This is part one of Preying on Grief, Crikey’s four part investigation of the funeral industry.
Across Australia, the funeral industry is largely unregulated. In most states, the only requirement is to dispose of the body properly under relevant health acts, and funeral operators don’t need a licence or registration to operate.
Funeral directors are torn — some are calling for regulation to ensure agreed standards are met, others think there should be training requirements to make sure those performing invasive procedures on bodies know what they’re doing, while others still believe some aspects of funerals are already more complicated than they need to be.
But the lack of regulation has led to some dodgy tactics, with companies outsourcing services for a premium.
Providers or brokers?
Australia’s biggest funeral service provider, InvoCare, which dominates 25.6% of Australia’s funeral service market, has a range of price points across its subsidiaries. One of its companies, White Lady Funerals, charges $6500 for a direct cremation in Sydney, with no extra services and no ceremony — $2300 more than the average price. Despite these price disparities, bodies often end up in the same mortuary and are treated by the same staff — raising questions about what consumers get for their extra cash.
The Funeral Directors’ Association (FDA) of NSW executive officer John Kaus told Crikey many funeral homes subcontract services at high profit margins. While they may be the face of the business, they simply rent out hearses and mortuary spaces at lower prices.
“There are organisations that act purely as funeral brokers, get the funeral and then try to subcontract out to whoever will do it for the cheapest price … and there’s no real mechanism for the public to be made aware of the differences,” he said.
The lack of licensing for funeral directors, he said, meant that “if you have a mobile phone or a briefcase, you can call yourself a funeral director”.
“There’s no check as to the ethics and professionalism and the proper person to be doing what is one of the most important jobs a family can ever entrust a firm to do.”
Inexperienced, untrained and handling the dead
Mortuary science isn’t popular schooling: in 2019, just 57 students enrolled in funeral services-related qualifications across Australia, and only 13 graduated. This means those moving, storing and preparing bodies for burial and cremation rarely have formal training in what they’re doing.
Independent Melbourne-based funeral director Robert Nelson told Crikey this led to many health codes being breached.
“There are a lot of issues … from people being stored in cupboards with air conditioners without properly refrigerated mortuaries, to people performing invasive procedures on bodies without any form of qualification other than others showing them what to do,” he said.
While embalming requires a degree, preparing the body does not. Preparation procedures range from the routine — such as sewing the mouth shut, inserting cups under the eyelids to keep the eyes from caving in, and draining organs of fluid — to the complex, such as removing pacemakers before cremation, cleaning or closing wounds, and restructuring the face or body after damage.
“Without any training or education, a lot of those people are just making it up as they go along,” Nelson said.
Earlier this year the bodies of two elderly men were accidentally swapped by a local funeral home in Sydney’s west, with the families only finding out after the funeral service — staff hadn’t checked the IDs before placing the coffin lid on.
Is regulation the answer?
There are currently no national guidelines or standards around funerals, and no states have licensing requirements for funeral directors. Because of the lack of regulation, there’s no clear mechanism to lodge a complaint about a funeral director. The FDA said it only received 168 complaints in NSW between 2013 and 2018 — representing one complaint in every 1875 funerals. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a public survey seeking comments from consumers, businesses and industry participants about competition and consumer issues in the funeral services sector.
While the FDA is an advocate for licensing and regulation, Nelson isn’t sure this will solve anything — and could even decrease competition in the sector. Some smaller organisations, he said, would struggle to join the FDA or other accredited organisations without increasing prices.
“We need education and training before licensing,” he said.
But Tender Funerals general manager Jenny Briscoe-Hough thinks the average funeral should be less complicated than it already is. Her NSW-based not-for-profit organisation reduces costs by using volunteers and aims to give power back to the family, inviting them to participate in as much of the process as they wish, from washing and dressing the body to organising custom funeral services.
“The body is actually not a complicated thing … and hardly ever do people come into our care because they need reconstructive work,” she said.
While Briscoe-Hough agrees some sector reform is needed, “regulation can be a double-edged sword; it could also exclude people from helping prepare the body”.
Tomorrow: the sleazy tactics of death salesmen
I spent five years in the funeral industry. Whereas my work colleagues were fantastic in what is a very challenging work environment, the same cannot be said of the owners. The poor treatment of staff and the massive overcharging of clients was obscene.
