Helping you through life’s changes
We understand that losing a loved one can be a difficult and emotional time. We’re here to make the process of managing their estate as easy as possible.
How it works
Step 1: Let us know
You can let us know of your loved one’s passing in two ways:
You can let us know of the customer’s passing directly by:
- Visiting your nearest branch
- Calling our Contact Centre on 133 282
- Sending an email to deceased.estates@gsb.com.au, or
- Mailing us at Great Southern Bank GPO BOX 100, Brisbane QLD 4001
You can use our Deceased Customer Notification form, this will help us capture all necessary information about the customer and their estate.
The Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) is a free government service that allows you to notify multiple organisations of a person’s passing in one go. It is supported by all state and territory governments.
What happens once you let us know
Once you let us know of the customer’s passing, we will identify and secure their account(s).
Identifying the accounts
We will check all accounts, services and signatory arrangements that the customer held with Great Southern Bank.
Securing the accounts
We will secure all accounts in the deceased’s estate by placing a stop on them once notification of their passing is received. This means:
- All withdrawals and transfers are restricted.
- Direct debits or other recurring payment arrangements are cancelled (unless you specify any that need to continue).
- Online banking access is cancelled.
- All debit and credit cards are cancelled, including additional cardholders’ credit cards.
Step 2. Send us supporting documents
Once the authorised representative(s) has been identified, we’ll do our best to write to them within 14 business days, to let them know what information we require.
Authorised representatives of the estate
Great Southern Bank can only liaise with persons who are authorised to manage the estate in question. These people are known as ‘authorised representatives’. They include:
- Executors named in the Will of the deceased customer
- Administrators named in the Letters of Administration issued by the relevant court
- Solicitors appointed by the executor or administrator
- The deceased customer’s next of kin (in limited circumstances)
Documents we need from you
At minimum, we will require original or certified copies of the following documents:
- Death Certificate
- Last Will and Testament (Will), or Letters of Administration
- Grant of Probate, if the combined account balance is over $50,000. (Please note that we may request Grant of Probate in some cases where the total account balance is less than $50,000.)
- Identity documents for all authorised representatives
For some estates, we may ask for additional information or documentation.
You can present original documents to any Great Southern Bank branch. Alternatively, you can send us certified copies via post or email as soon as they become available. Once we have received and verified them, we can then work with the authorised representatives to release the funds and finalise the estate.
Step 3. Provide us with instructions
Once we receive and review the supporting documents, we will contact the authorised representatives to obtain instructions. Instructions may include:
- Managing any term deposit investments the customer had
- Managing any debt or loan facilities the deceased customer had
- Specifying where to send the funds remaining in the estate (in the absence of any outstanding issues)
Instructions may vary depending on which products were held by the customer and their ownership.
Step 4. Finalise and close accounts with Great Southern Bank
If there is no outstanding information required, we will send you an instruction and indemnity form, which you must complete and return.
We will consolidate and release any remaining funds in the customer’s account(s) to a nominated account.
FAQs
Anyone can notify us of a customer’s passing by completing our Death Notification Form or via the Australian Death Notification Service. Once we have located the deceased customer’s records, we will proceed to secure their account(s).
We understand that it may take some time to receive the Death Certificate. If this is the case, you don’t need to provide one immediately. You can send it to us as soon as it becomes available.
A copy of a document is considered a certified copy when a person who falls within the ‘Category of Certifiers’ views the original and endorses that the copy is true and accurate.
The approved category of certifiers includes Justices of the Peace, Commissioners for Declarations, legal practitioners and police officers.
For the full list of certifiers accepted by Great Southern Bank, please refer to Section 4 of the Certification of Identification Form.
You can provide a certified copy of a document to Great Southern Bank by:
- Presenting it to a branch where it can be seen by one of our team members.
- Sending us an electronic copy (i.e. a scan, not a photo) of the certified copy via email or online banking secure message.
- Mailing the certified copy via post.
Once we’ve been notified of the customer’s passing, we will identify and secure their account(s). When we receive supporting documents from the authorised representatives, we will write to them to discuss next steps.
We'll take different actions depending on the type of account and the deceased customer's account ownership.
No. All signatory arrangements will be removed once we identify and secure the account(s) which belonged solely to the deceased customer.
No. All credit card facilities in the deceased customer’s name will be cancelled once we receive notification of their passing. This means any additional cardholders’ cards will also be cancelled.
If you are an additional cardholder and this puts you in a difficult financial position and you think you may need financial assistance, there may be several options to help get you through. Learn more about financial assistance.
If an account was held jointly by the customer and someone else, the surviving account holder inherits ownership of the account.
The surviving joint account holder has two options:
- Open a new account with a new account number under their own name alone.
- Continue operating the existing account(s). In this case, we will change the name of the account to that of the surviving account holder alone.
Once you let us know how you wish to proceed, our Deceased Estates team will advise next steps.
To protect the customer’s funds, recurring payment arrangements on the account(s) will be cancelled. This may include direct debits, BPAYs and periodical payments. If there are specific payments which need to continue, such as home or car insurance, please let us know.
If you would like to know details of which payment arrangements are in place on the account, we can provide these to you once we receive supporting documents.
Yes, a customer’s accounts can still receive funds after we’ve been notified of their passing. Please note, however, that once notification has been received, no withdrawals or outgoing transactions can be made until the accounts are finalised and closed.
Our 'Estate of the Late' account allows authorised representatives to access the estate’s funds provided that certain conditions are met. To establish an Estate of the Late account, please contact us for more information.
We will provide a final statement to authorised representatives upon finalisation and closure of the deceased’s account(s).
If you require an additional copy or copies, please get in touch with our Contact Centre.
State and Territory Resources
- QLD: Deceased estates | Queensland Public Trustee
- NSW: Dealing with a will and estate after a death | NSW Government
- VIC: Deceased Estate Administration Victoria - State Trustees VIC
- WA: Manage a Deceased Estate: Public Trustee | Western Australian Government
- SA: Administering a deceased estate | Public Trustee
- TAS: Estate Administration - Public Trustee
- NT: Administer the estate | NT.GOV.AU
- ATO: Deceased estates | Australian Taxation Office
- Services Australia: What to do when someone dies - Death of a loved one - Services Australia
Bereavement Support
- Beyond Blue: Call 1300 224 636 if you are feeling depressed and want to talk to a trained professional about your problems.
- Grief Australia: Grief Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation striving to change the way Australia deals with grief.
- Griefline, part of Lifeline, provides free and confidential counselling, resources and information to people experiencing grief and loss across Australia. Call 1300 845 745.
- QLD: Grief counselling and support | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
- NSW: Get grief support when someone dies | NSW Government
- VIC: Grief support | bdm.vic.gov.au
- WA: Bereavement Assistance Program | WA.GOV.AU
- SA: Death and Grief | SA.GOV.AU
- TAS: Grief and bereavement | Tasmanian Department of Health
- NT: Support services for mental health | NT.GOV.AU