The Estate Organiser

What to Organise Before a Parent Dies: An Australian Checklist

Published 13 October 2026 by Will Kimak.

Start with the documents that have a closing window. A parent can only appoint someone to make decisions for them while they still have decision-making capacity themselves: Victoria's Office of the Public Advocate says you can make an enduring power of attorney if you are aged 18 years or older and have decision-making capacity to do so, (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) and Queensland's Office of the Public Guardian says that to complete an enduring power of attorney you must be over 18 and have decision-making ability. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Once that capacity is gone, the family generally cannot make the document for them. A family member has to apply to a state tribunal instead.

VCAT in Victoria says that if a person cannot make decisions for themselves, you can apply to become their guardian, administrator or both. (Source: vcat.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) In New South Wales, NCAT will make a financial management order where the person is not capable of managing their affairs and there is a need for someone else to manage their affairs for them. (Source: ncat.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) The list below is ordered by what stops being possible first. These documents carry different names and different forms in each state and territory, so every point says which state it comes from and links to that state's own page. This is about knowing where things are and what your parent wants, not about taking anything over. If the hard part is raising it at all, we wrote about how to start the conversation separately.

The checklist, in order of what closes first

Twelve things. The first four have a window on them. The rest can be done at any point, including after a death, although they are far easier before.

  1. The will, and whether it still reflects the family as it is today.
  2. An enduring power of attorney for money and property, in your parent's own state's form.
  3. The health and lifestyle appointment, which has a different name in each state.
  4. An advance care directive, or whatever the state calls it, plus the conversations behind it.
  5. The superannuation death benefit nomination, and whether it has lapsed.
  6. Life insurance, inside super and outside it.
  7. A written list of accounts: banks, super funds, share registries, insurers.
  8. Whether your parent wants anyone able to help with day to day banking, and on what terms.
  9. Centrelink, and whether your parent wants a nominee arrangement of their own choosing.
  10. Funeral wishes, and whether anything has been prepaid.
  11. Aged care assessments, if care is on the horizon.
  12. Where all of it is written down, and who knows.

Nothing on that list requires you to hold or touch your parent's money. Every item is your parent's decision to make or not make, and most can be changed later.

Why capacity is the thing that closes the window

Capacity is not a vague word. Victoria's Office of the Public Advocate sets out a four part test: you have decision-making capacity if you are able to understand the information relevant to the decision and the effect of the decision, retain that information to the extent necessary, use or weigh it as part of making the decision, and communicate the decision and your views and needs in some way, including by speech, gestures or other means. (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The reason it matters more than any other item is that it changes who decides. Queensland's Office of the Public Guardian lists the risks of having no enduring power of attorney and no advance health directive in place: no-one will know what your wishes are, someone you don't know might end up making decisions for you, and your loved ones may feel stressed trying to guess what you would want or prefer. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

There is also a distinction worth getting right before anything is signed. The NSW Government says a General Power of Attorney becomes invalid when you die, or you lose capacity to manage your own affairs. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) An ordinary power of attorney, in other words, stops working at exactly the moment most families assumed it would start. The enduring version is the one that keeps going.

One more thing for families who have moved. NSW says an enduring power of attorney made in another state or territory will be recognised in NSW provided it is valid under the laws of the state or territory it was made in and the powers could validly be given in NSW, and that one made overseas is not recognised in NSW. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) That is the NSW rule. Other states set their own, so a parent who retired interstate is worth checking on.

The same job, four different names

This is where a national checklist would mislead you. The document that lets someone make health and lifestyle decisions is not called the same thing in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the forms are not interchangeable.

In Victoria, the role is the medical treatment decision maker. The Office of the Public Advocate puts it plainly: if you are a person's medical treatment decision maker, you have legal authority to make medical treatment decisions for them. (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

In New South Wales, the document is an Appointment of Enduring Guardian, described by the NSW Government as a document authorising someone to make lifestyle, health and medical decisions for you, and your enduring guardian can make decisions for you when you can no longer make those decisions yourself. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

In Queensland, the ground is covered by an Advance Health Directive, described by the Office of the Public Guardian as a legal document that allows you to record your wishes and directions about medical treatment and healthcare in case you can't make decisions for yourself in the future. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The federal position confirms the variation rather than resolving it. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says forms and requirements for writing advance care directives vary between states and territories, and points people to Advance Care Planning Australia for their own state. It also frames the whole thing as a process rather than a form: advance care planning involves talking about your values, beliefs and preferences with your loved ones and doctors. (Source: health.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Find your parent's own state's form and use that one. The naming differences are the reason so many families think they have something covered when they do not.

The will, and the two life events that change it

Two things can quietly undo a will the family assumed was fine, and they are the two things families are least likely to raise with a widowed parent: a new marriage, and a divorce.

