Support when a person dies

Your support when someone dies

Current from 1 July 2022

It’s devastating to lose someone on the roads. We’re here to help you through this difficult time with information, advice, and financial support.

How we can help

We can provide financial support for funeral costs, counselling and dependants. The types of benefits available, and the amounts, will depend on your family’s circumstances.

We follow the Transport Accident Act 1986 legislation to see which benefits you’re eligible for. This brochure provides a summary and a guide to accessing these benefits.

Accessing support

The first thing you’ll need to do is complete a Funeral and Dependency Benefits Claim Form. This form asks  for details about the person who has died and the accident. We’ll then use this information to work out your benefits  and the ways we can support you.

Getting help

Our TAC support coordinators are here to help you understand and access benefits. They’ll help you complete the claim form and let you know exactly what to provide.

They can also give you more information and referrals for services not funded by the TAC.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please call our Family Benefits Team directly on 03 5225 6200.

TAC benefits

Over the next few pages, we’ll break down the types of benefits we can pay. The amounts are updated each  year. These figures apply from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.

Funeral and monument expenses support

We can pay the reasonable costs for a funeral and monument up to $16,830 (including GST).

Family counselling support

We can pay up to $17,850 per family in counselling support.

If you’re a spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, child, brother or sister of the person who died, you can access  this benefit provided the counselling is from a doctor, registered psychologist, or qualified social worker.

If the death has caused you or a family member a mental injury, you may also be able to make your own TAC claim. To find out more about making your own  TAC claim, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 1300 654 329.

Dependent spouse or partner support

If your spouse or domestic partner was contributing to your family’s income or caring for your children, we can help you cope with financial support. A “domestic partner” is either  in a registered relationship with the person or living with them as a couple (regardless of gender).

Lump sum payment

We can pay a one-off lump sum benefit up to $200,140.

This amount depends on the person’s age, family circumstances and any previous impairment payments.

If you’re a dependent partner, in addition to the lump  sum payment, you may also receive a fortnightly benefit and/or support at home. It will depend on your partner’s responsibilities before the accident.

If your partner was employed and providing financial support

We can pay an ongoing, regular payment equal to 80% of your partner’s earnings, up to a maximum of $1,500 gross per week.

You may be eligible for this benefit even if you were  working at the time of the accident. All you’ll need to do is provide information about your partner’s income.

AND
If your partner was caring for children or responsible for housework

We can contribute to the cost of employing a person to help with childcare and  household tasks.

There are limits to how much we can pay, how many  hours per week and for how long.

Dependent children support

Please note: These benefits don’t apply if the child’s surviving parent is eligible for a benefit as a dependent spouse or domestic partner first.

If both parents, a sole parent, or a supporting parent died  in the accident, payments can be made for the dependent children. These include:

Lump sum payment

We can pay a one-off lump sum payment to the dependent children of up to $200,140.

This amount will depend on the person who died and their family circumstances. The State Trustees will hold this money until the child is 18.

A dependent child is defined as being under 16 years of age, or aged 16 to 25 years if they’re a full-time student. It does not include a child who has a spouse or partner.

If there is more than one dependent child, this lump sum  will be divided equally between the dependent children.

Fortnightly payment

We can pay the guardian $211 gross each week for each dependent child under 16 years of age, or aged 16 to 18 years if they’re a full-time student.

Education allowance

We can pay up to $3,190 per year to the guardian for each full-time student up to 18 years of age.

Travel and accommodation expenses for funeral services

We can pay up to $5,610 per family to cover the reasonable cost of travel and accommodation for immediate family members to go to the funeral, burial, or cremation.

This benefit can be paid for accidents that happened on  or after 14 December 2016 and if the family member lives more than 100kms from the place where the funeral, burial or cremation is held.

To learn more about this benefit, please speak to your TAC support coordinator.