Losing a loved one can be an extremely stressful time. This experience is only heightened in Australia when English is your second language.' Thankfully that burden has somewhat been eased with the announcement on Monday that the Australian Death Notification Service (ADNS) translation service is now available.
The Australian Death Notification Service is a free national online Government service created to reduce the administrative burden adding to agony for bereaved families. The service allows people to get in touch with multiple organisations using a single online notification. It takes the average person 10 minutes to complete the process in five simple steps.
Families can now access and navigate the ADNS in more than 50 languages, with the introduction of instant translation into the service.
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said the ADNS is an online platform which allows customers to notify multiple organisations of a death, to reduce the administration process.
“When you lose a loved one the last thing you want is to be overwhelmed with paperwork and bureaucracy. This new translation service will save people from diverse backgrounds time and hassle, so they can focus on their families during this difficult period,” Mr Dominello said.
“We live in one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world and it is important our technologies are inclusive and reflect modern Australia.”
More than 13,000 customers have already used the ADNS to send more than 60,000 notifications to partner organisations, saving a combined total of 45,000 hours.
Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said the last thing people need is an onerous and drawn-out process to notify organisations of a family member's death.
“By having a simple process for people that is accessible in a language they are more comfortable using will help alleviate any undue stress or anxiety,” Mr Coure said.
The Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, Energy Australia, superannuation fund HESTA and The NRMA are among the 80 financial, insurance and superannuation institutions, telecommunications and utility providers and government organisations which have partnered with this program.
The ADNS was developed by the Department of Customer Service and the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, in partnership with all national registries thanks to an investment of $2.41M from the Digital Restart Fund.
The NSW Government has allocated $2.2 billion to invest in digital transformation projects through the Digital Restart Fund. The fund is administered by the Department of Customer Service. It targets smart, simple technology solutions which create efficiencies for customers across the state.
More information can be found on the Australian Death Notification Service.