial formalities. However, if someone dies at another location, such as at home, the treating doctor must be notified. If a doctor is unavailable, the death must be reported to the Police and the Coroner.
In all cases a Death Certificate will be issued. A Death Certificate is required as it represents the official registration of death. A Death Certificate is necessary prior to the funeral arrangements being finalised.
Funerals are generally organised by a funeral director who can assist the family with all burial requirements including cemetery location, burial method, provision of a casket or coffin, arrange notification within newspapers, arranging clergy or a celebrant, flowers, transport, funeral service, and documentation.
Once the funeral has been conducted it will be necessary to ensure all appropriate organisations are notified where necessary. This may include:

• Australian Taxation Office
• Centrelink
• Family solicitor
• Financial institutions
• Insurance Companies (eg, car, health, life, home, etc)
• Medicare
• Utility service providers (eg. gas, electricity, telecommunications, etc)