In Tasmania, the state-owned Public Trustee says that when you get married your existing Will is revoked, unless that Will was made in contemplation of the marriage, and that if you have a Will and get divorced your Will is still valid, but any provisions made for your ex-spouse will be revoked. (Source: publictrustee.tas.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

In New South Wales, Legal Aid NSW states the same principle with its own mechanics: your will is automatically revoked if you get married, unless it was clearly made planning for your marriage, and if you get divorced, this will revoke any gift to your spouse and the appointment of your spouse as your executor, trustee or guardian, unless you have specifically stated otherwise. (Source: legalaid.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Those are Tasmania and New South Wales only. No Western Australian or South Australian government page setting out the marriage and divorce rules for wills could be confirmed, so those two states are deliberately not covered here, and nor is any other. Check your parent's own state registry or public trustee, or ask their solicitor, rather than assuming the Tasmanian or NSW position travels.

A solicitor is genuinely worth paying for the will itself. It is the one document where a cheap mistake gets expensive at the worst possible time, and a small fixed cost against the size of most estates.

Superannuation does not follow the will

For a lot of Australian parents, super is the largest single amount they will leave behind, and the will has limited say over it. What governs it is the nomination your parent made with their fund, if they made one.

The ATO explains the mechanism. If the super fund rules allow a binding death benefit nomination, you can nominate your super death benefit to be received by one or more of your dependants and/or your legal personal representative, meaning the executor of your estate. (Source: ato.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Without one, the decision moves: if you have made a non-binding nomination or did not make a nomination, the trustee of the fund may use their discretion to decide which dependant or dependants to pay the death benefit to. (Source: ato.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Moneysmart, ASIC's consumer site, draws the same line from the fund's side. With a binding nomination, the super fund must pay your super benefit to your nominated eligible beneficiary. A non-binding nomination guides the trustee, but the fund is not bound to follow these wishes. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Then the part that undoes more plans than anything else on this page. Moneysmart says of binding nominations that these need to be renewed or changed every 3 years otherwise they expire. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) A nomination signed a decade ago, naming someone who may no longer be in the picture, may simply have lapsed. That is a five minute question your parent can ask their fund, and it is the highest value five minutes on this list. More in our guide to the death benefit nomination.

Banking and Centrelink: your parent's call, on your parent's initiative

This part deserves care, because it is the part that can look like something it is not. Your parent decides whether they want help, chooses who gives it, and sets the limits. Nothing here needs to happen at all if they would rather it did not.

Banks distinguish between limited help and full authority. Commonwealth Bank's own published process, which is one bank's arrangement rather than a government rule, describes third-party access as allowing an account holder to authorise another person to transact on nominated bank accounts, and says that unlike Power of Attorney, access is limited to the accounts you choose, and the third party cannot open accounts or apply for credit. (Source: commbank.com.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Its power of attorney page sits at the other end: the appointed person will have the same authority as the account holder. (Source: commbank.com.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Other banks set their own processes, so the question is one for your parent's own bank.

Centrelink works on a similar split, and again the person receiving the payment chooses. Services Australia says there are 2 types of nominees: a correspondence nominee can speak with us and do most of your Centrelink and aged care business for you, and a payment nominee can get your Centrelink payments for you. (Source: servicesaustralia.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Plenty of families only ever want the first kind, so someone can sit on hold without the parent having to.

If the money side feels beyond all of you, there is a free government option before a paid one. Services Australia runs the Financial Information Service, which it describes as helping you make informed decisions about your finances. (Source: servicesaustralia.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Funerals and aged care, the two that need lead time

Funeral wishes are the easiest thing on the list to write down and the most commonly left unsaid, which is why families end up guessing between a burial and a cremation on the worst week of their lives.

If your parent is considering paying in advance, Moneysmart's guidance is practical. Read the product disclosure statement and check the fees and costs before you sign up. Shop around, because funeral directors offer different packages, and ask for a full list of costs. If you move interstate, check if you can move your plan to another funeral director. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

The consumer protection behind prepaid funerals is not the same everywhere, and Moneysmart names the states. In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, funeral directors must put your money into a registered funeral fund, which helps protect you if the funeral director goes out of business. The Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Western Australia offer fewer protections. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) A reason to ask more questions if your parent lives in one of those three. Our guide to the funeral wishes conversation covers what to ask.

Aged care has its own queue, and starting it early costs nothing. My Aged Care says that if you need some help and want to access aged care services, the first step is to get assessed, and that assessments are carried out in your home by a trained assessor. (Source: myagedcare.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) There is a second, separate assessment about money: to find out how much you will contribute towards permanent care in an aged care home, you will need a means assessment, done for most people by Services Australia. (Source: myagedcare.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Fees and thresholds change, so read the current figures on that page rather than anything quoted second hand.

Free places to ring when you get stuck

Numbers and hours were as listed at the date checked, so trust the linked page over this list.

