What is the Australian Death Check and why do organisations need it?

The Australian Death Check

What is it, and why do organisations need it?

What is the Australian Death Check?

The Australian Death Check combines information from the state and territory registries of births, deaths and marriages. It contains over three million death records and represents the only official source of national death data for Australia.

Why do organisations use the Australian Death Check?

Organisations can wash their Australian data against the Australian Death Check to discover whether members, donors or customers have passed away. Popular use cases include:

Verifying identities and protecting against fraud

Organisations that manage, for example, insurance claims or benefits can use the Australian Death Check to avert fraud and ensure that their payments are provided to the correct recipients. It can also be used to enhance AML/CTF programs, where knowledge of customers is vital to servicing the business’s ongoing security obligations.

Reducing waste in communications

There is a cost to each phone call, piece of mail, SMS or email. If a percentage of customer or donor records pertain to deceased people, communications sent to them are at best wasteful and — at worst — embarrassing or offensive.

Washing contact data against the Australian Death Check can create more efficient campaigns and avert the risk to an organisation’s brand and reputation.

Ensuring Gifts in Wills are distributed as intended

In a 2024 report, Include a Charity found that about 19% of expected bequests that were denied related to donors whose deaths were not confirmed through obituaries or notifications. Furthermore, it took charities on average 18 months to learn of the passing of a donor who had confirmed a bequest.

For fundraisers, washing donor data against the Australian Death Check provides certainty as to the passing of those supporters who have confirmed a bequest with the charity. This empowers non-profits to direct their resources to following up the correct accounts at the right time.

Boosting ROI on reactivation campaigns

A reactivation campaign is marketing effort to re-engage lapsed donors or customers — those who no longer appear to be opening emails, picking up the phone or otherwise engaging with content.

There are many reasons for lapsed engagement, but among them is that the contact might have passed away. The Australian Death Check helps marketers ensure that they’re not trying to re-engage deceased contacts.

Adhering to regulatory obligations

Under Australian privacy law, organisations do have some legal obligations to maintain the accuracy of their data pertaining to individuals. For example, APP 10 requires regulated entities to ensure the quality of personal information both at the time of its collection and at the time the information is used or disclosed. This may include whether or not the information concerns a person who has passed away.

Alleviating the burden for bereaved loved ones who would otherwise be required to make death notifications

When a loved one or family member passes away, the burden of notifying organisations with which they may have engaged can feel overwhelming at a time of tremendous stress and upheaval. Organisations with many elderly donors or customers regularly wash their data against the Australian Death Check to ensure they remain sensitive to the needs of the bereaved.

How can an organisation access the Australian Death Check?

An approved data service broker, like DCA, can wash your data against the Australian Death Check using commonly-held record attributes like dates of birth and complete names to return matches.