There are a number of organisations you'll need to inform, from Government institutions to other banks, membership clubs to utility companies. Notifying Westpac results in changes to the deceased’s accounts and sets off a chain of actions that ultimately end in the settling of the estate.
In addition to informing friends and family of the death, there will be a number of organisations you’ll need to inform, like other banks, building societies and utility companies. The letting others know checklist (PDF 88KB) will help you with whom to contact at this time.
You can notify Westpac of your loved one’s passing at any branch or by calling the Estates Management team. Please see information regarding each of these options at the bottom of this page.
As soon as we’re notified, we inform all parts of the Westpac Group, and we will let you know if you need to take any further action regarding specific accounts.
Once you notify us and provide at least one of the Proof of Death documents then a permanent hold will be placed on any transaction accounts solely held by the deceased. This means:
Please note this hold will affect all access to this sole account. Speak to us if you or someone else is dependent on this account for funds and still require access to it. Alternative arrangements may need to be made to continue to pay the bills. We’ll provide you with a full list of information to assist with this task – see Step 3 for more information.
The only exception to this is home insurance, which we may continue to pay if you ask us to and credit funds are available.
We recommend that accounts of the deceased are left open for twelve months to receive payments from superannuation and other sources. Having to re-open an account for the deceased is to be avoided as it is complex and time-consuming.
After you have told us that a person has passed away, for a short time they may still be sent mail from us. This is because it is prepared and printed several weeks in advance.
Joint accounts are not impacted by the hold. For joint account holders, the joint holder will still have access to the account (credits and debits) as per usual (except in certain cases such as term deposits and where the joint holder is a secondary holder of the product). Joint accounts will be transferred into the name of the surviving joint account holder(s) once we have received a copy of the Death Certificate, in accordance with the relevant product terms and conditions.
A list of organisations, institutions and people to notify following the loss of a loved one. Download the checklist (PDF 88KB)