In 1963 Jessica Mitford’s book The American Way of Death was published exposing the practices of the US industry. That was a mere 58 years ago and I can’t understand why it’s taken so long for an Australian equivalent. I don’t recall a Four Corners programme on this industry, but if not it would surely be a good subject.
Yes the Americans do have a different way of doing things !
“Americans do have a different way of doing things”
Maybe they do, but it seems their funeral industry is still overrun with dodgy cowboys. Caitlin Doughty’s “Ask a mortician” channel on YouTube frequently shows what a minefield it is to have to deal with
The industry IS regulated by requirements of legislation, there is tight legislation regarding cremation including wording on the forms that require adherence to and anything removed from a body is done under medical supervision with the forms signed by a specially appointed medical practitioner – so the article is aimed not reporting but trying to make an issue out of a very sensitive topic. What is disturbing is the reporting of using volunteer labour [which amounts to attracting vioyeurs ] and family members untrained in handling a body – which leads to more distress in most cases. Funeral homes train their staff on the job and their reputation depends upon it . So the article then remains with one major incident of switching bodies – due to negligent inattention to paperwork – WOW this happens daily in any office and routinely in government departments. It is evidence of how rarely these mix ups occur so the industry seems better organised than most other industries
2nd thought –if one has computer and microsoft word installed one can call themselves an author, journalist ,policy writer _ AND that is unregulated.
If one has a phone one can calll themselves a trader. If one has internet connection one can call themselves a commercial venture — All unregulated.
I beg to differ Desmond! The article clearly states …, ” the FDA states” …which doesn’t necessarily relate to, “gospel”.
The Australian Consumer’s Association, CHOICE has been discussing this subject for many years, including unethical practices.
I believe it’s due to their lobbying that the ACCC is finally looking into some of the issues raised by CHOICE, and some media outlets.
You mention…”untrained family members handling a body” …and yet, as CHOICE stated, this was a part of family life right up until at least the mid-1950s in many countries, including Australia.
Laying out the dead …as my own family called it, occurred until WW11 (in my family anyway) and helped everyone in their grieving, as the deceased was left in the home until the funeral.
CHOICE further said that in some parts of Australia, this is still acceptable, and a good option for families to save expense – Council approval is required.
As to coffins? You may be surprised at how many families are making their own, from sustainable sources, with the help of loved ones, in preparation for the inevitable, and to assist in the whole, scary death experience…and to also save money.
Again, I believe there’s no real laws preventing this in Australia.
Up until the 50s at least, the Funeral industry was quite often a Family Business, run by generation upon subsequent generation – many of whom were so well respected that families would only use the ones that their parents, grandparents, and so on had used.
I can see the reasoning for that.
Can’t answer your assertions about…”tight regulations regarding cremations” …but I can say that about 40 years ago I was informed by someone, actually “in the industry” that , “just because the coffin goes behind the curtain, doesn’t mean it’s going straight into the burner…it’s not viable …we do one big cremation a week with multiple bodies…not necessarily in the coffin either…just look up after a cremation…do you see any smoke?”
Still that was 40 years ago. Hopefully it is not like that anymore.
Back to your “untrained family members” Desmond…..it’s no different to the allegedly, “trained Aged Care staff” who handle bodies.
Again, I only speak from my experience, having been blessed to sit in a chair by my Mum’s bed for thirty-odd hours until she died.
Four hours after her death, I was still there waiting for a doctor to certify the death.
A staff member asked me to leave while she cleaned Mum’s body …when I returned, I found blood all over my mother’s hand from where her wedding ring had been dragged off.
Had they told me I had a choice, I would have been privileged to do this one last thing for the woman who sacrificed everything for her family…but I was not informed.
So once again Desmond, I can only speak from experience.
Amber’s story is credible and has been widely touched on by many others, including the ABC, Guardian Australia and CHOICE.
It is something that every Aussie needs to be made aware of.
What happened in WWII or 40 years ago does not seem reflect current situation. FDA is in the USA . You may be surprised that there are regulations to coffin making – you can’t just whip up one at home with sustainable wicker work and expect to use it at a service. As to death certificates read the regulations. Cremations are not done once a week! But a nice historical commentary
Which funeral group are you employed by, Des?
Just curious.
Interesting article, which reminds me of another “for profit” industry ie Privitised prisons. The story’s are legion about private prison companies lobbying governments for stricter sentencing laws, ie more people in jail for longer, more profit.
Considering that funeral directors are also for profit one wonders what they do to increase their workload, think about it.