A death benefit is money payable after a CBUS member dies. It will include:

• the member’s super balance, and
• an insurance benefit paid after their death, if the member held insurance cover with CBUS when they died.

There are laws about who a super fund can pay a death benefit to. In most cases, the benefit goes to:

• The member’s dependants, and those eligible include:
  • their surviving current spouse (including same-sex, married or de-facto),
  • their surviving child/children of any age (including adopted, outside of marriage and step),
  • someone who was financially dependent on them, or 
  • someonethey were in an interdependency relationship with.
•  The member’s legal personal representative.

The member might have chosen who they want to receive their death benefit by making a binding death benefit nomination. 

You can find more information about whether you are an eligible beneficiary on our Nominate a beneficiary page.

Our goal is to work with you to ensure we receive all the information needed to assess your claim as soon as possible. We may need you to provide certain documents and information. We’ll let you know if that’s the case.  

If the member had a valid binding death benefit nomination in place when they died, we will pay the death benefit to the people nominated in the proportions chosen. A valid binding death benefit nomination makes it much faster for us to pay the death benefit. 

If the member hasn’t made a valid binding death benefit nomination, their death benefit will be paid to either their surviving current spouse, their surviving children or their estate in the following order of priority: 

• If the member has a surviving current spouse – we’ll pay their entire benefit to their surviving current spouse (including same-sex, married or de-facto).   
• If the member doesn't have a surviving current spouse – their benefit will be divided equally among their surviving children (including adopted and outside of marriage).  
• If the member doesn’t have a surviving current spouse or any surviving children – their benefit will be paid to their estate.  

In special circumstances, where we’re not able to pay the death benefit to the member’s estate, their death benefit may be transferred to the ATO. 

We’ll let you know what information and documents we need in the letter we send you. Please make sure you provide all requested information, as this will help us assess your claim as quickly as possible. 

Once you have everything ready, double-check you’ve provided all requested information and then either scan and email, or post your completed forms and documents to us: 

• Email: claims@cbussuper.com.au
• Post: CBUS Insurance, Locked Bag 5056, Parramatta NSW 2124

For any questions about claim forms or the information you need to provide, contact CBUS on 1300 722 152 and ask to speak to the Claims Team. 

If the member held insurance cover with CBUS when they died, the insurer will assess this according to the insurance policy and  inform CBUS of their decision to admit or decline the claim. 

If the member had a valid binding death benefit nomination in place, we’ll pay the death benefit (made up of the member’s super and any insurance benefit paid after their death) to the people the member nominated in the proportions they chose. 

If the member hasn’t made a valid binding death benefit nomination, we’ll pay the death benefit to either the member’s spouse, their children or their estate. 

If CBUS confirms a death benefit will be paid to you, we’ll write to you to let you know the next steps (by post or email), explaining payment options, and requesting your payment directions. We’ll also let you know if any other documents or forms are required, such as your ID documents.