Consular assistance
British Embassy contacts for Australia: when someone dies abroad
If a British national dies in Australia, the Embassy is usually the first official body to contact. A death must be registered with the local authorities in Australia before a body or ashes can leave the country. Consular staff will register the death with UK authorities, issue consular documents and give you a list of local funeral directors. They cannot meet any cost, arrange the repatriation, or authorise release of the body. If the person who died was not British, contact the embassy or consulate of their own country instead. The local emergency number is 000.
Emergency numbers
FCDO 24-hour line (from UK)
+44 (0)20 7008 5000Handling a death in Australia
Local emergency number: 000
Documentation language: English. English: Yes. No language barrier. Documentation in English.
Healthcare: Excellent public healthcare (Medicare). British nationals may not be covered by Medicare unless they hold a specific visa. Private healthcare is also widely available. Hospital standards are comparable to the UK.
British community: ~1.2 million British-born residents in Australia
Most common causes of British deaths here: Natural causes (large elderly emigrant population); Road traffic accidents; Drowning (beaches, particularly rip currents); Cardiac events during physical activity; Working holiday accidents (young travellers); Bush and outback incidents (heat, dehydration, wildlife)
Areas needing extra care: Sydney and NSW: Largest British population. Beach drowning, road accidents.; Melbourne and Victoria: Large British population. Natural causes.; Perth and WA: Growing British community. Mining region accidents.; Queensland: Tourist volume. Great Barrier Reef, drowning, road accidents.; Northern Territory: Remote, extreme heat, limited medical facilities.
Always verify numbers before calling
Official lists for Australia
Published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for British nationals. We are not connected to the firms listed.
- Lawyers, where an estate or an investigation needs local legal advice
Embassy phone numbers change. Confirm current details at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/australia before a trip. The FCDO 24-hour line (+44 (0)20 7008 5000) is the most reliable point of contact in an emergency.
Contact details
British Embassy and consulates in Australia
British High Commission
Canberra
Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla, ACT 2600
+61 2 6270 6666 Official websiteConsulate
Sydney
Consulate
Melbourne
Consulate
Perth
Consulate
Brisbane
What you need to know
What the British post in Australia can and cannot do
The British post covering Australia registers the death and can give you a list of local funeral directors. It cannot pay any repatriation cost, arrange the repatriation itself, release the body, or shorten a local timeline.
The full list of what consular staff can and cannot do applies in every country.
Death registration in Australia
The Embassy can register the death separately under UK law. This is optional and does not replace the local certificate, but some families find the UK death certificate useful for administrative purposes.
Typical timeline from Australia
What the Embassy can and cannot pay for
Consular staff in Australia cannot pay repatriation costs, funeral director fees, or any local charges, and cannot lend money to cover them.
They can give you a list of local funeral directors, contact next of kin, and help you reach an insurer. If there is no insurance and no family funds, they can explain what limited options exist.
What repatriation from Australia involvesNeed help bringing someone home from Australia?
We can take over the arrangements from wherever you are in the process, and bring your loved one home to the UK, Ireland or any other country. Send us the details and we will come back to you with a quote.