Cost of death certificates to rise by $5 from January 1

Grieving families will be hit with an increase to the cost of death certificates – months after the state government lifted fees and charges across the board.

Grieving families will be hit with a $5 increase to the cost of death certificates – months after the state government lifted fees and charges across the board – in what the opposition says is “money grab” at the worst possible time.

From January 1, the cost of a death certificate in South Australia will increase from $62.50 to $67.50, while death certificate packages, which include separate certificates with and without case of death, will rise from $93.50 to $98.50.

The government said the fee rise was “appropriate in the current environment”.

A death certificate is issued as proof of a person’s death and is commonly required for financial and other official purposes such as closing the person’s bank accounts.

There were 15,499 death registrations in South Australia in 2023 but certificates are not issued in all cases.

Opposition cost of living spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo said the Liberals were concerned to hear of the increase.

“We are deeply concerned that South Australians will be hit with a death certificate price hike $5 above CPI – a clear money grab by this high-taxing Labor government at the worst possible time for grieving families,” she said.

“Labor continues to collect record revenue, as revealed in the Mid Year Budget Review, while also slogging South Australians with higher costs – even at a time of grieving,” she said.

Opposition cost of living spokeswoman Heidi Girolamo. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Nicola Centofanti. Picture: Emma Brasier

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Nicola Centofanti said South Australians have been hit hard by fee increases.

“Time and time again I’ve heard from people who are frustrated by the subtle but significant fee increases put forward by this Labor government to fund their out of control spending,” she said.

“Just last week we saw an increase to the cost of Adelaide Airport rideshare fees – now we hear of these increases to death certificate fees, what’s next?

“It’s incredibly unfair for the government to charge South Australians more during their darkest hours – particularly when families are already feeling the squeeze.”

A government spokeswoman said: “fees and charges across government are regularly reviewed and it was determined that a minor increase in fees was appropriate in the current environment”.

Death certificates are issued by state governments and their cost varies.

The cost of a death certificate in Western Australia is $55, while in Victoria the cost is $55.80, in New South Wales $67, in Tasmania $57.97 and in Queensland $54.40.

Most state government fee increases take effect in July, at the beginning of the financial year.

Last week, it was revealed that as of February 3 next year the fee for taxi and rideshare pick-ups at Adelaide Airport will rise from $3 to $4.50.

Of that, Adelaide Airport’s share will increase by $1 and the remaining 50 cents will go to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) to “fund previously-announced industry reform initiatives administered by the state government”.

Opposition infrastructure and transport spokesman Ben Hood said the government’s portion was “another sneaky ‘tax by any other name’”.

But a DIT spokesman said “this is the first increase to the fee in more than seven years”.

“The $0.50 portion of the fee will help fund the South Australian Government’s Taxi Industry Reform Package to enable transition to new models for metropolitan and accessible transport services,” he said.

Originally published as Cost of death certificates to rise by $5 from January 1