How Do You Bring a Body Home to Australia After a Death Overseas?

Detailed Explanation

This page covers the Australian side of bringing someone home after they die overseas: who to contact, what the Australian Government can and can't do, and what Australian authorities need when the person arrives. For the general process that applies whichever country the person is returning to, start with how do you repatriate a body after a death overseas.

The first thing to understand is that the country where the death happened is in charge at first. Smartraveller is clear that local authorities decide how a death is handled, including whether police investigate or an autopsy is done, and that local laws may not match the person's will or religious beliefs. Some countries set deadlines for burial or cremation, or allow only one of them, so families sometimes have to make decisions quickly.

Who to contact first

• If you're overseas with the person: the nearest Australian embassy, high commission or consulate, or the Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) on +61 2 6261 3305. Travel companions are asked to report any Australian death overseas. The local police will be involved if the death was unexpected and didn't happen in a hospital.
• If you're in Australia: usually DFAT hears first, confirms the death with local authorities, and then asks Australian police to tell the family. If you learn of the death another way, call the CEC on 1300 555 135.
• The travel insurer, if there is one. Smartraveller notes insurers can usually cover costs, supply lists of local funeral directors, and arrange either a local funeral or the return of the person to Australia.

The CEC can also transfer you to a telephone counsellor. Lifeline (13 11 14) is available around the clock as well.

What DFAT can and can't do

Smartraveller lists what consular staff may be able to do:

• explain the local administrative process
• provide lists of local funeral directors, lawyers and translators
• make the local funeral director aware of Australian quarantine requirements
• estimate the cost of local burial, local cremation, or transport back to Australia
• explain how to transfer money from Australia to pay costs
• advise on handling media enquiries.

What they can't do: recommend a specific funeral director or lawyer, investigate the death, translate documents, give legal advice, pay for or organise a burial or cremation, return the person's belongings, or pay their debts.

The next of kin's role

The next of kin doesn't have to travel unless they want to; consular officials or the insurer can deal with local authorities. Smartraveller notes the next of kin may need to pay authorities or a funeral director to release the remains, appoint a funeral director in the country where the person died, appoint an Australian funeral director to receive them, and work with local police if there's an investigation.

What Australia requires when the body arrives

The remains are cleared on arrival by the Australian Border Force together with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (which sets further biosecurity conditions in its BICON database). According to Border Force:

No import declaration is needed when remains are brought in for burial or cremation. The country the person died in will have its own export rules, which the overseas funeral director handles. Border Force suggests using a funeral director or customs broker; in practice, the Australian funeral director usually manages the whole arrival process. The Australian Funeral Directors Association lists members, and it's worth asking any funeral director directly how many international repatriations they've handled.

Timing

Smartraveller says bringing someone home can take several weeks, and longer if there's an autopsy or coronial inquiry to establish the cause of death. Hold off on a firm funeral date until the Australian funeral director confirms a flight.

Paying for it

The family or the estate pays unless insurance covers it. Smartraveller advises checking that a travel policy covers death and the return of remains, and notes the next of kin will face all costs if the person wasn't properly covered. Costs depend heavily on the country, distance and airline, and DFAT can give an estimate. Many families choose cremation overseas and bring the ashes home, which is usually much cheaper; see can you take ashes overseas. Ashes still go through Border Force clearance, so keep the cremation certificate and death certificate with them.

After the person is home

Registering the death in Australia isn't required. Some state and territory registries of births, deaths and marriages can register an overseas death in limited circumstances, usually where the person lived or left property in that state, and the registry can tell you whether that applies. The foreign death certificate is what executors, super funds and banks will ask for; see how do you get a death certificate when someone dies overseas for translation and authentication. From here the funeral follows the usual steps in what to do when someone dies in Australia. If a family is scattered between Australia and overseas, an online memorial gives everyone one place to share memories.

Things to Consider

• Local law comes first. Burial deadlines, cremation rules and investigations in the country of death can override the family's or the person's wishes.
• Keep the Consular Emergency Centre numbers handy: 1300 555 135 in Australia, +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas.
• Choose an Australian funeral director with international experience. They deal with Border Force, biosecurity, the airline and the overseas funeral director.
• Get the cause of death on the certificate. Border Force clearance relies on it, and a missing cause adds steps.
• Check every possible source of cover: travel insurance, credit-card travel benefits, and an employer's policy if the person was travelling for work.

Common Mistakes

• Expecting DFAT to pay or organise the return. Consular staff give information and support; they don't fund or arrange repatriation.
• Waiting to call the insurer. Insurers often have 24-hour helplines and preferred funeral directors, and delay can mean duplicated costs.
• Using a family translation of the certificate. Border Force asks for a certified translation.
• Setting the funeral date before a flight is confirmed. Autopsies, paperwork and airline bookings regularly add days or weeks.
• Assuming the Australian registry will issue a death certificate. The certificate comes from the country where the person died. An Australian registry issues one only if it agrees to register the overseas death, which is optional and limited to certain cases.