Get important documents in one safe place and make sure people you trust know where they are. Make sure you have duplicates as well. Important documents may include:
Personal documents
- birth certificate
- marriage certificate
- will
- enduring power of attorney or guardian details
- Tax File Number
- Centrelink Customer Reference Number or Department of Veterans’ Affairs file number
- a list of your assets
House documents
- house deeds
- home and contents insurance
- deeds and insurance policies for any other real estate you own
- mortgage documents
Financial documents
- bank account details
- list of direct debits
- superannuation papers
- documents related to loans
- investment documents (securities, share certificates, bonds)
- prepaid funeral plans
Health documents
- advance care directive (also called a living will)
- Medicare card
- medical or life insurance details
- details of your My Health Record
- pensioner concession card
The Australian Government provides information on securing your documents . This webpage also gives information on creating digital documents. Online documents may be more secure and will remain accessible if physical documents (like Medicare cards) are lost or destroyed.
Remembering many passwords for important information is difficult. You can get a password manager which is a secure App on your phone to store all your passwords. Make sure your spouse/partner or someone you trust also knows this password should they need to access your documents for you.
Organise important documents
- Get important documents in one safe place and make sure people you trust know where they are.
- Make sure you have duplicates safely stored elsewhere as well.
- Consider using a password manager to store passwords.
Photo: Alexander Grey via Unsplash.