The part no document covers

Worth saying once, plainly. A lot of people reading this are worried that asking will make them look like they are after the money. That worry is why the questions do not get asked, and why families end up ringing banks in the dark eighteen months later trying to work out whether a second policy ever existed.

What slows a family down after a death is rarely the law. It is the hunting. Which bank, which fund, which insurer, whether the nomination lapsed, who the accountant was, what Mum wanted at the funeral. Those answers live in one person's head and in a drawer, and the documents above do not capture them.

A solicitor is worth paying for the legal corner, the will especially. The rest of it, the map of where everything is and what your parent wants, is a kitchen table job that costs a fraction of what guided help costs.

If your parent is willing to write it down, The Estate Organiser is the book they write it into. It is filled in on their own computer or printed and completed by hand, so the account numbers and the wishes stay in the family rather than sitting on a company's website. If the death has already happened, what to do when someone dies, the executor checklist and the free Executor Toolkit pick up from there.

Common questions about organising a parent's affairs

What should I organise before my parents die?

Start with the documents that can only be made while your parent still has decision-making capacity. Victoria's Office of the Public Advocate says you can make an enduring power of attorney if you are aged 18 years or older and have decision-making capacity to do so. (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Queensland says the same of its Advance Health Directive: to complete one, you must be over 18 and have decision-making ability. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

After that: the super death benefit nomination, a written list of accounts, funeral wishes, and where it is all kept. Easier while your parent can answer the questions.

What happens if a parent loses capacity without a power of attorney?

The decision generally moves to a state tribunal, and a family member has to apply. VCAT in Victoria says that if a person can't make decisions for themselves, you can apply to become their guardian, administrator or both. (Source: vcat.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) In New South Wales, NCAT will make a financial management order where the person is not capable of managing their affairs and there is a need for someone else to manage their affairs for them. (Source: ncat.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Queensland's Office of the Public Guardian puts the cost of having nothing in place simply: someone you don't know might end up making decisions for you. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Is an enduring power of attorney the same in every state?

No. The forms and rules differ, and so do the names of the related health documents. Victoria calls the health role a medical treatment decision maker. (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) New South Wales uses an Appointment of Enduring Guardian for lifestyle, health and medical decisions. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Queensland uses an Advance Health Directive. (Source: publicguardian.qld.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) NSW adds that an enduring power of attorney made in another state or territory will be recognised in NSW provided it is valid where it was made and the powers could validly be given in NSW. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Use your parent's own state's form.

Does a will cover my parent's superannuation?

Often not on its own. The ATO says that with a non-binding nomination or no nomination, the trustee of the fund may use their discretion to decide which dependant or dependants to pay the death benefit to, while a binding nomination can direct the benefit to dependants and/or the legal personal representative. (Source: ato.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Moneysmart adds the detail that trips families up: binding nominations need to be renewed or changed every 3 years otherwise they expire. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Asking the fund whether the nomination is current is a short phone call.

Can I get access to my parent's bank account to help them?

That is your parent's decision to make with their own bank, and the bank sets the process. Commonwealth Bank, as one bank's published arrangement rather than a general rule, describes third-party access as letting an account holder authorise another person to transact on nominated bank accounts, with access limited to the accounts you choose, and the third party cannot open accounts or apply for credit. (Source: commbank.com.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Its power of attorney arrangement is broader: the appointed person will have the same authority as the account holder. (Source: commbank.com.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Banks differ, so the question belongs with your parent's own bank, raised by your parent.

Does getting married or divorced cancel a parent's will?

It depends on the state, and only two are set out here because only two were confirmed from a government source. Tasmania's state-owned Public Trustee says that when you get married your existing Will is revoked, unless that Will was made in contemplation of the marriage, and that after a divorce the Will is still valid, but any provisions made for your ex-spouse will be revoked. (Source: publictrustee.tas.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026)

Legal Aid NSW says a will is automatically revoked if you get married, unless it was clearly made planning for your marriage, and that divorce revokes any gift to your spouse and their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian. (Source: legalaid.nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Western Australia, South Australia and the rest set their own rules, so check where your parent lives.

Where can I get free help with my parent's affairs?

Several government services cost nothing. Services Australia runs the Financial Information Service, which it says helps you make informed decisions about your finances. (Source: servicesaustralia.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) In Victoria, the Office of the Public Advocate's Advice Service on 1300 309 337 covers guardianship, enduring powers of attorney and medical treatment decision-making. (Source: publicadvocate.vic.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) In New South Wales, NSW Trustee and Guardian takes general enquiries on 1300 109 290. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) For aged care, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing points to OPAN's Aged Care Advocacy Line on 1800 700 600 for free, confidential, and independent advocacy support. (Source: health.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) Details were as published at the date checked.

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Educational content only. Not legal, financial or tax advice. Estate laws vary across Australian states and territories. Always consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.

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