How do you bring someone home to Australia after a death overseas?

When someone passes away overseas, you may be grieving from another country, dealing with paperwork in a language you do not speak, and trying to work out how to bring your loved one home. The steps, the costs, and where to find help are set out below.

This guide is general information. Costs and processes vary by country and circumstances. For personal guidance, speak with the Australian embassy, your insurer, and a funeral director experienced in international repatriation.

The practical order

Start with the authority that applies to the death: the doctor, hospital, aged care home, police, coroner, funeral director or births, deaths and marriages registry. The right order matters because one missing certificate or permit can delay the funeral, the cremation or the release of the death certificate.

If you are unsure who has the body, who has the paperwork, or who is allowed to sign, ask the funeral director or the relevant state registry before making bookings.

The first call: Smartraveller and the Australian embassy

Contact the nearest Australian embassy or consulate. If you cannot reach the embassy directly, call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 (within Australia) or +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas), 24 hours a day.

Smartraveller is the federal consular service that coordinates assistance for Australians overseas. They can:

• Confirm the death with local authorities
• Notify next of kin in Australia
• Provide a list of local funeral directors and translators
• Help you understand the local death registration process and liaise with local authorities on documentation

Smartraveller cannot pay for the repatriation, the funeral, or any other costs. The Australian Government's role is consular assistance and information, not financial support.

The second call: travel insurance

Most Australians who travel overseas hold travel insurance with a repatriation benefit. Call the insurer as soon as possible. The insurer will guide you through claims, often covering part or all of the repatriation cost. Some travel insurance policies arrange the repatriation directly with their preferred providers.

If the deceased did not have travel insurance, the cost falls entirely to the family or the estate.

Body versus ashes: the cost difference

There are two ways to bring a loved one home:

Repatriation of the body for burial or cremation in Australia. Industry estimates put this in the order of $10,000 or more, depending on country, airline, embalming requirements, coffin, and consular paperwork. The process usually takes several weeks, and longer if there is an autopsy or coronial enquiry.

Local cremation overseas, then repatriation of the ashes. Significantly cheaper (often a few hundred dollars for the ashes transport, plus the local cremation cost) and faster than body repatriation. Many families who would not otherwise be able to afford repatriation choose this path.

The choice involves faith and family wishes too. Some faiths require burial without cremation, some require burial in a particular place, some require cremation. Speak with your community elders or religious officiant alongside the funeral director.

For more on faith requirements, see our Australian Funeral Traditions hub.

What the local funeral director does

The embassy can refer you to a local funeral director in the country where your loved one passed away. The local funeral director:

• Coordinates with local hospitals, mortuaries, and police
• Arranges embalming where required
• Obtains the local death certificate
• Sources the legal documents needed for international transport
• Books the airline cargo for the body or the ashes

The local funeral director then liaises with an Australian funeral director who receives the body or ashes on arrival and continues the process from there.

For an Australian funeral director who works with international repatriation cases, browse funeral directors near you and ask whether they handle international repatriation. Most major funeral directors do; smaller independents may refer you to a partner who does.

Documents you will need

The exact list varies by country, but typically:

• Local death certificate, often translated and apostilled (a notarised certification for international use)
• Embalming certificate, where the country or airline requires embalming for transport
• No-objection certificate from the local authority confirming there are no legal obstacles to releasing the body
• Consular assistance documentation from the Australian embassy or consulate (the embassy guides you through the local process; the death may also be registered in Australia with the relevant state Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, but this is optional)
• Coffin certificate confirming the coffin meets airline standards
• Airline waybill
• Australian Border Force paperwork on arrival

The embassy and the local funeral director coordinate most of these. You should not need to source them yourself.

Australian Border Force on arrival

When the body or ashes arrive in Australia, Australian Border Force clearance is required. The Australian funeral director normally handles this on the family's behalf. Quarantine inspections check that the body has been embalmed (if a regulatory requirement of the country of origin) and that all documentation is in order.

For ashes, the process is simpler but still subject to inspection. The ashes must travel in a sealed container with the relevant documentation.

Cost breakdown

A rough breakdown of repatriation costs (body):

The funeral or cremation in Australia is separate. See our funeral costs guide.

Repatriation of ashes is significantly less expensive overall. The ashes can travel in carry-on luggage on most airlines (subject to airline policy and documentation), and the process avoids cargo, embalming, and the larger consular costs.

If you cannot afford repatriation, speak with the embassy about local burial or cremation options. A funeral or cremation in the country where your loved one passed away is sometimes the only viable choice.

Looking after yourself

Grieving from another country has its own complications. The time difference, the distance, the inability to be present, and the bureaucracy can compound the loss.

The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (operating as Grief Australia, 1800 642 066, 9am to 5pm AEST Monday to Friday) and GriefLine (1300 845 745, weekdays 9am to 6pm and weekends 12pm to 6pm AEST/AEDT) both have counsellors familiar with disenfranchised grief and grief at distance. Neither is a 24-hour crisis line; for crisis support outside hours, call Lifeline 13 11 14.

For more on grief and bereavement, see our grief support resources.

Frequently asked questions

When you are ready

• The first 24 hours after someone passes away
• How to register a death (and what happens with overseas deaths)
• Find a funeral director who handles international repatriation